The American Long Rifle This is a brief history of the evolution of arms leading to the development of the American Long Rifle in the 18th century. The foundations for that development were laid, as was the transformation of America itself, in Europe. This history has been written as a complement to American Historic Arms’ high quality prints. It is not intended to be definitive, merely providing a flavour for further reading.
New World : New Age British Crown, reaching the East Coast of Canada in 1497. Amerigo Vespucci found Brazil for the King of Portugal during a voyage to South America between 1499 and 1502.
The indigenous peoples of the Americas had inhabited their lands long before these New Worlds were “discovered” by European explorers, but it was only by this so-called discovery that the continents quickly revealed their diversities, wealth and beauty. That wealth was hugely important to the kingdoms of the Old World, re-energizing all the traditional rivalries.
Successive explorations and settlements divided North America between the French and other European countries which soon came to stake their claims on behalf of their various Crowns.
The Vikings were the very first Europeans to settle the North American continent, at a place on the northern tip of Newfoundland they called Vinland (Land of Meadows), in about 1000 A.D. However, possibly because of poor relations with native peoples, these Norse settlements did not last, and only modern archæology proved their existence at all.
The French had established trading posts, forts and small settlements along the East coast of America as well as several strategically important places in Quebec. The Spanish laid claim to much of South America, Central America, Mexico and later, to large tracts of territory in North America, including much of the west coast up to British Columbia.
Nearly 500 years after the first Norseman set foot in the New World, Christopher Columbus “discovered” land for the Queen of Spain, on the other side of the Atlantic, when he reached the Bahamas in 1492. John Cabot sailed under the auspices of the
The first English settlement at Jamestown in 1607 saw the beginning of change in the fortunes of the original colonizers. Settling the interior of America would be the next step.
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Flight from Europe
As Captain John Smith founded the very first English settlement at Jamestown in 1607, the French navigator and explorer Samuel de Champlain established the city of Quebec in 1608, as well as the colony of New France. A few years later, in 1614, an English sea captain called Henry Hudson (who gave his name to Hudson's Bay) sailed under the Dutch flag to found the settlement of New Amsterdam as a part of the Dutch colony “New Netherland”.
– the Puritans – finally left England during the reign of James I on a ship called The Mayflower. Arriving at Cape Cod on 11th November, 1620, the Mayf lower's 102 passengers (about half were Puritans) brought with them all the food and furniture needed to begin their life in the New World. They also brought with them long guns, lead and powder. On the 6th October, 1683, the very first German immigrants arrived at Philadelphia to enjoy the religious freedom they had been denied in Europe. The thirteen families of this first settlement at Germantown were mostly Mennonite and Quaker.
Now, the reason for the initial settlement of the New World was substantially influenced by the rules of the established Church in Europe, and separatists soon realized that their beliefs could breathe afresh, unhindered in the new colonies.
With ever more immigrants arriving in the New World, religious exiles included, all of the Old World skills were brought by farmers, builders, furniture makers, tradesmen, explorers, soldiers, blacksmiths and gunsmiths, and these first gunsmiths were from Germany and Switzerland, settling in Pennsylvania.
As an example of the disaffection created by the Church and State, under the reign of Elizabeth I the English Parliament enacted a law effectively forcing all people to attend Church of England services, and conform to this religious doctrine. Following continued persecution by the Church, a small band of dissenters
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Pushing the Frontier 16th century America was still a jumble of unknown boundaries, with French explorers pushing westwards in their quest to find a route to the Pacific, all the time attempting to make settlements that might last. Trading for animal skins was established between Europeans and the native peoples as long ago as the mid-16th century but, during the 17th century, trading fo r p e l t s b e c a m e m o r e commonplace as the native people began to realise that their hunting skills would bring valuable European trade items to enhance their own lives; using the “Northwest Trade Gun” (a smooth-bore shotgun), the native hunters became an important part of the American-European fur trade. Ultimately, the New World would be propelled by religion, trading, and power, and the two great proponents – England and France – invested much effort in creating efficient alliances with various American native peoples. To that end, trade now included muskets from both France and England, so that both alliances became armed for hunting, skirmish and war.
