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Title:	MUSKET -  U.S. MUSKET MODEL 1812 SPRINGFIELD ARMORY FLINTLOCK .69
Maker/Manufacturer:	SPRINGFIELD ARMORY
Date of Manufacture:	1815
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 5389
Measurements:	OL:137.1CM 54" BL: 98.2CM 38 11/16"

Object Description:

U.S. MUSKET "SHORT MUSKET" SPRINGFIELD ARMORY FLINTLOCK .69
Manufactured at Springfield Armory, Springfield, Ma. in 1815 - This appears to be a specially made "short musket" based primarily on the M1812 Type I. It is not a cut-down musket. It has three barrel bands equally spaced and located differently than on a musket. All three bands have the band springs to the rear. There is a bayonet stud on top of the barrel. The stock is extremely fancy burl walnut. The lock is flat and pointed at the rear with a rounded double-throated cock. There is no cheek recess on stock. The barrel, 38", is shorter than the regulation 42" barrel, yet longer than the 33" and 36" artillery and cadet models. The stock appears to have a shellac or varnish finish. The unusually fancy stock would suggest prototype work, or a sample arm to be sent to Washington.

Markings:
Lock: US/Eagle/SPRINGFIELD. 1815. (TW, ID)
Barrel: US. P/Eagle head/ V proofs. (IIII, 2, 9, PT)
Buttplate: 1815.

1909 Catalog #2034 - "Musket. Sp'f'd Smooth Bore Flint Lock Musket. Cal..70. M'f'd 1815."

INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION, 1876. MUZZLELOADING MUSKETS AND RIFLES. Match and flint locks. No. 15 - "Flint-lock musket, caliber, .70. Made at Springfield Armory, 1815. Remarkable for the beautiful wood of which the stock is formed, taking in certain lights a greenish cast. Bayonet without clasp; barrel secured with three iron bands."

Notes: In 1815, and partly due to logistics problems during the War of 1812, uniformity became the goal of the Ordnance Department. Prior to this time, the only thing a Springfield, Harpers Ferry or contract musket had in common was its caliber. "The want of a model or established pattern of a musket in our several armories, public and private, has long been perceived," wrote Decuis Wadsworth to Secretary of War A.J. Dallas in 1815. "Several attempts have been made of late years to introduce a new pattern musket."
It is possible that this was a test piece specially made up as a model arm. We do know that Roswell Lee actively attempted to have a new model arm designed at the Springfield Armory.

LOAN HISTORY OF THIS WEAPON:
Army #0015 - Loaned to Major Hugh M. Matoon, R.O.T.C. Instructor Detachment, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Ct. Loaned from 25 February 1957 to 1 March 1957.
Army #0015 - Loaned to George A. Yardsley, Chief Of Police, Community House, Longmeadow, Ma. 12 March 1957 to 13 March 1957.

References:
Ball, Robert W.D. SPRINGFIELD ARMORY: SHOULDER WEAPONS 1795-1968. Antique Trader Book. Norfolk, Va. 1997.
Clark, David C. Ed. ARMS FOR THE NATION. Scott A. Duff. Export, Pa. 1992.