The Harper's Ferry Model 1805 U.S. martial flintlock pistol manufactured at the Harpers Ferry Armory in Virginia (now West Virginia) was the first pistol manufactured by an American national armory. It was the standard handgun of the U.S. Dragoons during the War of 1812. [1]
Harper's Ferry 1805, 1806, 1807 and 1808 flintlock pistols were all essentially identical, and the design has similarities with the Model 1803 rifles also produced at Harpers Ferry. The M1805 pistol was a .54 caliber, single-shot, smoothbore, flintlock pistol intended for field duty. [2] Harper's Ferry model 1805–1808 flintlock pistols were known then as “horsemen’s pistols” and were produced in pairs; both pistols having identical serial numbers. With just one shot readily available without reloading, a pair or "brace" was the standard issue. Horse accouterments also included a standard pair of saddle holsters. No serial number higher than 2048 has ever been discovered—and that is exactly half of the number recorded as produced at the Harper's Ferry Armory. There are between 200–300 of these pistols known to exist today. [3]
During the War of 1812, the M1805 pistol was issued to American cavalry. [4] Due to the high demand for weapons, a variety of single shot flintlock pistols were manufactured in some of the states, especially Pennsylvania and Connecticut. [5] Some featured improvements such as iron instead of wood ramrods. [6]
The U.S. military subsequently used a variety of flintlock pistols produced by government contractors, especially Simeon North of Connecticut, between 1808 and 1844. The last of these was the U.S. Model 1836. A caplock version of the M1836 pistol, the U.S. Model 1842, was issued to the Dragoons during the Seminole War and US-Mexican War until the Colt Dragoon revolver was introduced in 1848. [7] The last U.S. martial single shot muzzleloading pistol was the U.S. Springfield Model 1855, a .58 caliber handgun manufactured at the Springfield Armory with a detachable shoulder stock designed for use by US dragoons during the Indian Wars. By that period, revolvers had become the preferred sidearms for mounted troops. [8]
Single shot muzzleloading pistols were widely used by gunfighters and mountain men in the early days of the Old West, including Kit Carson. [9] Many were also issued to the Confederate army during the American Civil War. [10] [11] Lawrence O'Bryan Branch was carrying a pair of Model 1836 pistols when he was killed by a Union army sniper in 1862. [12]
Currently manufactured reproductions of the original pistols are made with a larger caliber than the original, as well as a rifled bore for more accurate shooting. [3] There is one reproduction available modeled after the percussion converted Harper's Ferry pistols that is built with the correct .54 caliber smooth bore as well.
The Model 1805 U.S. Marshal "Harper's Ferry" flintlock pistol is used today on the insignia of the U.S. Army Military Police Corps. [13]
In firearm designs, the term single-shot refers to guns that can hold only a single round of ammunition inside and thus must be reloaded manually after every shot. Compared to multi-shot repeating firearms ("repeaters"), single-shot designs have no moving parts other than the trigger, hammer/firing pin or frizzen, and therefore do not need a sizable receiver behind the barrel to accommodate a moving action, making them far less complex and more robust than revolvers or magazine/belt-fed firearms, but also with much slower rates of fire.
Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism itself, also known as the true flintlock, that was introduced in the early 17th century, and gradually replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the matchlock, the wheellock, and the earlier flintlock mechanisms such as the snaplock and snaphaunce.
A derringer is a small handgun that is neither a revolver, semi-automatic pistol, nor machine pistol. It is not to be confused with mini-revolvers or pocket pistols, although some later derringers were manufactured with the pepperbox configuration. The modern derringer is often multi barreled, and is generally the smallest usable handgun of any given caliber and barrel length due to the lack of a moving action, which takes up more space behind the barrel. It is frequently used by women because it is easily concealable in a purse or a stocking.
Colt's Manufacturing Company, LLC is an American firearms manufacturer, founded in 1855 by Samuel Colt that has become a subsidiary of Czech holding company Colt CZ Group. It is the successor corporation to Colt's earlier firearms-making efforts, which started in 1936. Colt is known for the engineering, production, and marketing of firearms, especially during the century from 1850 through World War I, when it dominated its industry and was a seminal influence on manufacturing technology. Colt's earliest designs played a major role in the popularization of the revolver and the shift away from single-shot pistols. Although Samuel Colt did not invent the revolver, his designs resulted in the first very successful model.
