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MODEL 1795 SPRINGFIELD MUSKET, 1813 SPRINGFIELD ARMORY ALTERATION Plate 133.-A An inspection of arms in storage at Springfield revealed that many of the muskets with bayonets soldered to their muzzles were unserviceable because the bayonets had become loose. In order to restore these arms to serviceability , more than 7,000 muskets were shortened by 12" at the muzzle in 1813. The middle barrel band was discarded and the original upper bands and springs were refitted. A wide "U"-shaped upper sling swivel was suspended from a lateral machine screw about 10" behind the muzzle. As mentioned in the previous section, a Springfield Armory inventory of April 17, 1813, included 12,915 muskets that had bayonets permanently attached bypewter solder. This inventory also disclosed that many ofthose muskets were unserviceable because the bayonets had loosened, due to deterioration of the pewter solder. On July 13, 1813, Secretary of War John Armstrong wrote to Benjamin Prescott, superintendent of Springfield Armory, "Gen'l Dearborn has given orders to shorten the arms at Springfield." On October 6, 1813, John Chaffee, military storekeeper at Springfield, wrote Colonel Decius Wadsworth, commissary general of Ordnance: "Sir, The Short Muskets are made by cutting off 12 inches of the Barrels of the Muskets which had bayonets soldered on." In 1813, 7,042 muskets were shortened. The barrels of these muskets are slightly less than 33" long. Not all of the muskets shortened originally had fixed bayonets; there are two known examples dated 1811, several years after the practice of soldering bayonets to barrels had been discontinued. Several hundred short muskets were sent to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point forthe useofthe cadets. A March 11,1814, letter from Henry Sechles of Springfield, Massachusetts, to Callender Irvine stated that the secretary ofwar had ordered "Three hundred short muskets fitted with bayonets and forwarded to West Point." Sechles was fabricating the bayonets for these and for other muskets being repaired at the armory at that time. On January 15,1815, Jonathan Morton at the academy wrote Colonel Roswell Lee at Springfield stating: "The Cadets have objected to these Arms, preferringCarbines." It appears that these muskets were returned to Springfield Armory. In 1815, 6,042 1813-altered muskets were sold to William Crammond, who took possession of them between November 24, 1815, and January 15, 1816. They were described as"Short Arms" in the sales records. Subsequent correspon133 . MODEL 1795 SPRINGFIELD MUSKET, 1813 ALTERATION 61 dence indicates that he resold 3,000 of them to "Messrs. Palmer & Hamiliton of New York," believed to be merchants. Springfield Armory retained 1,000 short muskets for possible navy use. However, few if any were issued to the navy. Five hundred and sixty of these muskets were sold at public auction of "refuse and unserviceable articles" at Springfield in 1828 for $2.30 each. During the April-June quarter of 1816, ninety-four additional musketswere shortened to 33" barrel. In the July-September quarter of the same year, another thirty-two muskets were shortened, for a total of 126. It is not known why these additional muskets were shortened. SPECIFICATIONS The specifications given here are only those that differ from the standard Model 1795 musket. Note that two different lower sling swivel locations have been observed. Overall Length: 463 /4" to 47l /i". Barrel: Length: 32V to 32V* Bayonet Lug: The V by Vie" rectangular lug isbrazedto the top of the barrel l3 /s" to !5 /s"behind the muzzle. Stock Length: 42V to 433 /8". Barrel Bands: This arm usesonly the upper and lower bands ofthe regulation Model 1795 musket. Barrel Band Spacing: Breech to Lower Band: HV. Lower Band to Upper Band: 14V'. Sling Swivels: Upper: The "U"-shaped, English-style swivel is suspended from a lateral machine screw that passes from right to left through the stock and by a semicircular lug that ismortised and brazedto the underside of the barrel, 10V behind the muzzle. Lower: Type I: Riveted to a vertical stud that passes upward through the front extension of the trigger guard, forward of the bow, as was standard for the Model 1795 (Type I) musket. Type II: Retained by a screw passing from right to left through an arched lug similar to that noted previously,but the lug islocated P/i6" to IV behind the rear extension of the trigger guard and is screwed into the stock. ...

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