- Joined
- Oct 22, 2014
Christopher Spencer was 27 years old when he patented his repeating rifle. The Connecticut inventor was rumored to be the role model for the protagonist in Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court where he deployed machine guns in to defend the court. Twain had moved to Hartford in 1871 and wrote the novel in 1889. Chris was born in 1833. His maternal grandfather was a gunsmith who fought in Washington's army during the American Revolution. He was also an inspiration to Christopher.
Chapter Five of my Firepower novel—provided below—is a fictional depiction of a true incident.
Six-year-old Christopher Spencer revered his maternal grandfather, Josiah Hollister, and his grandfather adored guns. Josiah fought in the Revolutionary War in George Washington's army. Later he became a gunsmith. Grandfather and grandson loved to go shooting together. Christopher liked to see the targets explode and Josiah liked to see his grandson's aiming accuracy and his facility with the reloading process improve with each outing. Afterward they'd meticulously clean the guns.
Although Josiah was gratified by his grandson's respect for firearms, he was even more impressed by Chris's mechanical ingenuity. When the boy was fourteen, Josiah gave him his own prized flintlock musket, which Josiah had carried in the Revolution. Chris was delighted with the gift but soon realized he'd like it better if it were more his size. Lacking the slightest reverence for historic artifacts, the boy sawed off a section of the barrel.
Chris arrived at his grandfather's workshop the next morning to show him his "improved" version of the musket. Josiah was working at a lathe when Chris approached from behind holding the musket in his outstretched left arm. "Look, grandpa. Look at how I've fixed the musket you gave me."
After Josiah turned to face Chris, his jaw dropped while his eyebrows shot upward before shouting "What in hell have you done, Chris!? That was the musket I carried when I fought for General Washington." A string of profanities followed.
Josiah had never before cursed at Chris. The boy lowered his left arm and looked at his shoes.
Before Chris could answer Josiah, the grandfather grabbed the gun out of the boy's hand and held it up for a closer look while another wide-eyed and open-mouth expression took shape on his face. He looked it over from the stock to the barrel tip. His gaze lingered at the barrel tip Chris had been cut short. He took a couple of deep breaths before turning to the boy and saying, "What were you thinking?"
While still looking at his shoelaces Chris answered, "The barrel was too long for me. I could not hold it up steadily enough to squeeze-off accurate shots."
"Hmph," grunted Josiah. Next, he raised barrel tip in front of his eyes for a closer look. Soon his eyebrows moved toward each other and he faced Chris to say, "How did you cut this barrel?"
Josiah's softer tone encouraged Chris to lift his eyes and face his grandfather. He walked over to a worktable and picked up a knife. With his right hand he held the knife out to his grandfather and said, "With this."
Josiah put the truncated old flintlock down on a nearby table before taking the knife in his right hand. He raised the blade to a position a little over a foot from his face and horizontal to the floor. It was an ordinary, but sturdy, case-knife. Chris had laboriously serrated the blade, transforming it into a tool comparable to a metal cutting saw. He turned to Chris and said, "As angry as I am about the corruption of my trusty flint-lock, I applaud your cleverness."
Chris smiled before saying, "I just wanted to make it better."
"Well, for the purposes of a small boy you have made the gun better in one way but worse in others. You'll find that a musket with a shorter barrel is not as accurate as a longer-barreled gun. You've made what is called a 'trade off.' You have traded greater accuracy for more convenience in handling. Do you understand the meaning of trade-off?"
"But grandfather, since I've made the barrel lighter, I can hold it more steadily. That should improve my accuracy, not make it worse."
Josiah nodded, "Yes, you may be right, but only temporarily. You've transformed a firearm that can give you a lifetime of good service for one that can only give you better service for the few years that remain before you are full grown."
Chris looked again at his shoes.
Stepping forward to put his left arm around Chris's shoulders Josiah said, "Let's go out to the porch and sit a spell." After they had taken their seats Josiah continued, "Chris, did I ever tell you about the Boston preacher and essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson?"
