The 1803 Harper's ferry flintlock rifle

Описание: The Harper's Ferry M1803 rifle was the first standard rifle (as opposed to a smoothbore musket), made by an American armory.

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The first U.S. regulation rifle, the Model 1803 was manufactured at Harpers Ferry Armory. Early models were produced between 1803 and 1807, with production resuming in 1814 and continuing until 1820. This example was produced in 1815.


These half-stocked rifles are considered by some to be perhaps the most beautiful military arm ever manufactured. The Model 1803 Flintlock Rifle was manufactured in two production runs. The first group of approximately 4,000 guns were manufactured between 1803 and 1807. Production of these rifles was resumed in 1814 due to necessities created by the War of 1812, and continued until 1820. Approximately 15,000 examples were produced in this period.

Beginning in 1815, both stock and barrel were lengthened by several inches from the original dimensions. There is some debate regarding the use of these rifles by members of the Louis & Clark Expedition that explored the Louisiana Purchase. Historians have long accepted that the Model 1803 Rifle was the issue arm for this expedition, but some research indicates that the first examples were not available until after the group had departed for the West.

The town of Harpers Ferry is nestled into a valley at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. Originally located in Virginia, Harpers Ferry became part of the new state of West Virginia in 1863. The region abounded with natural resources, including abundant water power, and it was also isolated from the coastline and therefore secure from possible enemy attacks. Riflesmiths, artisans, and other skilled workers also made their homes in neighboring areas of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

In 1798, President George Washington selected Harpers Ferry, as well as Springfield, Massachusetts, as the location for a national armory where small arms, ammunition, and other accouterments would be produced for use by the new nation's military forces. In 1798, tensions between the United States and France were on the rise, and American militia forces drilled on the heights overlooking the town. As the threat of war passed, the troops dispersed, leaving Harpers Ferry to the care of armory workers and other residents. Arms production began in 1800. The first guns to be manufactured at Harpers Ferry were the Model 1795 muskets. These were patterned after the French Model 1763 Charleville musket, and were the first standardized U.S. martial arms. Springfield Armory also produced a Model 1795 musket, but these were distinctly different from those manufactured at Harpers Ferry.

In the early 19th century, Harpers Ferry began production of the Model 1803 flintlock rifle. These distinctive arms, with their Kentucky styling and half forestock, are considered by some to the most beautiful rifles ever produced by the United States government. The Model 1816 was first standardized U.S. martial arm to be manufactured at both Harpers Ferry and Springfield. These arms enjoyed the longest production run in U.S. history, lasting until 1844, with nearly 700,000 muskets turned out during this period. Both armories also produced the Model 1842 percussion musket and Model 1855 percussion rifle-musket.

These arms are significant in that the Model 1842 was the last U.S. regulation .69 caliber smoothbore, as well as the first to be made at both armories with completely interchangeable parts, while the Model 1855 rifle-musket was the first rifle-musket to be produced by the United States, the first to be produced in the new regulation .58 caliber, and the last arm to be produced at both government armories. In addition to commonly produced arms, each armory was the sole producer of certain other designs, such as the Model 1855 percussion pistol-carbine and various musketoons and cadet muskets that were produced solely at Springfield, or the Model 1803 flintlock rifle, and the Model 1841 percussion, or "Mississippi" rifles that were produced only at Harpers Ferry.

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