A duelling pistol is a type of pistol that was manufactured in matching pairs to be used in a duel, when duels were customary. Duelling pistols are often single-shot flintlock or percussion black-powder pistols which fire a lead ball. Not all fine, antique pairs of pistols are duelling pistols, though they may be called so.
Henry Deringer was an American gunsmith. He is best known for inventing and giving his name to the derringer pistol.
The LeMat revolver was a .42 or .36 caliber cap & ball black powder revolver invented by Jean Alexandre LeMat of France, which featured an unusual secondary 16 to 20 gauge smooth-bore barrel capable of firing buckshot. It saw service with the armed forces of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War of 1861–1865 and the Army of the Government of National Defense during the Franco-Prussian War.
William Mason was a patternmaker, engineer and inventor who worked for Remington Arms, Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company, and Winchester Repeating Arms Company in the 19th century.
The M1819 Hall rifle was a single-shot breech-loading rifle designed by John Hancock Hall, patented on May 21, 1811, and adopted by the U.S. Army in 1819. It was preceded by the Harpers Ferry M1803. It used a pivoting chamber breech design and was made with either flintlock or percussion cap ignition systems. The years of production were from the 1820s to the 1840s at the Harpers Ferry Arsenal. This was the first breech-loading rifle to be adopted in large numbers by any nation's army, but not the first breech-loading military rifle – the Ferguson rifle was used briefly by the British Army in the American Revolutionary War. The Hall rifle remained overshadowed by common muskets and muzzleloading rifles which were still prevalent until the Civil War. The early flintlocks were mostly converted to percussion ignition.
The Springfield Model 1816 was a .69 caliber flintlock musket manufactured in the United States during the early 19th century.
The Springfield Model 1812 Musket is a .69 caliber, flintlock musket manufactured by the Springfield Armory.
The Springfield Model 1795 was a .69 caliber flintlock musket manufactured in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in the United States.
An antique firearm is a term used to describe a firearm that was designed and manufactured prior to the beginning of the 20th century. Although the exact definition of what constitutes an "antique firearm" varies between countries, the advent of smokeless powder or the start of the Boer War are often used as cut-off dates. Antique firearms are usually collected because of their historical interest and/or their monetary value.
A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long barreled gun which needs to be held by both hands and braced against the shoulder. Handguns have shorter effective ranges compared to long guns, and are much harder to shoot accurately. While most early handguns are single-shot pistols, the two most common types of handguns used in modern times are revolvers and semi-automatic pistols, although other handguns such as derringers and machine pistols also see infrequent usage.
During the American Civil War, an assortment of small arms found their way onto the battlefield. Though the muzzleloader percussion cap rifled musket was the most numerous weapon, being standard issue for the Union and Confederate armies, many other firearms, ranging from the single-shot breech-loading Sharps and Burnside rifles to the Spencer and the Henry rifles - two of the world's first repeating rifles - were issued by the hundreds of thousands, mostly by the Union. The Civil War brought many advances in firearms technology, most notably the widespread use of rifled barrels.
The Colt Walker, sometimes known as the Walker Colt, is a single-action revolver with a revolving cylinder holding six charges of black powder behind six bullets. It was designed in 1846 by American firearms inventor Samuel Colt to the specifications of Captain Samuel Hamilton Walker.
A pistoleer is a mounted soldier trained to use a pistol, or more generally anyone armed with such a weapon. It is derived from pistolier, a French word for an expert marksman.
The Harper's Ferry M1803 rifle was the first standard rifle, made by an American armory.
The Springfield Model 1855 was a rifled musket widely used in the American Civil War. It exploited the advantages of the new conical Minié ball, which could be deadly at over 1,000 yards (910 m). It was a standard infantry weapon for Union and Confederates alike, until the Springfield Model 1861 supplanted it, obviating the use of the insufficiently weather resistant Maynard tape primer.