The Tabatière rifle was a breech-loading rifle of the French Army .
46-722: The Tabatière system was developed from 1864 as a way to convert numerous muzzle-loading weapons (usually Minié rifles ) into breech-loading ones, in a process similar to that of the Snider-Enfield in Great Britain, Wänzl rifle in Austria, and the Springfield Model 1866 in the United States. The name "Tabatière" comes from the fact that the breech-loading mechanism looked like a snuff box . Most of
92-530: A breech-loading mechanism reminiscent of a snuff box , and became known as Tabatière (snuff-box) rifles . Soon after, the breech-loading Chassepot system was adopted by the French army. Springfield Armory The Springfield Armory , more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield located in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts , was the primary center for
138-474: A decisive role in the American Civil War , producing most of the weaponry used by Union troops which, in sum, outpaced Confederate firearm production by a ratio of 32 to 1. American historian Merritt Roe Smith has posited that advancements in machine manufacturing which allowed the facility to increase production capacity by more than 25 fold, from 9,601 rifles in 1860 to 276,200 in 1864, served as
184-402: A friction wheel that followed the contours of the metal rifle pattern, and the cutting wheel that imitated the movements of the friction wheel to make an exact replica of the pattern in wood. In the 1840s the old flintlock gave way to a percussion ignition system that increased the reliability and simplicity of longarms. The Springfield Armory was largely involved in the growth and influence of
230-545: A high bluff like a citadel, overlooking a wide stretch of the Connecticut River, at its confluence with the Westfield River . General Knox concurred with Washington that "the plain just above Springfield is perhaps one of the most proper spots on every account" for the location of an arsenal. In 1777, patriot colonists established "The Arsenal at Springfield" to manufacture cartridges and gun carriages for
276-718: A highly modified version of the M1 Garand. The M14 was produced from 1959 to 1964 and was the U.S. Army's primary combat rifle until being replaced by the M16 rifle gradually from 1964 to 1970. The M14 has evolved over the years into a more modern sniper rifle—the M21 . By the time the U.S. was involved in the Vietnam War , Springfield Armory developed not only rifles but machine guns for ground and air use, grenade launchers , and associated equipment. Many weapons were not manufactured at
322-567: A precursor to the mass production of the Second Industrial Revolution and 20th century assembly line production. The numerous firearm models produced at the Springfield Armory from 1794 to 1968 are referred to as "Springfield muskets and rifles ". Local and colonial militia used the bluff on which the Springfield Armory would become located during the 17th century for militia training, particularly after
368-659: A soldier and his knapsack and still kill anyone standing behind him, even killing every person in a line of 15. The Minié rifle saw limited distribution in the Crimean War and similar rifles using Minié bullets (such as the Pattern 1853 Enfield , the Springfield Model 1861 and the Lorenz rifle ) were the dominant infantry weapons in the American Civil War . The large-caliber, easily deformed conical lead bullets, ranging in diameter from .54 to .58 inches (14-18mm), combined with
414-689: A week without cleaning or lubrication." Further testament to the M1s role in combat was given by another well-respected military officer, General George S. Patton, Jr. , who reported to the Army Ordnance Department on January 26, 1945, "In my opinion, the M1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised." The last small arm developed by the Armory was the M14 rifle , which was, essentially,
460-549: The Attack on Springfield during King Philip's War . In 1777, during the American Revolutionary War , George Washington scouted and approved the site of the Springfield Armory, after it was referred to him by General Henry Knox , his artillery chief. Although a small town at the time, Springfield, Massachusetts , offered obvious geographical advantages—it lay at the intersection of three rivers (including
506-613: The Chasseurs d' Orléans and Henri-Gustave Delvigne . The bullet was designed to allow rapid muzzle loading of rifles and was an innovation that brought about the widespread use of the rifle as the main battlefield weapon for individual soldiers. The French adopted it following difficulties encountered by the French army in North Africa , where their muskets were overtaken in range by long-barreled weapons which were handcrafted by their Algerian opponents. The Minié rifle belonged to
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#1732772138611552-597: The Industrial Revolution . Much of this grew out of the military's fascination with interchangeable parts , which was based on the theory that it would be easier to simply replace firearm parts than make battlefield repairs. Mass production of truly interchangeable parts demanded greater use of machines, improved gauging, quality control, and division of labor; all characteristics of the Industrial Revolution. From these individual components,
