In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

MODEL 18O7 SPRINGFIELD INDIAN CARBINE A March 3, 1807, letter from Secretary of War Henry Dearborn to Superintendent Benjamin Prescott at Springfield Armory stated: "One thousand small muskets or carbines are wanted for the Indian Department." This letter also furnished general information regarding the configuration of the carbines. On March 30, Dearborn again wrote Prescott: "You willplease have twelve hundred of the small muskets manufactured." It is not known why Springfield Armory was selected to fabricate this single lot of Indian arms, when arms for the Indians had historically been procured by contract from Pennsylvania riflemakers. At the time of the March 1807 correspondence , the "Chesapeake incident" described in Section 151. had not yet occurred, nor had the 2,000 rifles and 2,000 pair ofpistols been ordered from the Pennsylvania gunmakers for the army. It is possible that because these carbines were smoothbore, they were within Springfield Armory's manufacturing capabilities , and therefore, it was decided to produce them there. This armory was unable to produce rifled arms until the mid-1850s, when it received rifling machinery from Frankford Arsenal. It is also possible that orders for other rifled arms from Pennsylvania riflemakers were contemplated in March of 1807. A "model" carbine was made at Springfield in 1807, and the fabrication of component parts also began that year. The first carbines were not completed until 1809. Very few, if any, of the 1,202 Model 1807 Springfield Indian carbines fabricated must have actually reached the Indians. An unknown quantity of these carbines, along with some short Springfield 1813 altered Model 1795 muskets, were issued to the cadets at West Point sometime prior to 1815. On January 15, 1815, Jonathan Morton of the Ordnance Department wroteRoswell Lee at Springfield Armory that the cadets preferred carbines to Springfield-altered muskets.These Indian carbines werealtered forcadet use,and are described later in this section. An 1830 inventory of the arms stored at Springfield Armory included 950 Model 1807 Indian carbines. This means that the Indian Department received no more than 252 carbines, less the unknown number of carbines altered and sent to West Point before 1815. As noted in Section 152.3, 321 Springfield Indian carbines were also altered for cadet use in 1830 and 1832. This would leave only 629 carbines on hand at Springfield at the end of 1832. Some carbines must have been returned to Springfield over the next few years, because, on August 19, 1848, Major Ripley at Springfield wrote to the chief of ordnance: "There remains at this Post 690 Carbines manufactured in 1808 or 1809 which I consider wholly unsuitable for 152.. MODEL 18O7 SPRINGFIELD INDIAN CARBINE 359 Public Service and I recommend the same be sold at public auction." Two years later, on September 26, 1850, Lieutenant Colonel Ripley wrote Chief of Ordnance George Talcott listing the obsolete arms at Springfield. The Indian carbines were not on this list, suggesting that they had been previously transferred or sold. MODEL, 18O7 SPRINGFIELD INDIAN CARBINE, ORIGINAL CONFIGURATION 152.11 GENERAL INFORMATION Caliber: .54* Overall Length: 481 /4". Finish: The barrel is browned. The lock is a dull blue-grey from hardening, and the springs and small screws are blued from heat treating. Brass Components: Butt plate, trigger guard, wrist escutcheon, side plate, ramrod thimbles, and front sight. Procurement: A total of 1,202 Indian carbines were fabricated at Springfield Armory. There is some disagreement among the various records as to the quarterly production, but the information here isbelieved to be correct. The "model" carbine made in 1807 is not included. Plate 152.1-A The Model 1807 Springfield Indian carbine was the only arm made at anational armory specifically in implementation ofthe federal government's Indian policies. Its general configuration was similar to that of the British fusils thought to be popular with the Indians. Less than one-fourth of the 1,200 carbines fabricated at Springfield were issued to Indians. 1809 January-March 50 April-June 220 July-September 120 October-December 210 Total 600 1810 January-March 211 April-June 140 July-September 250 October-December — Total 601 BARREL Length: 333 /4". Contour: Round, tapering in decreasing diameter to the flat-crowned muzzle. There are no breech side flats. The barrel is retained by three lateral pins, which pass through the forestock, and semicircular lugs dovetailed to the underside of the barrel. Muzzle Extension: V. Bore: Smooth, .530" to .540" diameter. Front Sight: The V' brass blade isbrazedto the barrel ll /i" behind the muzzle...

Share