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JENNINGS MULTI-CHARGE RIFLE The Jennings rifle was based on a sliding lock repeating flintlock rifle invented by Joseph Belton at the time of the American Revolution. In 1784, Belton went to London and unsuccessfully tried to interest the British Ordnance in his repeating arm. The musket used in the trials was subsequentlytransferred to Woolwich and wasin the Rotunda Museumthere until after the third quarter of the 19th century. The descriptions and drawings of this musket (which is described in Volume I of this work) indicate that it wasa seven-shot musket with a sliding lock and confirm its similarityto the musket that would be patented in the United States by Isaiah Jennings forty years later. On September 2,1821, IsaiahJennings received a patent for an improvement on the Belton repeating gun. This improvement is believed to have related to the automatic primingsystem. Reuben Ellis apparently became interested in these rifles. Ellis operated a patent gun manufactory in New York City between 1808 and 1826. Thereafter, he acted as an agent or contractor. A February 18, 1823, article in the Pittsburgh Mercury described government tests "a few weeks since" of repeating muskets, fowling pieces, and pistols containing from three to ten charges, and of the sliding lock design. These arms were presented by Reuben Ellis. CONTRACT INFORMATION Under the U.S. Militia Act of 1808, the federal government undertook to supply the militias of the several states with arms and equipment. Each state received an annual allotment of military items. The State of New Yorkwished to receive these repeating flintlock rifles in lieu of some of the muskets under its annual allotment from the federal government, and the Ordnance Department agreed. A State of New York legislative act of April 21, 1828, authorized the receipt of these Jennings rifles in lieu of one-half of that year's regular allotment of muskets due the state from the federal government. Four days later, on April 25, 1828, the Ordnance Department entered into a contract with Reuben Ellis to supply520 of these Jennings rifles. The rifles were "to be upon the principles of Jennings repeating firearms, with the sliding self priming lock the barrelsshall conform exactly,both in length and in diameter of bore, to the [Model 1817] rifle barrels now made for the Service of the U States." In addition, the rifles were to be delivered on or before December 1, 1829, to the commissarygeneral of the State ofNew York.They were not to cost more than $25 each. There is a memorandum attached to the contract in Ordnance Department records in the U.S. Archives that states: "It isunderstood 163.. JENNINGS MULTI-CHARGE RIFLE 455 and agreed by the parties to the above agreement, that the rifles to be delivered . .. shall each be made to receive at least 4 charges." Jennings Multi^Charge Rifle Delivery Information U.S. Inspectionof Complete Rifles Date Quantity Delivery to New York State's Commissary General Date Quantity Payment Authorized Amount June 30, 1829 200 June 30, 1829 200 July 8, 1829 $ 5,025 Sept 16, 1829 160 Sept. 21, 1829 160 Sept 21, 1829 4,020 Oct. 17, 1829 160 Oct. 22, 1829 161 Oct. 22, 1829 4,045 Totals 520 521 $13,090 Five hundred twenty-one rifles were accepted and paid for. The last rifle credited was the pattern rifle supplied by Reuben Ellis. Only the first payment of $5,025 was made to Reuben Ellis. The last two payments were to William Johnson, of 306 Pearl Street, New York City. These payments to Johnson were made by the Ordnance Department at the request of Reuben Ellis, who stated that the firm ofR. & J. D.Johnson had requested him to "transfer the [contract] papers." Correspondence from Reuben Ellis to the Ordnance Department, from November 10,1828, to October 19,1829, refers to the firm of R. &J. D. Johnson of Middletown, Connecticut, as the maker of the Jennings rifles.1 From this same correspondence, it appears that U.S. Inspector JustinMurphy inspected the first two deliveries, totaling 360 rifles, and that U.S. Inspector Asabel Hubbard inspected the last delivery of 161 rifles. The specificationsshow that the Jennings rifle wasvirtuallyidentical to the U.S. Model 1817 rifle, with the exception of the sliding lock assembly and the addition ofthe vents and flash plate to the barrel.Contrary to what some authors have written, the Jennings rifle was not altered from existing Model 1817 rifles; this can readily be determined, as this rifle has no provision for...

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