Whilst the Old World warring parties continued their conflict in the New World, life on the new frontier continued to evolve, with more immigrant settlers wishing to expand their horizons by gradually moving westwards. The demands of the fur trade and subsistence hunting ensured that during the latter part of the 17th century through to the 18th, English, French and Americanmade hunting guns in the form of smooth-bore, flintlock muskets were continually supplied to American settlers and native hunters. The 18th century saw the Pennsylvania gunsmiths come into their own, producing the first American-made hunting guns. Whilst the English and French continued to produce their smoothbore muskets, the German and Swiss smiths of Pennsylvania began to manufacture lighter, smaller bore, far more accurate, rifled guns based on the imported German Jäger rifles. Whereas a European musket had a useful range of 75 yards or so, the Pennsylvania long rifles proved effective beyond 250 yards.
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Timeline of black powder long guns in America to The Civil War - 1 1500's Gunpowder, or “black powder” weapons of one type or another had already been in use by the time German or Austrian gunsmiths began making the first rifled muskets in the 16th century. German bowmakers were already familiar with the idea that an arrow would travel straighter through the air if it were made to twist as it flew.
form of muskets, “regular” gun trade was brought about by the French fur traders, who were trading muskets with the native peoples in the early part of the 17th century, well before the Hudson's Bay Company was incorporated in 1670. The subsequent success of the Hudson's Bay Company's Englishmade trade guns was based entirely on the fur trade, which led to the continual forays, fights and battles between the English and French, and their respective native allies. English trade guns, made cheaply in London and Birmingham, were also known as “Carolina Muskets”.
Why more rifled black powder weapons were not produced earlier in the following centuries boils down to one basic problem: manufacturing a gun barrel with spiral grooves was very, very tedious and slow. The form of “small arms” warfare conducted in Europe was also entrenched in tradition and honour, where opponents with muskets would, most likely, be standing and facing each other as they fired.
1612 Although the flintlock mechanism was originally designed in France in the early 17th century, it wasn't long before f lintlock muskets were in common use throughout Europe. In the very first days of exploration, skirmish and settlement of America, both the French and English introduced their respective military weapons to this new theatre.
1500's In the early part of the 16th century, European fishermen had made contact with Native Americans, and trading had already begun. Although trade would have consisted of European goods and some firearms in the
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Timeline of black powder long guns in America to The Civil War - 2 [The most plausible explanation of the nickname for this musket is that the then King of England, George I, was from Hanover in Germany and he ordered a strong gun – in German, “Braun Buss”.]
1705 A Swiss immigrant gunsmith and blacksmith, Martin M e y l i n , m a d e t h e fi r s t Pennsylvania Long Rifle in what is now Lancaster County. Variations of this rifle were in service until around 1850. These rifled flintlocks were originally produced for hunting, and only later became a part of militia firepower.
1754 The year that began the Seven Years' War (also referred to as the “French and Indian War” in America) between the old adversaries, France and England*, with their respective Native American allies. American frontiersmen had, by this time, already proved their effectiveness with the extremely accurate Pennsylvania rifles, hunting deer for the British leather industry. Now, in this war, they presented themselves as guerrilla fighters, continually proving the accuracy and range of their long rifles.
Even though rifling had been invented in Germany in the 15th century, smoothbore muskets were still common, simply because they were easier and less costly to manufacture, and quicker to load. German gunsmiths had already been making Jäger (hunting) rifles, and these would have provided the early pattern for Pennsylvania Long Rifles. 1717 The French brought the “Charleville” musket (named after the armoury in the town “Charleville-Mézières”), produced from 1717 until 1840.
*Globally, the Seven Years' War encompassed parts of the world where France and England claimed territory and trading rights, and many other European countries became involved.
1722 The British brought their “Brown Bess” musket, which was in service in various forms for different services from 1722 until 1838.
