Send us your own comments about this object.

Title:	MUSKET -  U.S. MUSKET MODEL 1816 TYPE I SPRINGFIELD ARMORY FLINTLOCK .69
Maker/Manufacturer:	SPRINGFIELD ARMORY
Date of Manufacture:	1816
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 1904
Measurements:	OL:146.3CM 57 11/16" BL:106.6CM 42"

Object Description:

U.S. MUSKET MODEL 1816 TYPE I SPRINGFIELD ARMORY FLINTLOCK .69
Manufactured at Springfield Armory, Springfield, Ma. in 1816 - Standard single-shot, muzzleloading, Model 1816 Springfield flintlock musket. Bright finish on metal, brass pan, and lower sling swivel is mounted on stud, not on bow. Three bands, spring fastened with upper band double-strapped. Brass blade front sight located on lower strap. Steel ramrod with button shaped head. Bayonet lug on top of the barrel 1 1/4" from muzzle. Weapon has an overall length of 57 11/16" and a barrel length of 42". Reproduction lock.

Markings:
Lock: SPRING/FIELD/1816 behind cock. Eagle/US forward of cock.
Barrel: US. P/ Eaglehead/ V proofs.
Triggerguard plate: RS = Richard Smith.
Buttplate: 11 (possibly old museum number).
Stock: Oval cartouche left side of stock.

1909 Catalog #2035 - "Musket. Sp'f'd Smooth Bore Flint Lock Musket. Cal. 70."

Exhibit label: "MODEL 1816 MUSKET .69 caliber, 1816-1840, c. 325,000 made. In addition to the 325,000 muskets made at Springfield, there were more than 350,000 made at the Harpers Ferry Armory, making this flintlock the most numerous produced for the U.S. government."

Notes: The Model 1816 was produced from 1816 until 1844 at both Springfield and Harpers Ferry Armories. Approximately 675,000 were produced - more than any other model U.S. flintlock arm. Many were still in good condition at the outbreak of the Civil War and were converted to percussion and issued. The Model 1816 was also produced by over a dozen different private contractors who turned out many thousands of additional arms.

"The mass manufactured muskets, whether by arsenal or private artisans, had many tolerances due to a lack of standards. The standard British musket and, later the American musket, had a usual inside barrel diameter of .690 to .705 of an inch; however, good barrels generally ranged from .690 to .705 of an inch. Nor were the cast musket balls any better, as they were cast from brass or iron molds, made with crude tools. Not until 1830 were accurately cast round balls available. Before this development the musket balls were usually .640 of an inch; finally with accurate molds the balls could be cast at .650 of an inch. There were obviously relatively great differences between musket ball diameter and barrel diameter. Called 'windage,' this was usually .050 of an inch with the paper wadding of the cartridge serving as 'tolerance absorber.' This windage was needed because of several reasons. First, the musket ball was not absolutely round; nor was the inside diameter of the musket barrel uniform from musket to musket. Finally the problem that haunted black gunpowder use, powder fouling, accumulated especially forward of the firing chamber. The military musket, by the 18th century, was expected to be powerful, quick-loading, cheap, mass-produced, inaccurate, and irregular." - James Worsham, "The Quest of Interchangeability of Parts in American Small Arms. Unpublished dissertation.

"There had been only a handful of publications printed by Americans on the subject of drilling with arms prior to the War of 1812. Frederick William Baron von Steuben's drill regulations were approved by Congress in 1779 and used until 1812. The army considered Baron von Steuben's regulations near biblical in their importance.
In 1812 an American work, written by the Adjutant General of the Army, William Duane, replaced Baron von Steuben's regulations, but it too followed European guidelines. There is no evidence that the revenue cutter captains used this manual for training, but through their bonds with local navy, army, and militia officers they probably knew the manual....
It would seem logical that each weapons improvement caused changes in training. Unfortunately, the ideology of weapons use and training did not develop as quickly as the technology. The exercises and movements of former years did not fit the new weapons. The 16 steps of drill and loading in William Duane's 1812 instructions were reduced to 12 in the U.S. Army's 1836 instructions. B
DISPOSITION OF OTHER M1816 MUSKETS THAT WERE IN THE SPRINGFIELD ARMORY MUSEUM COLLECTION:
Army # 0018 - M1816 SPRINGFIELD - Listed as being at Stores Division on 10 February 1942.
Army # 0020 - M1816 SPRINGFIELD - Shipped on WDSC C-31-M on 16 February 1948.
Army # 0022 - M1816 SPRINGFIELD - Weapon traded in 1959.
Army # 0027 - M1816 SPRINGFIELD - Weapon transferred to Aberdeen on 3 April 1956.
Army # 0048 - M1816 SPRINGFIELD - Weapon transferred to Aberdeen on 3 April 1956.

References:
Ball, Robert W.D. SPRINGFIELD ARMORY: SHOULDER WEAPONS 1795-1968. Antique Trader Book. Norfolk, Va. 1997.
Clark, David C. ARMS FOR THE NATION. Scott A. Duff. Export, Pa. 1992.
Flayderman, Norm. FLAYDERMAN'S GUIDE TO ANTIQUE AMERICAN FIREARMS...AND THEIR VALUES. DBI Books Inc. Northbrook, Il. 1994.
Hartzler, Daniel D. & James B. Whisker. THE NORTHERN ARMORY: THE UNITED STATES ARMORY AT SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, 1795-1859. Old Bedford Village Press. Bedford, Pa. 1996.
Hicks, Major James E. NOTES ON U.S. ORDNANCE. Vol. I. James E. Hicks. Mt. Vernon, N.Y. 1940.
Madaus, H. Michael. THE WARNER COLLECTOR'S GUIDE TO AMERICAN LONGARMS. Warner Books. N.Y., N.Y. 1981.
Moeller, George D. AMERICAN MILITARY SHOULDER ARMS. Vol. 2. University Press of Colorado. Niwot, Co. 1993.
Reilly, Robert. UNITED STATES MILITARY SMALL ARMS 1861-1865. The Eagle Press. Baton Rouge, La. 1970.
Reilly, Robert. UNITED STATES MARTIAL FLINTLOCKS. Andrew Mowbray Inc. Lincoln, R.I. 1986.
Wells, William R. SHOTS THAT HIT: A STUDY OF U.S. COAST GUARD MARKSMANSHIP 1790-1985. United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. 1993.