Harpers Ferry Model 1803 - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/Harpers_Ferry_Model_1803

Harpers Ferry Model 1803

The Harper's Ferry Model 1803 rifle was the first standard rifle made by an American armory.
Harper's Ferry Model 1803 - (33" barrel,
49" overall.)

Contents
History
U.S. Model 1803 rifle, also called the Harper's
Design Features Ferry Model 1803. The rifle in the picture was
Variants for sale online for $17,500 in August 2009.
Early Production
Photo by Horsesoldier.com
First Production Run
(http://www.horsesoldier.com).
Second Production Run
Type Flintlock rifle
Lewis and Clark Controversy
Use
Place of origin United States

See also Service history

References In service 1803-?
Wars War of 1812, Mexican–
American War, US Civil War
History Production history
Rifles existed long before the 17th century, but were rarely used by military forces. In order to be effective, the round in a rifle had to fit snugly into the barrel. Manufacturer Harper's Ferry Armory
This would allow the round to grip the barrel's rifling as the weapon was fired, and the rifling would impart a spin onto the round which would make it more Produced 1803-06, 1814-19
stable and accurate. However, 16th and 17th century weapons were muzzle loaded, and the black powder that was used at the time would quickly foul the
No. built ~20,000
barrel. Rifles, with their tight fitting rounds, would quickly become unusable. Smooth bore muskets with looser fitting rounds were much less accurate, but did
not suffer from this problem. Armies therefore tended to favor smooth bore weapons. Variants Types 1-3
Specifications
The U.S. military did however take note of the accuracy of rifles. The accuracy of American long rifles like the Pennsylvania and Kentucky rifles far exceeded
Weight 9 lbs (4.082 kg)
that of any smooth bore weapon. Rifles would not replace muskets on the battlefield until the invention of the Minie Ball solved the problem of barrel fouling,
but prior to that, many rifles were used by U.S. forces. Barrel length 33" (838 mm)

The first rifles used were imported from foreign gun makers. In 1803, Secretary of War Henry Dearborn wrote about the utility of a short-barreled rifle, it Cartridge .525 (13.335 mm)
being easier to charge enemy positions with, and "less likely to foul by firing." He specified that the new rifle that should "not exceed 33 inches" and have a ball
Caliber .54 (13.716 mm)
"one-thirtieth of a pound weight, about .54 caliber."[1] Under Dearborn's direction, the war department issued an order for the new rifle on May 25, 1803.
Joseph Perkin, superintendent of the recently created Harper's Ferry Armory, was placed in charge of the design of the new rifle. Perkin and several other
Action Flintlock
armorers created several patterns from Dearborn's instructions, and in November 1803 these patterns were presented to the War Department. With a few Feed system Muzzle loaded
minor changes, one of these patterns was approved and became the Model 1803 rifle. Dearborn was so impressed that he complimented Perkin for submitting
such "an excellent pattern", and an order was placed for 2,000 rifles. Based on the rifle's success and performance, Dearborn later expanded the production from 2,000 to 4,000 rifles. In November 1805, Dearborn
also asked Perkin to create a horseman's pistol that was in many ways a scaled down version of the Model 1803 rifle.[2]

Dearborn and Perkin originally planned to produce 2,000 rifles per year. The rifle proved to be more difficult to produce than expected, due to mechanical difficulties as well as a large amount of handwork required
to finish each rifle. Production was also slowed by outbreaks of malaria in the summers of 1805 and 1806, which reduced the available manpower at Harpers Ferry. The order of 4,000 rifles was eventually completed
in 1807.

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A second production run was ordered in 1814. This production lasted until 1819, and a total of 15,703 rifles were produced at this time.

The Model 1803 was later replaced by the Model 1814 Common Rifle, the Model 1817 Common Rifle and the Model 1819, when it was decided that a more rugged weapon was needed.

Design Features
The Model 1803 used a flintlock firing mechanism.

The barrel of the Model 1803 was intentionally short. While this made the weapon less accurate than a long rifle like the Pennsylvania or Kentucky rifle, the shorter barrel did not suffer as much from loading
problems due to fouling. The barrel was octagon to round in shape, and was 33 inches in length, per Dearborn's specification. The weapon fired a .54 caliber round. Later rifles had a 36-inch barrel.

The stock was made out of walnut wood, and featured a well defined comb and a narrow wrist. The stock contained a brass patch box, and brass furniture was used throughout the rifle.

The rifle was 49 inches in length. Later rifles had a longer barrel, which increased their overall length to 52 inches.

Variants

Early Production
Some historians believe that a small number of early 1803 type rifles were produced for the Lewis and Clark expedition.[3] It is also possible that contract rifles of 1794 were modified at the arsenal at Harper's Ferry,
by shortening the barrels and reboring and rerifling them to .54 caliber. The records at the arsenal are not exact on the matter, as it appears the first 1803 prototype was produced six months after Lewis departed
Maryland. The later 1803 rifles had a slightly lighter barrel than the first production run version, and had other slight differences such as a thinner lock plate and a narrower trigger guard. The barrel was 36 inches in
length on the second version.