1770 The first breech-loading rifle, the Ferguson Rifle, is tested by the British Army, and sees limited use by the Army in the Revolutionary War.
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Timeline of black powder long guns in America to The Civil War - 3 alongside the long-standing British arm, the “Brown Bess”.
1775 The great frontiersman, Daniel Boone, finds passage beyond the original colonies and establishes Boonesborough in Kentucky. Boone was born in Pennsylvania, but his hunting exploits took him far into unknown territory. His Pennsylvania Long Rifle becomes a part of legend.
1777 The first American armoury is established at Springfield, Massachusetts, in support of revolutionaries. The first muskets produced here followed the lines of the French Charleville musket. 1800 The London gunsmith, Ezekiel Baker, produced a breechloading flintlock rifle for the British army in 1800, and this continued as a standard issue to rifle regiments until 1838. This rifle was also based on the German Jäger, and proved effective as a sniper rifle against the French during the Napoleonic Wars.
1775 The Revolutionary War is instigated, following the Boston Tea Party and subsequent quashing of self-government with transfer of effective power to the British Army. The Dutch, Spanish and French secretly supply and arm the revolutionaries fighting for the removal of the British.
1807 The Rev. A.J. Forsyth patents the percussion cap, to replace the problematic flash pan of flintlock muskets. Although used by private hunters, the idea isn't adopted by any military arms m a n u fa c t u r e r s u n t i l t h e introduction of the American Hall rifle, in 1833.
1776 In the late 18th century, gunsmiths in Germany continued to produce their Jäger flintlock rifles, used by hunters and woodsmen, and by individuals in German military units. The German Jäger rifle was the pattern for the first standard British Rifle, supplied from British manufacturers in 1776. The “Pattern 1776” would see use in the Revolutionary War
Flash pan muskets could be easily modified with the new percussion cap system, which is the forerunner of percussion in metal cartridges, introduced in 1845.
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Timeline of black powder long guns in America to The Civil War - 4 1812 Culminating with the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, the War of 1812 sees Andrew Jackson lead his forces, including Kentucky frontiersmen, to victory against the British. The Kentucky men bring their shooting skills to bear against an unsuspecting enemy, and their Pennsylvania Long Rifles take on a new nickname, the “Kentucky Long Rifle”.
percussion cap ignition on their smooth bore Brown Bess muskets. 1848 Two French Army captains develop the Minié Ball, a bulletshaped piece of lead that would prove more accurate than the standard round musket ball. The Minié was first seen in use by the British and French in the Crimean War and would be used by both sides in the American Civil War. 1853 The British Army phases out the Brown Bess smoothbore musket, which is replaced by the Enfield Rifle Musket. This rifle uses a type of Minié Ball and paper cartridges. The Enfield would be heavily exported to both North and South in the American Civil War.
1815 With the aid of his allies, the Duke of Wellington's forces beat Napoleon in the three days of the Battle of Waterloo. Much of Wellington's army was equipped with the famous Brown Bess infantry musket, a derivative of the Brown Bess designed and first produced in 1722. The newly designed Baker Rifle was also in use by the British Army and had seen action in various conflicts, including Waterloo and the Battle of New Orleans in the Revolutionary War.
1860 The Spencer Repeating Rifle is designed. This and the .44 Henry use the new, recently patented, all-metal cartridges. 1861 The Civil War breaks out. During this war, many differing types and makes of long rifle were employed, ranging from smooth bore muskets, right through to the most up-to-date metal-cartridge weapons.