598-637: The Rock Island Arsenal was established in 1862. During this time production ramped up to unprecedented levels ever seen in American manufacturing up until that time, with only 9,601 rifles manufactured in 1860, rising to a peak of 276,200 by 1864. These advancements would not only give the Union a decisive technological advantage over the Confederacy during the war but served as a precursor to
644-471: The smoothbore musket commonly using the buck and ball was the only practical field weapon. Rifled muskets had been in use since the Renaissance , but they required hammering projectiles with a ramrod and mallet into the bore of the barrel, and also created considerable cleaning problems. The short-lived " carabine à tige " system used a pin at the bottom of the barrel which deformed the bullet against
690-479: The Armory and wrote his poem "The Arsenal at Springfield." The anti-war poem described the rows of finished guns, by that point 1,000,000 stockpiled there, stored vertically in open racks: "Like a huge organ, rise the burnished arms." With the destruction of the Harpers Ferry Armory early in the American Civil War , the Springfield Armory was briefly the only government manufacturer of arms, until
736-571: The Armory, but plans and specifications were drawn up for the use of private contractors who built them elsewhere, representing an economic shift toward the American private arms industry. In 1968, the Springfield Armory was closed. Outer portions of the armory were sold off, including the "Water Shops" production facilities, which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Water Shops Armory . The core site
782-658: The Revolutionary War. He had the cannons sent to a local foundry to be melted down. The foundry kept some of the iron as payment, and the remainder was cast into 9-foot palings, formed as pikes and spearheads which were then sunk into a red sandstone base. During the Spanish–American War , it was recognized that the Spanish Mauser Model 1893 , exhibited characteristics superior to the "trapdoor" Springfield and Krag–Jørgensen rifles carried by
828-903: The Springfield Armory produced the new nation's first musket - the Model 1795 Musket which was largely patterned after the French Charleville musket which had armed the French army during the American Revolution . The Armory played a major role in providing weapons for the American Army during the War of 1812 . Its monthly reports to the War Department are online, and they indicate it made 9588 new muskets in 1814 and repaired 5190 old ones that year. It several times reported that its funding had been delayed. Fueled by
874-410: The Springfield Armory was defended by state militia, who fired grapeshot at the rebels, forcing them to flee. This confrontation proved decisive, as Shays' Rebellion was crushed soon thereafter, and some of its participants tried for treason. Shays' Rebellion directly influenced the delegates at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Washington cited it as his reason for coming out of retirement. During
920-460: The Springfield Armory, the City of Springfield quickly became a national center for invention and development. In 1819 Thomas Blanchard developed a special lathe for the consistent mass production of rifle stocks. Thomas Blanchard worked at Springfield Armory for 5 years. The lathe enabled an unskilled workman to quickly and easily turn out identical irregular shapes. The large drum turned two wheels:
966-559: The United States troops. On August 15, 1900, Springfield Armory completed an experimental magazine rifle which they believed to be an improvement over the Krag. They fashioned a clip loading magazine rifle in which the cartridges were contained within the stock, preventing damage to an otherwise exposed magazine. It was approved for production in as the Model 1903 . Mauser later sued for patent infringement and won royalties from Springfield. By
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#17327721386111012-433: The United States' primary arsenal during the American Revolutionary War , and then as the scene of a confrontation during Shays' Rebellion , the Springfield Armory in the 19th and 20th centuries became the site of numerous technological innovations of global importance, including interchangeable parts , the assembly line style of mass production , and modern business practices, such as hourly wages. The facility would play
1058-407: The additional 47,251 rifles produced by the Rock Island Arsenal and the weapons already in service, were enough to supply the war effort. During World War I the Springfield Armory produced ≈25,000 M1911 pistols before all facilities were dedicated to production of M1903 rifles . In 1919, when John Garand was 31, he came to Springfield, where he worked to develop a semi-automatic rifle . Over