Shaking his head Chris answered, "I don't think so."
"Well, I like to read his essays and sermons. Once when speaking of innovation—that word means inventiveness, you understand?"
Chris nodded.
"Well, he once said, 'Build a better mousetrap and the World will beat a path to your door.' Such, supposedly, is the power of a good invention. You understand?"
"Yes, I think so. Everyone will want an invention that does a task better than it can be done with an obsolete tool."
"Yes, that's it. And while there's a lot of merit to the point, it is not always true."
"Why is that grandpa? I mean, for example, the musket is better than the bow and arrow. Isn't that why today's hunters use muskets?"
"Yes, that's true. But let me tell a story that might explain the point." He paused, "Did you ever hear of Robert Fulton?"
"Uh-huh. He invented the steamboat."
"That's right. It was hard to travel upstream on rivers like the Hudson and Connecticut without them. Sailboats couldn't rely on the wind because the downstream current was always present and directly opposite the path of travel about half the time. If the wind was not strong enough, sailboats would just drift downstream. Before the steamboat, upstream boats were commonly pulled by a team of mules along the shoreline with a towline connected to the boat."
"So, the steamboat was a better mousetrap."
Josiah nodded. "Correct, but Fulton tried to sell them in Europe before he put the first one in service here in America. That was in 1809 when the Clermont carried passengers and cargo between New York City and Albany."
"Uh-huh."
"But about ten years earlier Fulton was in France when the French navy was seeking a way to challenge the British as a maritime power." Grandpa paused, "Do you know what a maritime power is?"
"Sort of. I think you're saying that France wanted a navy as powerful as the one the British had."
"That's right. The British were the great maritime power of the age and they remain so today. If France were to successfully challenge them the French would have to do so with superior weapons. Nothing could have fit the bill better than a steam powered warship… A vessel that could travel in any direction, regardless of the wind. The British would be helpless against a fleet of such warships. While in France, Fulton became acquainted with the American Ambassador in Paris, Robert Livingston, who had a taste for innovation. The two secured a contract to build a steam-powered boat to operate on the Seine River. The Seine, you see, runs through Paris before it empties into the English Channel."
Chris nodded.
Josiah continued, "Six years before Fulton and Livingston put the Clermont in service on the Hudson, they built that steamboat for the French and demonstrated it on the Seine. But the French turned it down. They considered it unreliable and failed to appreciate that Fulton could steadily improve the reliability. He also invented a boat that could operate underwater, but the French turned that down too. A few years later he moved to London where he tried to sell his inventions to the British, but they also rejected them. Since the British wind-powered fleet had destroyed the French one at the battle of Trafalgar, the Brits saw no need for steam powered vessels. I think that was about forty years ago. Do you see where I'm going with this?"
Chris raised his hands from his lap in a quick gesture that showed his palms to Josiah. "I'm not sure, grandpa. I guess you're saying that people sometimes have to be persuaded to use good inventions despite their superiority."
Josiah nodded, "That's part of it. I think the bigger point is that people tend to be skeptical of new ideas. And I think that especially applies to those in government."
Chris nodded.
"Another point," Josiah continued, "is that the social and economic status of the inventor might determine whether or not the invention is accepted."
"What do you mean?" said Chris.
"When Fulton went to Paris he was in his early thirties. I know that sounds old to you, but it isn't for someone who hopes to do business with the government of an esteemed country like France. Fortunately, as explained earlier, he became acquainted with Ambassador Livingston. The Ambassador's status gave Fulton credibility."
"But the French still didn't buy the steamboat," said Chris.
"Correct. And that merely emphasizes how difficult it can be to get an invention, or even a new idea, taken seriously. But once it has proven itself to a core group of influential leaders, it spreads like a wildfire. Look at how many steamboats are used today. I can remember when there were none."
