TheTyler701
Private
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2018
Right, but aren’t they still referred to as “model 1816”? The biggest visual difference ls that the 1795 one has barrel springs behind the band and he newer one has them forward of the band.The 1795 you have is what collectors refer to as a late production "type 1". The style of arched Springfield on your musket's lock was used in 1802 and 1803. The year should be marked on the buttplate tang.
Your 1816 is actually another 1795 type musket. It is a late production musket, and depending on which reference you derive your typology from it could be considered a type 3, 4, or 5. Whichever variant you call it it is a 1795. Harpers Ferry did not start producing the Model 1816 until 1818. The most noticeable difference between a 1795 and an 1816 is the iron pan on a 1795 vs the brass pan of an 1816.
Thanks for sharing,
Garrett
View attachment 193277
Right, but aren’t they still referred to as “model 1816”? The biggest visual difference ls that the 1795 one has barrel springs behind the band and he newer one has them forward of the band.
Also, how could the musket say “Harper’s ferry” and also say “1816”? l will post a better photo of the lock. Because according to you, my musket wasn’t make ln 1816 then
Thanks for all that information, really learned a lot. l thought lt was as simple as 1795’s had springs behind the barrel bands and 1816’s had them forward of the band. l guess being made ln 1816 made lt a weird transitional type musket maybe? Or maybe all type 5 1795’s look like that.Your musket was indeed made in 1816, but it is not a Model 1816. The dates on US arms are dates of manufacture rather than the model designation.
As production of the 1795 progressed various improvements were made to the design. Harpers Ferry reduced barrel lengths to nominally 42 inches from nominally 44 inches in 1815, and in 1816 conventional forward facing barrel bands were introduced. In 1817 or 1818 pinned sling swivels began to be utilized.
Still, until 1819 the muskets produced at Harpers Ferry still featured flat faced beveled edge locks with flat faced beveled edged cocks, and integral round bottomed iron pans.
The combs on muskets produced in this era are also higher than those found on M1816 muskets, although their heights did diminish as production of the Model 1816 drew nearer.
Model 1816 production didn't start at Harpers Ferry until the early Spring of 1819. Likely, a thousand or so 1795 muskets were also completed that year before the supply of old parts were finally used up. I can't recall having ever seen an 1819 dated Harpers Ferry 1795, so I would be willing to wager that the locks on those muskets had been completed the previous year and therefore bare 1818 dates.
Model 1816 muskets have locks with convex tail sections as well as convex faced hammers. The tails of the locks feature a gentle point rather than a "teat" found on earlier guns. The pans are also brass.
Pre-1816 muskets can be a real bear to get a good grasp on due to the lack of pattern guns used to tool up for production. If you wanted to get really technical about it Model 1795 muskets aren't really "Model" anythings as there were no model guns made for the Arsenals to copy for their production runs. But I'll digress, as that is a whole other can of worms.
l actually can’t really find a date on the butt plate. By “tang” do you just mean the back of lt?Nice muskets.
What's the date on the butt plate tang of the Springfield 1795 ?
Here's what the stock profile of a M.1816/22 should look like; note the lack of a comb on the butt. This one's a cut-down and converted-to-percussion example, but what's seen here is what they should look like!Thanks for all that information, really learned a lot. l thought lt was as simple as 1795’s had springs behind the barrel bands and 1816’s had them forward of the band. l guess being made ln 1816 made lt a weird transitional type musket maybe? Or maybe all type 5 1795’s look like that.