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MODEL 1819 HALL BREECHLOADING RIFLE 166. The Model 1819 Hall rifle wasthe first regulation breechloading arm adopted by this country and was also the first breechloading arm made at a national armory. It was also the first U.S. military shoulder arm to achieve true parts interchangeability. Various writers in the field have divided the Model 1819 Hall rifle into various production "types." Some have based this division on the style of barrel band retainers used; others have based it on the receiver markings. I will make no such attempt, but will describe the changes that were incorporated in the rifle during its production period. Plate 166.^A Model 1819 Hall breechloading rifles fabricated at Harpers FerryArmory in 1824 and 1826 and produced under federal contract by Simeon North have barrel band retaining springs. These werethe first armswith fully interchangeable components produced at a national armory and also by a federal contractor. These rifles were manufactured at Harpers FerryArmory and under contract by Simeon North of Middletown, Connecticut. All of the rifles delivered by North were the same configuration as the rifles fabricated at Harpers Ferry in 1826. None of the later improvements were incorporated into the North-made rifles. It isa testimonial to the genius of Hall and North that, with the exception of subsequent improvements, the components of the North contract rifles will interchange with those of the Harpers Ferry rifles. North was the first private manufacturer in the United States to accomplish large-scale production of shoulder arms with fully interchangeable parts. Plate 166.-B The barrel bands of Model 1819 Hall breechloading rifles fabricated at Harpers Ferry Armory from 1831 are retained by lateral pins. 466 AMERICAN MILITARY SHOULDER ARMS, VOL. II CONGRESSIONAL PRESENTATION RIFLES During the War of 1812, the British thrust southward from Canada into New York along a similar route to that used by General John Burgoyne in 1777. In August 1814, General George Prevost commanded an army of 10,000 men that advanced down the west side ofLakeChamplain towardNew YorkCity. Prevost also had a fleet on the lake, which was successfully opposed by the Americans under Commodore Thomas Macdonnough. As Prevost advanced on the village of Plattsburgh,New York, he wasopposed by only 1,400 New York and Vermont militia commanded by General Alexander Macomb. On September 3, in anticipation of an imminent attack on Plattsburgh, a group of seventeen boys in their mid-teens formed themselves into a volunteer company. They elected one of their members, Martin Aiken, captain, and Azariah Flagg, lieutenant. They called themselves "Aiken's Volunteers." On September 5 they offered to put themselves under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Apling of the U.S. Rifle Corps. Apling stated that they would have to "consent to be consolidated and incorporated with his troops and submit to the same rules and regulations." The company declined. The boys joined up with militia forces on the following day, and muskets were provided for the members who didn't have them. They first saw action that day near Beckmantown. The company was part of the militia forces actively involved in the fighting during the following three days, and on September 11 they wereamong the militia forces who successfully opposed Prevost's major assault across the Saranac River, south of Plattsburgh. During that night, the British, having lost the naval campaign on the lake, broke camp and began their retreat to Canada. They abandoned large quantities of stores, and their sick and wounded, to the Americans. Following the battle, General Macomb promised each of the boysa new rifle from the government. This gift was later approved by the secretary of war. In his report to Congress, Macomb specifically cited this company for gallantry. The appropriation for the rifles required a congressional act. It wasn't until 1822 that the House of Representatives passed a joint resolution to award the seventeen rifles. This resolution was postponed by the Senate and was not enacted until May 20, 1826. The army held a presentation ceremony at Plattsburgh in late 1829, fifteen years after the battle. Only six of Aiken's Volunteers were present to receive their rifles. Various sources indicate that most, but perhaps not all,of the other rifles were subsequently awarded to the eleven members of the company who were not present at the ceremony. Seventeen Model 1819 Hall breechloading rifles made in 1824 were fitted with plaques for presentation to the men. The semicircular silver plaque inlet into the right side of the...

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