Chris nodded and thought about the discussion during a few moments of silence. "Well grandpa, what kind of improvements do you think would be good for muskets."
"That's a good question. As an old man I'm set in my ways. If there's to be any breakthrough in musket design its likely to come from a young man. As men get older, we tend to be too wedded to the old ideas. We are prone to know very well what is familiar but are less comprehending when what is new is more significant than what is familiar. Ultimately, I think, that's why the French did not build Fulton's steamboat… As for muskets, I'd like to see more inventions that speed-up the reloading process… Wait just a minute . . ."
Josiah went into the workshop and returned with Chris's musket in one hand and another gun in his other hand. He leaned the second one against a wall. Then he held Chris's musket between grandfather and grandson. Running a finger over the flintlock mechanism he said, "Newer musket models made at the Springfield Armory don't use a flint and powder tray to ignite the load in the barrel. They use a percussion cap." "Here," he said as he leaned Chris's musket against the wall and picked up the second gun, "this is an 1842 model Springfield. Instead of pouring powder from your horn into the tray you just put a percussion cap on this nipple."
Josiah paused as he pulled a brass cap, a little smaller than a shirt button, out of his pocket. Next, he cocked the hammer and pointed to a black dot at the top of the nipple and said, "This drill hole connects to the firing chamber. When I put a percussion cap on the nipple and pull the trigger the cap shoots a jet of flame directly into the powder load in the barrel. Here, I'll show you."
He put the cap on the nipple, pointed the barrel toward some clouds and pulled the trigger. The cap made a sharp pop, but it was not nearly as loud as a bullet load. It sounded like a small firecracker. Afterward he handed the Springfield to Chris.
Chris took the gun in both hands and studied the hammer-and-nipple mechanism. "Can I re-cock the hammer?" he asked. Grandfather nodded and Chris pulled the hammer back all the way with two clicks.
"Wait," said Josiah. "Cock it halfway to the first click. Then put the cap on the nipple. You only cock back to the second click when you're ready to fire."
Chris put his right thumb on the hammer and pulled the trigger with his index finger while using his other hand to reinforce the right thumb. That maneuver enabled him to lower the hammer gently to the half-cocked position. Next he removed the used cap and examined it. Then he studied the nipple and said, "Yes, grandpa that's a definite improvement over the flint lock."
"Okay," said Josiah, "lower the hammer gradually, all the way this time, and give me the gun."
Chris did as he was instructed. "You see how this speeds-up the reloading process?" said his grandfather.
"Sure."
"Another promising technique for increasing the firing rate is the revolving barrel. Fundamentally the idea of a gun with multiple barrels that can be rotated to fire sequentially is not new, but Samuel Colt's company has made significant progress in the last ten years. Earlier designs required that the barrels, or cylinders, be rotated by hand. But Colt's design rotates the cylinder mechanically each time you cock the hammer. It provides a reliable and repeatable way to index each load in a small cylinder connected to a single barrel."
"Can you show me one of those guns, grandpa?"
"Yes. Wait here. I'll put the Springfield back in the gun rack and come back with a Colt model. Bear in mind, however, that Colt's guns are pistols." He returned and demonstrated Colt's mechanical indexing system with an unloaded cylinder.
"Why is this method used only with pistols?" asked Chris.
"Backfire is problematic for revolving shoulder arms because the cylinder is held close to the face. Also they provide a rapid-fire capability if the cylinder has multiple loads, but once the cylinder is empty the reloading process takes a long time. Soldiers can compensate by carrying more than one pistol but carrying more than one musket is cumbersome." He handed the empty pistol over to the boy. Chris studied the Colt's indexing mechanism carefully as he repetitively cocked, and un-cocked, the hammer to observe it. After about five minutes he gave the pistol back to his grandfather.