1833 The Hall Rifle is the first American-produced percussion cap rifle issued to the U.S. military. 1842 The British Army adopt
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Development of The American Long Rifle - 1 At the very roots of high-quality American arms manufacture were immigrant gunsmiths from Switzerland and Germany, who brought with them the knowledge of the Jäger rifle, a German hunting weapon already known for its superior accuracy over contemporary smooth-bore muskets.
greater distances than their smooth-bore counterparts but were, nevertheless, rather plain tools for survival. Later, each long rifle produced would carry silver and brass adornments, peculiar to each owner and, although of a similar size, no two long rifles were ever the same. The American long rifle had originated directly from the Jäger but, as early as the first produced by Martin Meylin in the 1720's, had been lengthened by some 10 inches in the barrel. The extra length provided two distinct advantages over its shorter cousin: accurate over a greater distance; and a better “burn”, meaning that the powder would ignite better in the longer barrel length, effectively giving the lead ball more speed ... “muzzle velocity”.
Amongst the early Mennonite immigrants to America was the Swiss gunsmith and blacksmith, Martin Meylin, who was almost certainly responsible for producing the first American Long Rifles at his workshop in Lancaster County in what is now Pennsylvania. So was born the “Pennsylvania Long Rifle”. From the German Jäger rifle, Meylin and other gunsmiths crafted hunting rifles that were to prove far more suitable for the conditions in the New World than even the original German rifles. The Pennsylvania rifles were graceful, elegant guns, made individually for hunting food and, subsequently, for fur and hides.
It is important to mention that, whilst these new American gunsmiths were carefully making accurate hunting tools, the old European powers continued to produce their customary smoothbore muskets well into the mid19th century. Why? The muskets were quicker to manufacture to meet the huge demands of both
These early American long guns were made to be accurate over far
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Development of The American Long Rifle - 2 rifles, but it quickly became apparent that, with the substantially different hunting environment of [initially] the Pennsylvania forests, longer rifles would be better suited. As already noted, increasing the barrel length by 10 inches or more over the Jägers gave immediate benefits: a better powder burn giving a longer range by way of greater muzzle velocity, and a barrel which would be easier to keep clean from the customary powder residue typically found in shorter guns.
the European military (particularly the French and British) and the ever-expanding fur trade of North America. The total number of American long rifles manufactured from the early 18th century until obsolescence in the 19th was in the region of 73,000. By comparison, during a similar period, production of the famous British Brown Bess and the French Charleville flintlock muskets numbered millions in both cases. Almost all of the early settlers of America lived and worked on the land, providing their food by farming and hunting. Whilst not covered in this short history, there were gunsmiths - other than the rifle makers - who were producing fowling guns based on European smooth-bore fowlers. These were flintlocks which looked and operated essentially the same as flintlock muskets.
Rifling, of course, was still done by hand and, thus, was still a slow process. This was one of the biggest reasons that neither the English nor the French would produce any substantial quantities of rifles until the late 19th century, citing quicker manufacture and easier muzzleloading in the field. Just how did these blacksmithgunsmiths make a rifled barrel?
When Meylin and others began their craft, their initial production was similar to the imported, short-barrelled Jäger
The first stage incorporated blacksmithing techniques, where a bar of wrought iron is heated red hot and hammered, first into a u-
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Development of The American Long Rifle - 3 spiral grooves into the inside of the barrel. Each of seven or eight grooves would have to be cut successively deeper, with as many as ten cuts per groove.
shape, and then around a steel mandrel, welding the “seam” together to form a tube. That sounds simple enough, but this would have to have been done by two workers: one to hold and move the mandrel so that it didn't stick to the hot iron, and the other to hammer and forge the tube around the mandrel.
One rifle, including barrel, stock, mechanism and ornament, would take a gunsmith and his apprentice a whole week to produce, remembering that – unlike contemporary European manufacture, where gun-smithing had already diverged into separate trades – life in this new “wilderness” meant being almost entirely self-sufficient. From shaping and carving the stock, making the barrel and fitting the mechanisms , to cutting and hinging brass patchbox covers and other individual ornamentation and decoration: the American gunsmith did it all.
Continuing with blacksmithing, the next stage was to hammer flat sides onto the tube, so making an octagonal barrel shape. The important features of this part of barrel-making were the tube and the tapered breech end. The barrel tube would be reamed out using progressively larger bits on a type of hand-powered drilling machine; it was at this point that the barrel would be checked and adjusted for straightness, then all of the octagonal surfaces would be filed flat by hand, before the rifling process would begin.