1104-545: The armory. His father Capt. John Ames was a blacksmith who had provided guns to the Colonial army. In 1786 and 1787, American Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays led an armed, populist uprising that attempted to overthrow the Government of Massachusetts . On January 25, 1787, thousands of Shays' Regulators marched on the Springfield Armory, hoping to seize its weaponry and force a change of government. That day
1150-582: The arsenal expanded to a second area south and west in Springfield, where water power was available. Around that time, the Mill River was dammed to form a mile-long lake called Watershops Pond . The main shops were behind the dam and a foundry was built below it. This factory was modernized, and the greater part of machining for Springfield and Garand rifles was conducted in it. President George Washington appointed David Ames as first superintendent of
1196-492: The category of rifled muskets . The rifle used a conical-cylindrical shaped soft lead bullet, slightly smaller than the barrel bore, with three exterior grease-filled peripheral grooves and a conical hollow in its base . When fired, the expanding gas forcibly pushed on the skirted base of the bullet, spreading it to engage the rifling. This provided spin for accuracy, a better seal for consistent velocity and longer range, and cleaning of barrel detritus. Before this innovation ,
1242-429: The closure of the U.S. Army Springfield Armory in 1968, the L. H. Gun Co. of Devine, Texas , was renamed Springfield Armory, Inc. to capitalize on the name recognition. There is no affiliation or licensing between the original Springfield Armory and Springfield Armory, Inc., despite a timeline on the commercial website of the latter that includes the history of the former. The company's products include M1911 pistols and
1288-413: The concept of the assembly line was devised. The Springfield Armory also contributed to improved business management techniques. Colonel Roswell Lee, hired as superintendent in 1815, brought centralized authority, cost accounting for payroll, time, and materials, and increased discipline to a manufacturing environment—all business practices still in use today. In 1843, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow visited
1334-539: The conversion work had been accomplished by the time of the Franco-Prussian War . By July 1870, roughly 358,000 rifles had been converted, while 1.4 million muzzleloaders stayed in their original configuration. The ammunition was a center fire cartridge closely resembling a shortened 12 gauge shotgun shell. This weapon system was recognized as ballistically inferior to the Chassepot rifle, therefore it
1380-618: The debates over the U.S. Constitution, in encouraging a stronger Federal government, James Madison cautioned the attendees that "the rebellion in Massachusetts is a warning, gentlemen." In 1793, the National Arsenal contained brass ordnance, howitzers , traveling carriages, shot strapt, canisters filled, quilted grape, iron shot, shells, powder, musket ball , cylinders, caps, paper cartridges, fuzes filled, muskets , swords, various military stores, and implements. In 1795,
1426-469: The earliest years of the 1913–1915 automobile assembly line, indirectly due to mass production manufacturing advancements pioneered by the armory 50 years earlier. In 1865, Master Armorer Erskine Allin introduced the "Allin Conversion," which incorporated the far more advanced design of breech-loading into the now-obsolete muzzleloaders , thereby extending their service life. In 1891 a new function
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1472-590: The entire production history of the M1 rifle, the Springfield Armory produced over 4.5 million of them. The M1's accuracy and durability in battle earned it high praise. General Douglas MacArthur reported on the M1 to the Ordnance Department during heavy fighting on Bataan that "Under combat conditions it operated with no mechanical defects and when used in foxholes did not develop stoppages from dust or dirt. It has been in almost constant action for as much as
1518-494: The high-speed spin from the rifling, created terrible wounds. The Pattern 1851 Minié rifle was in use by the British Army from 1851 to 1855. 34,000 of the guns were made under the formal name of Regulation Minié rifle. The rifle was .702 caliber with the intent that in emergency it could fire musket balls. In practice it was found that only about 12 could be fired before it became impossible to reload. The Minié system
1564-766: The legacy of technological innovation at the Springfield Armory site. The Main Arsenal Building and the Commanding Officer's Quarters were extensively renovated by Eastern General Contractors of Springfield, Massachusetts between 1987 and 1991. The Main Arsenal now houses the Springfield Armory Museum, which includes the Benton Small Arms Collection, one of the largest collections of weaponry. Following