"Chris," said Josiah, "your interest in the mechanical workings of firearms is commendable. But don't be altering the designs of any gun I give you as a gift unless I also give you permission to monkey with it. If you get a clever idea, I'll try to give you a less valuable gun than my old flintlock to experiment with."
"Yes, grandpa."
*
Chapter Five of my Firepower novel—provided below—is a fictional depiction of a true incident.
Chapter Five: A Grandpa's Wisdom
Six-year-old Christopher Spencer revered his maternal grandfather, Josiah Hollister, and his grandfather adored guns. Josiah fought in the Revolutionary War in George Washington's army. Later he became a gunsmith. Grandfather and grandson loved to go shooting together. Christopher liked to see the targets explode and Josiah liked to see his grandson's aiming accuracy and his facility with the reloading process improve with each outing. Afterward they'd meticulously clean the guns.
Although Josiah was gratified by his grandson's respect for firearms, he was even more impressed by Chris's mechanical ingenuity. When the boy was fourteen, Josiah gave him his own prized flintlock musket, which Josiah had carried in the Revolution. Chris was delighted with the gift but soon realized he'd like it better if it were more his size. Lacking the slightest reverence for historic artifacts, the boy sawed off a section of the barrel.
Chris arrived at his grandfather's workshop the next morning to show him his "improved" version of the musket. Josiah was working at a lathe when Chris approached from behind holding the musket in his outstretched left arm. "Look, grandpa. Look at how I've fixed the musket you gave me."
After Josiah turned to face Chris, his jaw dropped while his eyebrows shot upward before shouting "What in hell have you done, Chris!? That was the musket I carried when I fought for General Washington." A string of profanities followed.
Josiah had never before cursed at Chris. The boy lowered his left arm and looked at his shoes.
Before Chris could answer Josiah, the grandfather grabbed the gun out of the boy's hand and held it up for a closer look while another wide-eyed and open-mouth expression took shape on his face. He looked it over from the stock to the barrel tip. His gaze lingered at the barrel tip Chris had been cut short. He took a couple of deep breaths before turning to the boy and saying, "What were you thinking?"
While still looking at his shoelaces Chris answered, "The barrel was too long for me. I could not hold it up steadily enough to squeeze-off accurate shots."
"Hmph," grunted Josiah. Next, he raised barrel tip in front of his eyes for a closer look. Soon his eyebrows moved toward each other and he faced Chris to say, "How did you cut this barrel?"
Josiah's softer tone encouraged Chris to lift his eyes and face his grandfather. He walked over to a worktable and picked up a knife. With his right hand he held the knife out to his grandfather and said, "With this."
Josiah put the truncated old flintlock down on a nearby table before taking the knife in his right hand. He raised the blade to a position a little over a foot from his face and horizontal to the floor. It was an ordinary, but sturdy, case-knife. Chris had laboriously serrated the blade, transforming it into a tool comparable to a metal cutting saw. He turned to Chris and said, "As angry as I am about the corruption of my trusty flint-lock, I applaud your cleverness."
Chris smiled before saying, "I just wanted to make it better."
"Well, for the purposes of a small boy you have made the gun better in one way but worse in others. You'll find that a musket with a shorter barrel is not as accurate as a longer-barreled gun. You've made what is called a 'trade off.' You have traded greater accuracy for more convenience in handling. Do you understand the meaning of trade-off?"
"But grandfather, since I've made the barrel lighter, I can hold it more steadily. That should improve my accuracy, not make it worse."
Josiah nodded, "Yes, you may be right, but only temporarily. You've transformed a firearm that can give you a lifetime of good service for one that can only give you better service for the few years that remain before you are full grown."
Chris looked again at his shoes.
Stepping forward to put his left arm around Chris's shoulders Josiah said, "Let's go out to the porch and sit a spell." After they had taken their seats Josiah continued, "Chris, did I ever tell you about the Boston preacher and essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson?"
Shaking his head Chris answered, "I don't think so."
