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

340.–1 John P. Moore’s long Enfield rifle muskets were excellent copies of the Pattern 1853, 2nd Type, British Enfield. (Milwaukee Public Museum Photograph.) Moore “Long Enfield” Rifle Musket  340. John P. Moore established his gunsmithing business in New York City in 1822. The company, in various forms, existed until 1879. In 1855, his sons George G. and Henry T. Moore joined the business and the firm’s name became John P. Moore & Sons. Subsequently, the firm was reorganized and its name changed again to John P. Moore’s Sons on January 31, 1860. The firm was located at 204 Broadway from 1838 until 1863, and at 208 Broadway thereafter. While it is clear that John Moore was a gunsmith or gun-maker, it appears that his sons were primarily importers and merchants of firearms. Little is known about the sources of the arms sold by Moore to the federal government during the Civil War. Along with the facts presented here, there is some information that the author clearly identifies as speculation. John P. Moore’s Sons was a major supplier of imported British rifle muskets to the federal government. Ordnance Department records reveal that 22,000 “Long Enfield rifles” were purchased from him. Moore also sold 1,280 “American rifles, Long Enfield Pattern” and 999 “Short Enfield rifles” to the federal government . The two latter Enfield pattern arms are described here. Some students of Civil War arms believe the “American” rifle muskets were assembled in New York, while others believe the rifle muskets were fabricated entirely in Liège. The preponderance of evidence suggests many, if not all, of Moore’s Enfields were made in the United States, using American-made metal components, except for Liège-made barrels. The Moore firm procured arms components from other American and foreign makers during the Civil War, and contracted for their assembly into the rifle muskets and rifles sold by the company. In addition to documentation indicating the Moore firm procured Enfield metal components from others in the United States, is the fact that their stocks are American Black Walnut, not European Walnut; this indicates that many, if not all, of the rifle muskets and rifles were assembled in the United States. Moore was the New York agent for Colt’s Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company. It is speculated that some of the 10,000 barrels Colt purchased in 1861 were from P. J. LeMille of Liège, Belgium. These barrels were refused by the Ordnance Department for use in Colt’s contract for Special Model 1861 Contract rifle muskets. They may have been utilized in the Enfield pattern Part III 410 rifle muskets delivered by Moore. This is supported by a statement in Francis Balace’s excellent work on Liège arms manufactures during the American Civil War, L’Armurerie Liégoise Et La Guerre De Secession, 1861–1865. Moore’s last known delivery to the federal government of arms identified as “American” long Enfields was on September 5, 1862. The following month, Moore attempted to purchase a number of Enfield parts from Eli Whitney Jr. Moore may have previously purchased parts that were used in the manufacture of Enfieldriflesandriflemuskets,butrecordsofthesepurchaseshavenotbeenfound. Whitney’s surviving records indicate he had purchased these parts at the auction of the bankrupt Robbins & Lawrence firm in late 1858 (see section 350). In reply to additional letters from Moore, dated November 1 and 3, 1862, Whitney wrote on November 4, quoting prices on more than 1,000 additional assorted Enfield component parts, mostly mountings, that he had purchased at the Robbins & Lawrence bankruptcy sale and that were still on hand. It is not known whether Whitney actually sold any of these parts to Moore. However, British inspection markings on the mountings of some surviving Moore rifle muskets indicates that the components underwent inspection by British officers, similar to the Enfields made by Robbins & Lawrence under British contract. On June 9, 1863, Moore again wrote to Whitney in an attempt to purchase some Enfield breech plugs. On June 10, Whitney replied that he had only American type breech plugs for sale. This information suggests that, following his known rifle musket deliveries to the federal government, Moore was still fabricating additional quantities of Enfield rifles or rifle muskets. This speculation is...

Share