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

John H. Krider Background  324. John H. Krider Sr. began making arms in 1826. In 1837, he established his sporting goods business named Sportsman’s Depot on the northeast corner of Second Street and Walnut Street in Philadelphia. By the mid-1850s, the business included the sale and repair of arms and flasks, and the sale of a wide variety of sporting items such as fishing tackle, knives, dog muzzles, black gunpowder , targets, and items needed for the taxidermy of birds. The new arms sold included imported arms as well as those of Sharps, Deringer, Colt, and those of his own make. Some of the new rifles and shotguns made in Krider’s shop were of the highest quality and finish. Generally, most of his arms were in the $20.00 to $50.00 price range; some were as expensive as $150.00. Krider’s ledgers and journals include the Philadelphia Navy Yard as a customer ; in addition to small sales of “sundry” items, he repaired bayonet scabbards and muskets for the Navy Yard before the Civil War. Beginning in May 1861, he produced several hundred new bayonet scabbards. He also made 120 cartridge boxes for the Navy Yard the following month. Krider also repaired 80 muskets for a local militia unit, “The Philadelphia Greys,” in 1860. The census of “Manufactures of the United States in 1860” stated that the Krider firm had 27 employees and $25,000.00 in annual sales. This census differentiated between “manufacturers” and “assemblers,” and listed Krider in the latter category. After the outbreak of the Civil War, the store was operated by John Krider Jr., John Krider Sr. is referred to in the firm’s records as a “suttler.” It is believed that John Krider Sr., sold a variety of military and personal items to militia in the Philadelphia area, similar to the modern “post exchange.” In August 1861, Krider sold one “Union rifle” to a Mr. C. M. Mancourt. One year later, he sold 100 “Union rifles” to New York merchants Cooper & Pond, at $13.75 each. It is not known whether these “Union rifles” were the Cosmopolitan breechloading rifles and carbines patented in 1859 by Henry Gross, or whether “Union rifle” was simply a patriotic name Krider used to identify muzzleloading arms of his own make. The Krider records indicate that the firm sold 700 blank cartridges to a man identified only as “Captain Starr” in June 1861. Another 400 ball cartridges were sold to Captain Starr the following month. In November of that year, a militia unit identified as the Fourth Regiment Reserve Brigade purchased cartridges and caps for a total of $123.82. A single lot of 7,000 cartridges of unknown caliber was sold to the Barthalow Cartridge Company in September 1862. Although not included in the Krider records examined, records of the City of Philadelphia’s appropriations for the defense of the city state show that three purchases of ammunition, totaling $442.37, were made from Krider during 1861. Non-Armory-Pattern Muzzleloading Arms 387 Beginning in January 1862, the Krider firm sold large quantities of cartridges to George J. Richardson and William W. Overman. Although this ammunition was not identified in the firm’s records, Richardson & Overman was the firm that sold Gallegher carbines and their ammunition to the federal government . Krider’s records show the sale of 922,000 cartridges to Richardson & Overman during 1862, and 452,800 cartridges during the first four months of 1863. Unfortunately, no subsequent Krider ledger pages for Richardson & Overman were found for the balance of 1863 or 1864 during our research. The government’s records indicate that Richardson & Overman delivered “metallic ammunition,” so it is likely that these were the metal foil and paper Gallagher percussion cartridges. ...

Share