"Well, I like to read his essays and sermons. Once when speaking of innovation—that word means inventiveness, you understand?"
Chris nodded.
"Well, he once said, 'Build a better mousetrap and the World will beat a path to your door.' Such, supposedly, is the power of a good invention. You understand?"
"Yes, I think so. Everyone will want an invention that does a task better than it can be done with an obsolete tool."
"Yes, that's it. And while there's a lot of merit to the point, it is not always true."
"Why is that grandpa? I mean, for example, the musket is better than the bow and arrow. Isn't that why today's hunters use muskets?"
"Yes, that's true. But let me tell a story that might explain the point." He paused, "Did you ever hear of Robert Fulton?"
"Uh-huh. He invented the steamboat."
"That's right. It was hard to travel upstream on rivers like the Hudson and Connecticut without them. Sailboats couldn't rely on the wind because the downstream current was always present and directly opposite the path of travel about half the time. If the wind was not strong enough, sailboats would just drift downstream. Before the steamboat, upstream boats were commonly pulled by a team of mules along the shoreline with a towline connected to the boat."
"So, the steamboat was a better mousetrap."
Josiah nodded. "Correct, but Fulton tried to sell them in Europe before he put the first one in service here in America. That was in 1809 when the Clermont carried passengers and cargo between New York City and Albany."
"Uh-huh."
"But about ten years earlier Fulton was in France when the French navy was seeking a way to challenge the British as a maritime power." Grandpa paused, "Do you know what a maritime power is?"
"Sort of. I think you're saying that France wanted a navy as powerful as the one the British had."
"That's right. The British were the great maritime power of the age and they remain so today. If France were to successfully challenge them the French would have to do so with superior weapons. Nothing could have fit the bill better than a steam powered warship… A vessel that could travel in any direction, regardless of the wind. The British would be helpless against a fleet of such warships. While in France, Fulton became acquainted with the American Ambassador in Paris, Robert Livingston, who had a taste for innovation. The two secured a contract to build a steam-powered boat to operate on the Seine River. The Seine, you see, runs through Paris before it empties into the English Channel."
Chris nodded.
Josiah continued, "Six years before Fulton and Livingston put the Clermont in service on the Hudson, they built that steamboat for the French and demonstrated it on the Seine. But the French turned it down. They considered it unreliable and failed to appreciate that Fulton could steadily improve the reliability. He also invented a boat that could operate underwater, but the French turned that down too. A few years later he moved to London where he tried to sell his inventions to the British, but they also rejected them. Since the British wind-powered fleet had destroyed the French one at the battle of Trafalgar, the Brits saw no need for steam powered vessels. I think that was about forty years ago. Do you see where I'm going with this?"
Chris raised his hands from his lap in a quick gesture that showed his palms to Josiah. "I'm not sure, grandpa. I guess you're saying that people sometimes have to be persuaded to use good inventions despite their superiority."
Josiah nodded, "That's part of it. I think the bigger point is that people tend to be skeptical of new ideas. And I think that especially applies to those in government."
Chris nodded.
"Another point," Josiah continued, "is that the social and economic status of the inventor might determine whether or not the invention is accepted."
"What do you mean?" said Chris.
"When Fulton went to Paris he was in his early thirties. I know that sounds old to you, but it isn't for someone who hopes to do business with the government of an esteemed country like France. Fortunately, as explained earlier, he became acquainted with Ambassador Livingston. The Ambassador's status gave Fulton credibility."
"But the French still didn't buy the steamboat," said Chris.
"Correct. And that merely emphasizes how difficult it can be to get an invention, or even a new idea, taken seriously. But once it has proven itself to a core group of influential leaders, it spreads like a wildfire. Look at how many steamboats are used today. I can remember when there were none."
Chris nodded and thought about the discussion during a few moments of silence. "Well grandpa, what kind of improvements do you think would be good for muskets."
