U.S. M1819 Hall Flintlock Rifle / Harpers Ferry (Photo Heavy)

Joined
May 1, 2015
Location
Upstate N.Y.
A look at a pristine M1819 that I doubt was ever fired or issued. According to Johan_Steele post " Both the M1819 & M1843 Hall's were in use during the Civil War. Arkansas troops carried Hall flintlock rifles at Shiloh & the 1st VA Cav was famous for carrying their Hall Carbines M1843's through most of the War. Incidently the 11th TX also carried them at least as late as the Spring of 64. At least 5 Union Cav units were all or partly armed w/ them... there were 5k of them at the arsenal in St Louis IIRC at the start of the war."
This is my recent purchase that I thought might be of interest to those who appreciate a beautiful rifle not often seen. Manufactured in Harper Ferry in 1838 and I believe spent it's life in an arsenal. Browning finish is well intact. Rifling is 16 count with a 1 1/2 counter bore. .52 caliber, 52.5" in length, 15 lbs.,barrel 32 11/16". Total made was 19680 from 1824-1840 intermittently (2934 in 1838) with another about 6000 of Hall's rifle made by Simon North in Ct.
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The majority of these were converted to percussion.
 
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Awesome Piece. Thanks for sharing it with us.
 
A really great looking rifle there as is the later carbine. Designed by John H. Hall, who later moved to Randolph County Missouri, where he died. His son later became Governor of the state during the Civil War.
 
@/john42768

I may have a little more information on your and other "minty" 1838 dated Halls.
The photo sez it all; This Hall was purchased in early 2005, and they had started appearing in late 2004.
View attachment 405299
Thanks, Could very well be one of them. I purchased it out of Georgia. Do you know where that came from? Guessing a museum display with that 344 marking. The bayonet came from upstate NY
 
The "344" is a bar code generated by my inventory spreadsheet which I use to keep track of my guns, etc.
I'm up to 1085 now {guns, bayonets, buttons, etc. all get a B.C. but it's mostly weapons}

The one above was purchased at the Baltimore show in 2005, and came from a noted California dealer who got it at a San Francisco auction. The bayonet came with it {scabbard was rotted away}
 
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A look at a pristine M1819 that I doubt was ever fired or issued. According to Johan_Steele post " Both the M1819 & M1843 Hall's were in use during the Civil War. Arkansas troops carried Hall flintlock rifles at Shiloh & the 1st VA Cav was famous for carrying their Hall Carbines M1843's through most of the War. Incidently the 11th TX also carried them at least as late as the Spring of 64. At least 5 Union Cav units were all or partly armed w/ them... there were 5k of them at the arsenal in St Louis IIRC at the start of the war."
This is my recent purchase that I thought might be of interest to those who appreciate a beautiful rifle not often seen. Manufactured in Harper Ferry in 1838 and I believe spent it's life in an arsenal. Browning finish is well intact. Rifling is 16 count with a 1 1/2 counter bore. .52 caliber, 52.5" in length, 15 lbs.,barrel 32 11/16". Total made was 19680 from 1824-1840 intermittently (2934 in 1838) with another about 6000 of Hall's rifle made by Simon North in Ct.View attachment 405167View attachment 405168View attachment 405169View attachment 405171View attachment 405172View attachment 405173View attachment 405174View attachment 405175View attachment 405176View attachment 405177View attachment 405178View attachment 405179View attachment 405180View attachment 405181View attachment 405182View attachment 405183View attachment 405184View attachment 405186View attachment 405187View attachment 405190
The majority of these were converted to percussion.

Saw one conversation to percussion cap a the gun show in Frederick MD a few months back. They are very unique looking aren’t they? One of the great technical advantages was the creation on interchangeable parts.

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The following is from the Park Service webpage:

John H Hall​

hallgun.gif
Detail of Hall Rifle receiver and lock.
In 1819, John H. Hall, a New England gunmaker, signed a contract with the War Department to produce 1,000 breechloading rifles – a weapon he had designed and patented in 1811. Under the terms of the contract Hall came to Harpers Ferry, where he occupied an old Armory sawmill along the Shenandoah River. The site soon became known as Hall's Rifle Works, and the small island on which it stood was called Lower Hall Island. Hall spent several years tooling new workshops and perfecting precision machinery for producing rifles with interchangeable parts – a boldly ambitious goal for an industry which was traditionally based on the manual labor of skilled craftsmen.
In a letter to Secretary of War John Calhoun on December 20, 1822, Hall described his recent accomplishments at Harpers Ferry:
‘I have succeeded in an object which has hitherto completely baffled (notwithstanding the impressions to the contrary which have long prevailed) all the endeavors of those who have heretofore attempted it – I have succeeded in establishing methods for fabricating arms exactly alike, & with economy, by the hands of common workmen, & in such manner as to ensure a perfect observance of any established model, & to furnish in the arms themselves a complete test of their conformity to it.’
“During his two decades at Harpers Ferry, Hall developed and constructed drop-hammers, stock-making machines, balanced pulleys, drilling machines, and special machines for straight-cutting, lever-cutting, and curve-cutting. Hall's straight-cutting machine was the forerunner of today's versatile milling machine, and a critical tool used in the fabrication of precision metal firearm components.
Hall's success at Harpers Ferry was attested to by Colonel George Talcott of the Ordnance Department, who wrote in 1832 that Hall's "manufactory has been carried to a greater degree of perfection, as regards the quality of work and uniformity of parts than is to be found anywhere – almost everything is performed by machinery, leaving very little dependent on manual labor."
From 1820-1840, John H. Hall devoted his uncompromising attention to the "uniformity principle" of interchangeable manufacture, laying a solid foundation for America's developing factory system right here at Harpers Ferry.”

https://www.nps.gov/hafe/learn/historyculture/john-h-hall.htm
 
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