Loyalist Dave said:
Can we find when the proposed rifle's shorter length and half-stocked configuration first was suggested/ordered? That might help.
Dave and everyone else,
The short answer to your question is I do not know when the half stock designation was first planned/suggested/proposed. As far as I know, that was never recorded, though documentation may come about on that someday in the future. However, that is a superb question.
Personally, I think we need to consider more of the background of the M1792/94 Rifle for this discussion. To me, the whole idea of Secretary Knox authorizing these rifles to be made, is hazy at best, but that may be just the character of a young Nation who really did not want much of a standing Army and could not afford it, either. The “normal” explanation of the use of these rifles is that they were issued out to regular troops and militia’s “as needed” and then returned when no longer needed or required repair. However, how these rifles were issued, to whom and when, and how they were stored when new or returned is a mystery to me.
Now I think we need to consider the Schuylkill Arsenal in Philadelphia. Wiki has this to say,
“The Schuylkill Arsenal was built in 1800 to function as a quartermaster [Supply Depot] and provide the U.S. military with supplies.[3] One of its most famous tasks was outfitting the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It was the third federal facility in the young nation.” This information does not tell us how the Contract Rifles were issued and returned before it was built, but once it was built in 1800, it seems all “New Made” Contract Rifles were delivered there after they were built and then issued out as ordered by Government Officials. Now, this may be a stretch on my part, but it seems to me this is where the
New or Serviceable Contract Rifles were stored, when not issued to “regular troops or militia’s?” There is some documentation to support that, mentioned by those who have full access to the Full Five Volumes of the L&C papers and journals. However, since I don’t have full access, I can’t give a really good quote on that.
OK, so what about the Contract Rifles that needed repairs? Prior to HF being built and equipped and staffed; most likely they had local Philadelphia Gunsmiths do the repairs. (Note: This
may be where Joseph Perkin/s [later the Master Armorer at HF] enters the picture, as he was paid over a thousand pounds to repair “government arms” as early as in the mid 1780’s and would have been well known locally in Philadelphia.) But after HF was built, it seems Contract Rifles that needed repair were sent to HF for that work, which would have made sense at the time. This would explain the approximate 300 Contract Rifles that HF had on hand when Capt. Lewis showed up at HF the first time. Those Contract Rifles needed various amounts of repair work. There really was no other reason to store Contract Rifles there, when there was a Government Arsenal to store serviceable items. Then when HF repaired the rifles, they would be sent to Schuykill Arsenal for storage and issue. So the Contract Rifles on hand at HF when Capt. Lewis showed up, almost certainly would not have been in “ready to issue condition” and would have required repair before issued to Capt. Lewis.
BTW for those who are not familiar with Military Terminology, the word “Armory” from the very earliest period in the U.S. always meant a government facility where weapons were manufactured/assembled. The word “Arsenal” always meant a facility where weapons (and other items) were stored, but not manufactured; though in later years some weapons were repaired at Arsenals. (Confused yet?
Wait, there is more. :grin: ) However for modern military veterans; the local storage/issue/recovery area for weapons are often/usually called “an Armory or Armories,” even though no manufacture of Arms is done there. So if forum members are confused about those terms, trust me, even most Armed Service veterans don’t know the differences, unless they were involved in Ordnance.
Bottom line, the Contract Rifles on hand at HF when Capt. Lewis showed up there on March 16, 1803 almost certainly had to be repaired before Capt. Lewis,
or anyone else, could have used them.
OK, sorry for another of my long winded posts, but I thought it necessary to begin there. More in my next post.
Gus