"That's a good question. As an old man I'm set in my ways. If there's to be any breakthrough in musket design its likely to come from a young man. As men get older, we tend to be too wedded to the old ideas. We are prone to know very well what is familiar but are less comprehending when what is new is more significant than what is familiar. Ultimately, I think, that's why the French did not build Fulton's steamboat… As for muskets, I'd like to see more inventions that speed-up the reloading process… Wait just a minute . . ."
Josiah went into the workshop and returned with Chris's musket in one hand and another gun in his other hand. He leaned the second one against a wall. Then he held Chris's musket between grandfather and grandson. Running a finger over the flintlock mechanism he said, "Newer musket models made at the Springfield Armory don't use a flint and powder tray to ignite the load in the barrel. They use a percussion cap." "Here," he said as he leaned Chris's musket against the wall and picked up the second gun, "this is an 1842 model Springfield. Instead of pouring powder from your horn into the tray you just put a percussion cap on this nipple."
Josiah paused as he pulled a brass cap, a little smaller than a shirt button, out of his pocket. Next, he cocked the hammer and pointed to a black dot at the top of the nipple and said, "This drill hole connects to the firing chamber. When I put a percussion cap on the nipple and pull the trigger the cap shoots a jet of flame directly into the powder load in the barrel. Here, I'll show you."
He put the cap on the nipple, pointed the barrel toward some clouds and pulled the trigger. The cap made a sharp pop, but it was not nearly as loud as a bullet load. It sounded like a small firecracker. Afterward he handed the Springfield to Chris.
Chris took the gun in both hands and studied the hammer-and-nipple mechanism. "Can I re-cock the hammer?" he asked. Grandfather nodded and Chris pulled the hammer back all the way with two clicks.
"Wait," said Josiah. "Cock it halfway to the first click. Then put the cap on the nipple. You only cock back to the second click when you're ready to fire."
Chris put his right thumb on the hammer and pulled the trigger with his index finger while using his other hand to reinforce the right thumb. That maneuver enabled him to lower the hammer gently to the half-cocked position. Next he removed the used cap and examined it. Then he studied the nipple and said, "Yes, grandpa that's a definite improvement over the flint lock."
"Okay," said Josiah, "lower the hammer gradually, all the way this time, and give me the gun."
Chris did as he was instructed. "You see how this speeds-up the reloading process?" said his grandfather.
"Sure."
"Another promising technique for increasing the firing rate is the revolving barrel. Fundamentally the idea of a gun with multiple barrels that can be rotated to fire sequentially is not new, but Samuel Colt's company has made significant progress in the last ten years. Earlier designs required that the barrels, or cylinders, be rotated by hand. But Colt's design rotates the cylinder mechanically each time you cock the hammer. It provides a reliable and repeatable way to index each load in a small cylinder connected to a single barrel."
"Can you show me one of those guns, grandpa?"
"Yes. Wait here. I'll put the Springfield back in the gun rack and come back with a Colt model. Bear in mind, however, that Colt's guns are pistols." He returned and demonstrated Colt's mechanical indexing system with an unloaded cylinder.
"Why is this method used only with pistols?" asked Chris.
"Backfire is problematic for revolving shoulder arms because the cylinder is held close to the face. Also they provide a rapid-fire capability if the cylinder has multiple loads, but once the cylinder is empty the reloading process takes a long time. Soldiers can compensate by carrying more than one pistol but carrying more than one musket is cumbersome." He handed the empty pistol over to the boy. Chris studied the Colt's indexing mechanism carefully as he repetitively cocked, and un-cocked, the hammer to observe it. After about five minutes he gave the pistol back to his grandfather.
"Chris," said Josiah, "your interest in the mechanical workings of firearms is commendable. But don't be altering the designs of any gun I give you as a gift unless I also give you permission to monkey with it. If you get a clever idea, I'll try to give you a less valuable gun than my old flintlock to experiment with."
"Yes, grandpa."
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