At the latter end of 1860, a short paragraph “went the round of the papers,” to the effect that a new rifle had been patented by an Edinburgh gunmaker. It was further stated that the inventor had, in a recent trial of his rifle, scored as many as eight points out of six shots at 1100 yards, the first shot being a miss, and the remaining five being made, up of three centres and two outers. To say that this statement took the whole rifle world – makers and marksmen, by surprise, would give but a faint idea of the effect produced.
Author: Research Press
The Henry Rifle
Alexander Henry’s Patent for barrels is number 2802, dated 15 November 1860. In brief the patent abridgement reads: “The rifled bore is of polygonal cross-section, and is provided, in addition, with curved, square, or angular spiral projections or grooves, so as to increase the bearing points of the projectile.”
Alexander Henry, Edinburgh, Scotland
INDEX. Alexander Henry (1818-1894) was an Edinburgh gunmaker of muzzle and breech loading rifles including the Henry Fraser two position rifle. Henry’s rifling was famously used on the Martini-Henry rifle, adopted by the British Army.
Creedmoor and the International Rifle Matches
To trace the origins of the Creedmoor rifle range one needs to go back to the immediate post Civil War years in America. Understandably, at the time there was little interest in marksmanship or military matters from the general public, and although the US National Guard received plenty of drill and marching instruction there was scant, if any, marksmanship training. The impetus for the development of marksmanship skills within America’s National Guard units came from the pages of the Army and Navy Journal. The editor was William Church, and a kindred spirit was George Wingate, whose “Manual for Rifle Practice” appeared in six instalments in the Journal in late 1870 and early 1871. Reprinted in book form in a number of editions the manual became the standard work upon which rifle practice was developed in America.
Territorial Regiments
In 1881 the British Army was reorganised into territorial regiments with regular, militia and volunteer battalions.
19thC Muzzle Loader Range Box
For the long range rifleman shooting black powder in muzzle loading rifles, one of the critical factors for accuracy is consistent weight of powder charges. William Metford wrote about this in his notes on the management of the muzzle loading match rifle. Correspondence on this matter will also be found in contemporary newspapers; Horatio Ross referred to it in ‘Hints for Long Range Riflemen’. So how did the enthusiastic rifleman get his carefully weighed charges to the range?
Whitworth: Rifle No. C529
Whitworth rifle no. C529 is an example of the rare Confederate telescope mounted sharpshooter rifles. The brass tube Davidson telescope was adjusted for elevation by turning the knurled knob on the right side of the forearm.
County Precedence
Following the sanctioning by the Government of the formation of Volunteer Corps, on 12 May 1859, there was an immediate rush of volunteering. The date on which the first company in a county was formed determined County precedence.
War Office, Pall Mall, May 12, 1859
On 12 May 1859 the Government issued a circular sanctioning the formation of Volunteer Corps. The date on which the first company of Volunteers was formed within a county determined the county precedence. In 1881 the British Army was reorganised into territorial regiments with regular, militia and volunteer battalians.
Enfield Rifle Team Shooting: Bristol vs Staffordshire
By the mid-1860s the Volunteer Movement in Great Britain was well established and rifle shooting, thanks also to the establishment in 1859 of the National Rifle Association, had become a popular pastime. On 8 April 1865 there was a hugely supported ‘simultaneous Enfield rifle match’ fired. Volunteer Battalions and/or Companies throughout the country had opportunity to compete, shooting on their own ranges and submitting scores.
The British Volunteer System
In its infancy the Volunteer Force was hardly worthy to be called “organisation.” A large number of enthusiastic civilians of all classes enrolled themselves under officers who, for the most part, had little or no military training, and drilled and equipped themselves in isolated companies. Drill went on in every town in England and Scotland. With time, the days passed when the volunteers were alternately inflated by exaggerated praise or depressed by scorn and ridicule. They took their place as auxiliary to the regular army, anxious only to prepare themselves for the duties which would be assigned to them in case of emergency, and desiring to act up to their motto of “Defense, not defiance.”
The Gibbs-Metford Rifle
The 1865 Cambridge Cup match in Great Britain, which comprised two days shooting at 1,000 and 1,100 yards, fifteen shots at each range each day, was won by Sir Henry Halford using a Gibbs-Metford match rifle. The Times of 15 June 1865 had this to say of the rifle: “The weapon with which the prize was won, will, it is said, create some stir among those interested in small-bore and long-range shooting, being on entirely new principles.”