Hall Model 1819: A Rifle to Change the Industrial World
Flintlock Long Guns
•
17m
John Hall designed the first breechloading rifle to be used by the United States military, and the first breechloader issued in substantial numbers by any military worldwide. His carbines would later be the first percussion arms adopted by any military force. Hall developed a breechloading flintlock rifle in 1811, had it tested by the military in 1818, and formally adopted as a specialty arm in 1819.
Hall’s contribution actually goes well beyond having a novel and advanced rifle design. He would be the first person to devise a system of machine tools capable of producing interchangeable parts without hand fitting, and this advance would be the foundation of the American system of manufacturing that would revolutionize industry worldwide. Hall did this work at the Harpers Ferry Arsenal, where he worked from 1819 until his death in 1841.
I plan to expand on the details of a variety of Hall rifle models in future videos, and today is meant to be an introduction to the system. Because it was never a primary arm in time of major war, Hall is much less well recognized than he should be among those interested in small arms history.
Up Next in Flintlock Long Guns
-
Russian Model 1828 Musket from the Ba...
For a long time, Russian small arms were patterned closely after French designs - the Russian 1809 family was based on the French 1777 muskets, and the Russian 1828 model - like this one - were taken from the French 1822 model. This is a .69 caliber (7-line) smoothbore musket, manufactured at the...
-
Afghan Traditional Jezail
The Jezail is the traditional rifle of the Afghan tribal fighter, although it originated in Persia (Iran). Distinctive primarily for its uniquely curved style of buttstock, these rifles still maintain a symbolic importance although they are utterly obsolete.
Every jezail is a unique handmade ...
-
Wilson's Lorenzoni Repeating Flintloc...
The Wilson family was a gunmaking dynasty in London that began in 1730 when Richard Wilson was accepted as a Master Gunmaker by the Gunmakers' Company. Wilson's eldest son William Wilson would receive the same recognition in 1755, and William's son William (junior) completed his apprenticeship in...
