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Whitney Connecticut Contract Rifle Muskets  376. After almost six years without a major arms contract, the Whitney Armory was in an ideal position to begin production of .58 caliber “good and serviceable ” rifle muskets for the state of Connecticut. On June 27, 1861, Whitney contracted with Connecticut Quartermaster General J. M. Hathaway to produce 6,000 rifle muskets at $18.00 each. On July 21, 1862, as he was completing deliveries under this contract, Whitney received a second contract from Connecticut for an additional 8,000 rifle muskets, at the same price. Deliveries under the first contract were completed on July 27, 1862. Two Configurations Whitney’s deliveries under his first contract began almost immediately. It is known that the state of Connecticut procured 350 Whitney Variant Model 1855 rifle muskets shortly after the signing of the first contract with Whitney. The state received the majority, if not all, of the Variant Model 1855 rifle muskets in September 1861. It is not known whether these muskets were delivered under that contract or purchased separately. These are described in section 376.2 of this text. There is some disagreement among arms authorities as to whether Whitney delivered his high hump Variant Model 1855/1861 rifled musket to Connecticut as part of the contract. There is limited photographic evidence supporting the use of these arms by Connecticut volunteer infantry. These are described in section 375 of this text. Most of the rifle muskets delivered by Whitney under his first Connecticut contract and under his second contract were generally similar to regulation Model 1861 rifled muskets. However, as described in section 376.8, they varied from armory pattern in a number of ways. As is explained in section 257.2 of this text, the federal government required full interchangeability in the components of the rifle muskets it procured. This gave rise to a second tier of manufacturers: the subcontractor. Many Northern manufacturers, large and small, produced rifle musket components for sale to and under subcontracts with the prime contractors who had agreed to produce almost half a million Model 1861 rifle muskets to the federal government. In order to augment production, Springfield Armory also purchased rear sights, rifle musket mountings and screws, and other components from commercial manufacturers. During the period, Whitney was producing rifle muskets under contract to the state of Connecticut, the methods and standards used at the Whitney Non-Armory-Pattern Muzzleloading Arms 487 376.2–1 Three hundred and fifty Whitney Variant Model 1855 rifle muskets were produced for the state of Connecticut. Armory evolved. In addition to the small number of Variant Model 1855/1861 rifled muskets described below, Whitney’s early deliveries of arms under his first Connecticut state contract had condemned components he had purchased at government auctions combined with components of his own manufacture . During 1862, he added machinery to his production facilities and also began incorporating components into his rifle muskets that had been procured from subcontractors in increasing proportions. Whitney’s records indicate that he began purchasing barrels from the Washburn Company of Worcester, Massachusetts, during 1862. He also purchased barrels from a Mr. Sairel Lehman in England, through the agency of New York City arms merchants and importers Schuyler, Hartley & Graham. Mountings and appendages were purchased from A. H. Waters & Company and the Collins & Company, both of Massachusetts.21 In addition, surviving correspondence indicates that Whitney was offered components by U.S. rifle musket contractors Alfred Jenks, Sarson & Roberts, and Parker, Snow, Brook & Company. The annual report of Connecticut’s quartermaster general, dated April 1, 1862, states that 2,939 rifle muskets had not yet been delivered on the first contract for 6,000 rifle muskets, thereby indicating that 3,061 rifle muskets had been delivered. The quartermaster general’s annual report for the following year, dated April 1, 1863, stated that 11,237 “Whitney’s rifles” had been purchased during the previous 12 months, for total known deliveries of 14,298 rifle muskets under the two contracts. It is of interest to note that, in 1871, the National Guard was reorganized and all arms purchased during the Civil War were turned in to the federal government, including 3,342 “Whitney rifles” by the state of Connecticut. Whitney Variant Model 1855 Rifle Musket 376.2 21 In testimony to the Congressional Commission on Ordnance Purchases, more commonly known...

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