1610-427: The major Connecticut River ), and four major roads headed toward New York City, Boston, Albany, and Montreal. Additionally, Springfield is located just north of the Connecticut River's first waterfall ( Enfield Falls ), which is too steep to be navigated by ocean-going vessels. Thus, Springfield was the first town on the Connecticut River protected from attack by seafaring naval vessels. The Armory site itself sits atop
1656-547: The manufacture of United States military firearms from 1777 until its closing in 1968. It was the first federal armory and one of the first factories in the United States dedicated to the manufacture of weapons. The site is preserved as the Springfield Armory National Historic Site , Western Massachusetts ' only unit of the national park system . It features the world's largest collection of historic American firearms. Famous first as
1702-472: The mass production manufacturing that contributed to the post-war Second Industrial Revolution and 20th century machine manufacturing capabilities. American historian Merritt Roe Smith has drawn comparisons between the early assembly machining of the Springfield rifles and the later production of the Ford Model T , with the latter having considerably more parts, but producing a similar numbers of units in
1748-645: The muzzle-loading Minié rifle became obsolete in 1864 as the Danish foundered, equipped with Minié rifles, against the Prussians, who had the innovative early bolt-action Dreyse rifles. Later, in the Austro-Prussian War , the Prussians again defeated their enemy in the form of the Austrians who were also equipped with Minié rifles. In France, the existing Minié rifles were then retooled to accommodate
1794-413: The next five years many designs were submitted for the rifle, but none met the army's rigid specifications. In 1924, Garand offered a design that was approved for further testing. This was the famous M1, or " Garand rifle " as it came to be known. The army adopted the rifle in 1936, and production began the next year. This began what was to become the greatest production effort in the armory's history: during
1840-515: The time that the United States entered World War I , approximately 843,239 standard service Model 1903 rifles had been manufactured. However, this was insufficient to arm U.S. troops for an undertaking of the magnitude of World War I. During the war Springfield Armory produced over 265,620 Model 1903 rifles. In addition, the War Department contracted for production of the M1917 Enfield Rifle to help aid American troops. These, along with
1886-481: The wall of the barrel when the bullet was pushed to the bottom. This system was very problematic for cleaning, especially with the black powders of the period. A test in Vincennes in 1849 demonstrated that at 15 yards the bullet was able to penetrate two boards of poplar wood, each two-thirds of an inch thick and separated by 20 inches. Soldiers of the time spread rumors that at 1,200 yards the bullet could penetrate
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1932-645: The war effort. During the Revolution, the arsenal stored muskets, cannon, and other weapons. Patriots built barracks, shops, storehouses, and a magazine. Some doubt exists that the colonists manufactured arms during the Revolutionary War. After the war, the Army kept the facility to store arms for future needs. By the 1780s, the Springfield Arsenal functioned as a major ammunition and weapons arsenal. Some time later, when manufacturing became important,
1978-691: Was also used extensively by various manufacturers, such as Springfield (the Springfield Model 1861 ) and Enfield (the Pattern 1853 Enfield ). Minié rifles were also used extensively in the Boshin War (1868–1869) in Japan, where they had an important role in tipping the balance against the Tokugawa forces in encounters such as the Battle of Toba–Fushimi . In the Second Schleswig War ,
2024-508: Was assigned to the Armory—it became the army's main laboratory for the development and testing of new small arms. One of the most distinctive elements of the Armory is the fence surrounding the site, which was started after the Civil War and completed in 1890. Unable to find funding for the purchase of a fence, Major James W. Ripley requested obsolete cannons from government storage, some from
2070-598: Was preserved and the property was turned over to the city and state. It is now the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, and is managed and operated by the National Park Service . As of 2011, the 35 acres behind the Springfield Armory (and several of its former buildings) housed Springfield Technical Community College (STCC). STCC is the only "technical" community college in Massachusetts, which aims to continue
2116-611: Was used by second line troops and in defensive roles. These are commonly encountered today as "Zulu Guns", after rifles were converted into shotguns and sold cheaply in the late 1800s. Mini%C3%A9 rifle The Minié rifle was an important infantry rifle of the mid-19th century. A version was adopted in 1849 following the invention of the Minié ball in 1847 by the French Army captain Claude-Étienne Minié of
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