First Production Run

The first production run rifles had a 33-inch barrel. Early models had the bottom of the octagon portion of the barrel rounded. In 1805 this was changed and the bottoms were left octagonal, which resulted in a
slightly heavier barrel. The wood screws used were hand forged. All first production run rifles were given a serial number.

Second Production Run

Several minor changes were made for the second production run. The barrel length was increased to 36 inches. Minor changes were made to the trigger, and the lock plate and hammer were significantly modified.
The patch box was increased in size. All screws were machine made instead of hand forged. The second production run rifles were not given a serial number,

Lewis and Clark Controversy

The rifle was cited as being carried by Lewis and Clark on their expedition in a National Park Service pamphlet park-service by historian Carl P. Russell. He wrote that it is known "that Lewis picked up some of the
new Model 1803 rifles in preparation for the expedition."[4] Since then there has been controversy over that statement. Some have claimed that none of the 1803 rifles would have been available, and that the
expedition would have taken shortened U.S. Model 1792 or 1794 Contract Rifles.[5][6][7] Others have claimed that the expedition took pre-production rifles, prototypes for the Model 1803.[8][9] Still others think that
the 1792 contract rifles that the expedition modified and took were the inspiration for the rifles that became the Model 1803.[10]

Use
Regardless of its use by Lewis and Clark, the rifle was carried into battle at York during the War of 1812 by the men of the 1st U.S. Regiment of Rifles, led by Benjamin Forsyth. Leading the American landing, they
inflicted heavy casualties on the 8th Regiment of Foot, practically wiping out its grenadier company. It was presumably issued to the other companies of the Regiment, such as that under Daniel Appling. It would
thus have seen good service throughout many engagements, including the American victory at Big Sandy Creek. Also during the War of 1812, Harrison's scout Peter Navarre carried an 1803 rifle which is still in

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possession of the Toledo Public Library. Peter posed with the rifle in several photographs taken in preparation for his painted portrait by William Henry Machen which still hangs at the Toledo Public Library.[11] By
the time it was replaced by the Model 1817 and the Model 1819, the Model 1803 rifle had been carried by regular army troops throughout what would later become South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, New
Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas. It influenced the market so that smaller rifles became more common, and inspired civilian gunmakers, who made the plains rifles and mountain rifles, used in the west by
the mountain men and explorers and everywhere by civilians as sport rifles.[12]

See also
List of individual weapons of the U.S. Armed Forces

References Patchbox from a Harper's Ferry

1. Russell, Carl (1957). Guns on the Early Frontiers. Bonanza Books. p. 176. Model 1803. The idea was to keep
Flintlock from a Harper's Ferry precut patches handy, for loading
Model 1803. The date on the plate 2. "Harpers Ferry armory and the new technology: the challenge of change" By Merritt Roe Smith
the rifle. Soldiers needed patches to
says "Harper's Ferry 1815." The 3. "American Rifle: A Biography" By Alexander Rose put between black powder and the
Model 1803 was built through 1819. 4. Michael F. Carrick. "U.S. Model 1803 Prototype Rifle" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120426055018/http://asoac.org lead rifle ball. Photo by
Photo by Horsesoldier.com /bulletins/97_carrick_1803.pdf) (PDF). Archived from the original (http://asoac.org/bulletins/97_carrick_1803.pdf) (PDF) on Horsesoldier.com
(http://www.horsesoldier.com) 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-12-17. (http://www.horsesoldier.com)
5. Michael F. Carrick. "U.S. Model 1803 Prototype Rifle" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120426055018/http://asoac.org
/bulletins/97_carrick_1803.pdf) (PDF). Archived from the original (http://asoac.org/bulletins/97_carrick_1803.pdf) (PDF) on
2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
6. lewis-clark.org. "Army Rifles of 1800" (http://lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=2356). Retrieved
2011-12-17.
7. S. K. Wier. "Firearms of the Lewis and Clark Expedition" (http://www.westernexplorers.us
/Firearms_of_Lewis_and_Clark.pdf) (PDF). Retrieved 2011-12-17.
8. Michael F. Carrick. "U.S. Model 1803 Prototype Rifle" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120426055018/http://asoac.org
/bulletins/97_carrick_1803.pdf) (PDF). Archived from the original (http://asoac.org/bulletins/97_carrick_1803.pdf) (PDF) on
2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
9. lewis-clark.org. "Army Rifles of 1800" (http://lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=2356). Retrieved
2011-12-17.
10. S. K. Wier. "Firearms of the Lewis and Clark Expedition" (http://www.westernexplorers.us
/Firearms_of_Lewis_and_Clark.pdf) (PDF). Retrieved 2011-12-17.
11. Lloyd, Marshall. "Peter Navarre Homepage" (http://mlloyd.org/gen/navarre/peter.html). Mlloyd.org. Retrieved 23 September
2016.
12. Russell, Carl (1957). Guns on the Early Frontiers. Bonanza Books. p. 181.

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