No.7 Wm. Jenks 1838 54. Calibre
length of barrel 21 inches; calibre .54. The hook-shaped catch for the preceding pattern having not only proved inconvenient for the cavalryman but also capable of inflicting troublesome wounds, a remedy was sought in this device.
No. J, Hall. 3d type. Marked " S. North, Middletown, Conn., 1842." The principal difference between this arm and No. 2 is in the catch. Improvement questionable.
These three types were made from 1833 to 1843, and each is believed to be one of the first of its type issued, so that its date is the type date. After 1843 all of these flint lock arms, when found stored in considerable quantity, were altered to cap lock.
No. 4, Hall. 4th type. Made between 1843 and 1852 at the S. North factory, and made percussion. The side lever was the joint device of Simeon North and Edward Savage; it was adopted by the Ordnance Department in 1843 and patented in 1844. The length of this arm is 40 inches; length of barrel 21 inches; the calibre still is .54.
No. J, Paterson Coll. 1836 to 1842. " Marked " Patent Arms Mfg. Co., Paterson, N. J." Samuel Colt's patent ot 1836. A gun size revolver. Caliber .54, six shots, paper cartridge or loose ammunition.
No. 6, Paterson Colt. 1836 to 1842. Same patent and make as No. 5, but simpler and stronger.
As all early Colt arms are fully treated in Vol-
lime 2 of Firearms in American History, unnecessary repetition is omitted.
No. 7, Whittier. 1837. Patented in 1837 by 0. W. Whittier of Enfield, N. H. The cylinder was revolved by a stud sliding in grooves in the periphery of the .cylinder. Movement of the ringed lever underneath the frame cocked and revolved. This means of operating a revolving cylinder remained in disuse for about 60 years and then was taken on by foreign inventors, and satisfactory revolvers on this principle of German, Belgian, French and British manufacture have been on the market for a score of years.
No. 8y Jenks. 1838. Wm. Jenks patent of 1838. Marked " N. P. Ames Arms Co., Springfield, Mass/' Calibre .54. The specimen shown was made in 1847 and has a Maynard priming magazine in the lock; the earlier ones were without the priming magazine. Paper cartridge or loose ammunition. The hammer is cocked by a horizontal movement to the right. The load is inserted at the breech through an opening revealed by drawing back the top lever. While intended only for navy use, during the Civil War it was issued to cavalry also.
No. 9, Musketoon, Model 1842. This cavalry arm was made in small numbers between 1842 and 1855 -at the Springfield Armory. Calibre .69. The charge was 60 grains of coarse powder and, originally, a spherical bullet .64 inch in diameter; towards the end of its issue a Minie bullet was used. The mountings are brass. The most interesting feature is the sliding stud and chain to prevent loss of the ramrod, unless it may be the huge sabre bayonet.
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No. ly Deringer. 1843. Marked " H. Deringer, Phila., 1843, U. S." Breech loading; paper cartridge or loose ammunition; self priming; double set trigger. This arm is so odd that the purpose of some of the holes is not now apparent. Its general operating principle and also its appearance coincide remarkably with those of the Merrill-Thomas-Latrobe carbine of about Civil War time.
No. 2, Sharps, about 1848. Breech loading, paper cartridge or loose ammunition, and provided with a ramrod for muzzle loading. Christian Sharps arms, patented in 1848, are claimed to have been made several years earlier. The specimen shown is marked " Maynard Gun Co., Chicopee Falls, Mass.," and has the 1845 style of Maynard priming magazine.
No. 3, Colt, Model 1848. Details already published in Volume 2.
No. 4, Colt, Model 1851. While primarily intended for the navy, large numbers were issued to cavalry. Details already published.
No picture. Harpers Ferry Pistol Carbine Model 1851. Data lacking.
No. 5, Maynard, 1851. Patented in 1851 and again in 1859 by Edward Maynard. Metallic cartridge with small hole in the center of the head to admit the flash of a copper cap on a cone set in the frame. Marked "Massachusetts Arms Co., Chicopee Falls, Mass." Calibre .50.
No. 6y Lawrence, 1852. Richard S. Lawrence's patent of 1852. Breech loading, paper cartridge, calibre .52. Marked " R. S. Lawrence, Hartford, Conn."
No. 7y Creeney 1854. Breech loading, paper cartridge, calibre .53. The action of the forward trigger permits the barrel, which is held in a short sleeve, to be revolved a quarter turn to one side, during which movement the lugs on each side of the rear end of the barrel become disengaged from the corresponding grooves in the fore part of the frame. The barrel can then be slid forward and the sleeve and barrel revolved to the right on an axis below the barrel so that the paper cartridge can be inserted. When the barrel is again in place the base of the cartridge has been penetrated b? a prolongation of the tube conducting the fire from the cone.
No. 8, Smith & Wesson. 1854. H. Smith and D. B. Wesson's patent of 1854. An early and rather crude specimen is illustrated. Like the repeating pistol of contemporary and later issue it uses a hollow bullet fired by an explosive mixture within itself; the base of the bullet was sealed with
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