Looking at the “specifications” of the American Long Rifle, there was clearly an element of standardization by individual gunsmiths, where one might incorporate wood carving on the stock, and another might include brass and silver as the ornamentation. As demand increased, craftsmen bought in
Once the barrel had been straightened and reamed to the correct diameter, the rifling would begin, using manuallyoperated equipment which cut
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Development of The American Long Rifle - 4 various pre-made items, such as the proven English flintlock mechanisms, and carefully fitted them to their customers' rifles.
many .45” caliber long rifles would be re-bored and re-rifled to extend the life of the gun, and so accommodate slightly larger ammunition. Even so, they were still the most accurate long guns of their time.
The common features of an American Long Rifle were: Weight 8lbs, average; length 55”, average; caliber .45”, average; barrel rifling of 7 or 8 grooves at 1 turn in 48”; stock wood – Curly Maple common, with Walnut or Cherry alternatives, depending upon locale.
Amongst the other differences between the new American Long Rifles and the European smoothbores was one that, even today, stands out above all else: the absolute beauty of line of the New World rifles was never matched or even attempted. To refer to a tool of killing as “graceful” probably doesn't appear anywhere else in history, but these rifles were certainly both graceful and beautiful.
A particularly useful improvement over its European counterparts (whether rifle or musket) was the smaller bore and ball adopted by the New World rifle makers. Whereas a .75” caliber Brown Bess musket would fire a .71” diameter ball, the American gunsmiths were producing .45” caliber long rifles firing a slightly smaller diameter patched ball. The advantage is in the amount of lead used per kill: one .75” caliber musket ball would use roughly the same amount of lead as three .45” caliber long rifle balls. This was a great way to maximize lead supply, especially since each hunter had to carry his lead with him.
As a footnote, the “correct” term for these American rifles is still debated with some suggestion that, since they were ultimately manufactured in several States, they should be commonly referred to by their State of manufacture, e.g. “The Virginia Long Rifle”, or “The Tennessee Long Rifle”, which terms are in current use alongside “The American Long Rifle”. The “Pennsylvania Long Rifle” shown in the American Historic Arms' print, is just that: a rifle made in Pennsylvania.
After constant use and wear,
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Gunpowder : the plot thickens The early 14th century saw the use of some of the very first gunpowder weapons in Europe, by the English against the Scots in 1327 A.D., and by the English against the French at the Battle of Crécy 1346 A.D. The advancement of firearms would continue to be haphazard in the years to follow. Consider the development of Henry VIII's fleet of warships in the mid 16th century: fitted with the latest cannon to fire upon enemy vessels, yet carrying soldiers armed with traditional longbows. “Small arms” would evolve from the larger cannon, bombards and culverins. From 1642, the English Civil War saw the increased use of gunpowder by way of muskets in the form of matchlocks and flintlocks, pistols and cannon, but bladed weapons were still much in use. Simultaneous worldwide development and use continued apace with the major European powers exporting their knowledge and weapons to the New World: America!
As long ago as the 2nd century, early mixes of gunpowder were already being investigated in China, although the general consensus is that gunpowder was invented by accident in the mid9th century by Chinese monks looking for the secret of immortality, but it wasn't until much later, in the 12th century, that gunpowder was first noted as being used in a weapon of war, depicted as a small hand-held cannon. Perhaps during the 12th century, but certainly in the 13th, the secrets of gunpowder had arrived in Middle Eastern countries. It is probable that the Mongols introduced Europeans to gunpowder weapons in their invasion of Europe through Hungary in 1241 A.D., and also likely that they showed the effects of gunpowder weapons to India in the 13th and 14th centuries. Word travelled fast: in the mid13th century, an Englishman called Roger Bacon, who was a Franciscan friar and philosopher, wrote about the effects of gunpowder, and he almost certainly created his own gunpowder formula.
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