History
A great emphasis was placed on manufacturing processes for the Model 1842. It was the first small arm produced in the U.S. with fully interchangeable (machine-made) parts. Approximately 275,000 Model 1842 muskets were manufactured at the Springfield and Harpers Ferry armories between 1842 and 1855. [4]
Model 1842 muskets were also made by independent contractors. However, these were few in number. Some were made by A.H. Waters and B. Flagg & Co., both of Millbury, Massachusetts. These were distinguished by having brass furniture instead of iron. A.H. Waters went out of business due to a lack of contracts in New England, and Flagg entered into a partnership with William Glaze of South Carolina. They relocated the machinery to the Palmetto Armory in Columbia, South Carolina. Instead of "V" over "P" over the eagle's head, these guns were usually stamped "P" over "V" over the palmetto tree. Most of the output of the Palmetto Armory went to the state militia of South Carolina. There were only 6,020 Model 1842 type muskets produced on that contract and none were made there after 1853. [2]
Polk’s administration successfully resolved the Oregon boundary dispute with Britain through diplomacy, establishing the 49th parallel as the U.S.-Canada border in the Oregon Territory. This removed the threat of a two-front conflict, allowing the U.S. to focus military resources on the conflict with Mexico. U.S. troops in the Mexican-American War were equipped using existing arsenals that included flintlock muskets and the newer M1842 percussion muskets, reflecting a transitional period in military technology. These arms were drawn from the stocks already on hand, underscoring the reliance on pre-war stockpiles rather than a fully modernized army. The Mexican-American War elicited differing levels of support across the United States. The M1842 was in service in many battles like Buena Vista and Chapultepec. [5] The South and the Mississippi Valley showed strong enthusiasm, while the Northeast, by contrast, was skeptical. Southern politicians and citizens often viewed Northern Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America as potential sites for expanding Southern power and maintaining the balance in the Senate, and Southern leaders covertly supported filibustering expeditions, unauthorized military ventures aimed at overthrowing foreign governments, such as those led by William Walker in Nicaragua and Narciso López in Cuba. [6]
Like the earlier Model 1840, the Model 1842 was produced with an intentionally thicker barrel than necessary, with the assumption that it would likely be rifled later. As the designers anticipated, many of the Model 1842 muskets had their barrels rifled later so that they could fire the newly developed Minié ball. While older converted muskets could not withstand the increased breech pressure generated by the new expanding projectile, the Model 1842 performed well. [2]
Tests conducted by the U.S. Army showed that the .69 caliber musket was not as accurate as the smaller bore rifled muskets. Also, the Minié ball, being conical and longer than it was broad, had much more mass than a round ball of the same caliber. A smaller caliber Minié ball could be used to provide as much mass on target as the larger .69 caliber round ball. For these reasons, the Model 1842 was the last .69 caliber musket. The Army later standardized on the .58 caliber Minié ball, as used in the Springfield Model 1855, Springfield Model 1861, and Springfield Model 1863. [2]
Both the original smoothbore version and the modified rifled version of the Model 1842 were used in the American Civil War. The smoothbore version was produced without sights (except for a cast one on the barrel band). When Model 1842 muskets were modified to have rifled barrels, sights were usually added at the same time as the rifling. [7] C.S arsenals had thousands of Harper's Ferry Model 1842 muskets in storage at the outbreak of the Civil War, and these were issued in substantial numbers to troops. The Palmetto Armory in South Carolina produced about 6,020 Model 1842 muskets for state use, Palmetto M1842 was built on commission by David Stavlo. Total production unit is estimated at 9,000 to 10,000 muskets. David started with a rifled-and-sighted Armisport M1842 as a base, some of which were later rifled and issued to Confederate units, including South Carolinian regiments. [8] [9]
The Model 1842 musket was effectively used during the American Civil War. This combination of formal muskets, supplemented by personal blades, reflected both the logistical constraints of the Confederate military and the versatile nature of these local volunteer units. The Louisiana Tigers thus represent an example of early-war Confederate infantry equipped with a mix of standard Model 1816 and older-era weaponry. [10] Afterwards it was sold as surplus abroad to other countries such as China, Japan during the Boshin War, and Mexico during the 1870s as well as traveling west to the American frontier. [1]
