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Preface This volume describes muzzleloading percussion shoulder arms procured by the United States and its political subdivisions for issue to the federal and state armed forces. During the twenty-five years covered by this volume, the federal and state laws requiring the individual militiaman to supply his own arms had been largely superseded by issues to the militia of state-owned arms. The states received the majority of these from the federal government pursuant to the U.S. Militia Act of 1808. However, during the first two years of the Civil War, many militia companies equipped themselves with arms they had purchased. Also, privately owned arms were used in military service by substantial numbers of the men who had been members of the Turnvereins and by sharpshooters. Some states and militia units also obtained civilian arms. Because this volume describes arms procured by the United States and its political subdivisions, it does not include arms procured by the Confederacy after the outbreak of the Civil War. An exception to this is the brief coverage given to Confederate percussion alterations of flintlock arms, which is presented to aid the arms student in differentiating these alterations from those of the federal government and states that remained in the Union. The phrase “procured by fabrication and by purchase” occurs repeatedly in the “Annual Reports of the Chief of Ordnance.” This refers to the acquisition of arms through fabrication at national armories and by the purchase of arms from private commercial companies. During the Civil War, the federal government and several state governments purchased arms on the “open market” (i.e., from the numerous arms manufacturers and dealers who existed to fill the need). Foreign arms also were purchased from several sources. The almost 2,000,000 European arms procured are the subject of a separate, future volume. This volume includes only those imported European arms that were either percussion altered or altered to breechloading in the United States, or were made to approximate U.S. regulation specifications. The scope of this book includes arms procured in at least sufficient quantities for issue to troops for field trials, but with few exceptions it does not include the limited procurement of arms for experimentation or firing trials. An almost infinite variety of prototype and experimental arms were procured in small quantities for experimentation or test firing. Many are unique and defy classification. Some were fabricated in the tool rooms or machine shops of the national armories , while others were offered to the government by their inventors. This volume includes a few of the exceptions previously noted. These arms, although subject to limited procurement, are generally considered by arms students and collectors to be American military shoulder arms. Examples of these are in this volume’s appendix and include the Lins, Peterman, and Schalk rifle muskets. The final section of the main body of text describes non-armory-pattern Preface xx shoulder arms and may include arms of which only enough were produced to arm a single company, such as those of Smith and Wurfflein. The accounts of John Krider Jr., indicate that he also produced limited quantities, usually fewer than 100 of a style or pattern. Examples of the Turner rifles, sharpshooters’ rifles, and other civilian arms are also included in this volume. ...

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