Remington Army and Navy Revolvers 1861-1888.pdf

8/15/2019 Remington Army and Navy Revolvers 1861-1888.pdf

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REMINGTON

ARMY AND NAVY

REVOLVERS

1861–1888


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REMINGTONARMY AND NAVY

REVOLVERS1861–1888

Donald L. Ware

University of New Mexico Press

ALBUQUERQUE


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© by the University of New Mexico Press

All rights reserved. Published

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ware, Donald L., –

Remington army and navy revolvers, – / Donald L. Ware.

p. cm.

ISBN ---- (cloth : alk. paper)

. Remington pistols—History—th century. . E. Remington & Sons—History—

th century. . United States—Armed Forces—Firearms—History—th century.

. United States—History—Civil War, –—Equipment and supplies. I. Title.

UD.W

.'—dc

Book design and composition by Damien Shay

Body type is Minion ./

Display is Toussant and Impact


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE vii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix

PROLOGUE xi

INTRODUCTION xxvii

Remington Historical Background

CHAPTER ONE

Remington Navy Revolvers Purchased by the

Army Ordnance Department

CHAPTER TWO

Remington’s First Revolver Contracts

CHAPTER THREE

Remington’s Second Army Revolver Contract

CHAPTER FOUR

Remington’s Third Army Revolver Contract

CHAPTER FIVE

Remington’s Fourth Army Revolver Contract

CHAPTER SIX

Remington Navy Revolvers Purchased by the

Bureau of Ordnance, U.S. Navy

CHAPTER SEVEN

Remington’s Civil War Rifle and Carbine Contracts

CHAPTER EIGHT

Metallic Cartridge Alterations


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CHAPTER NINE

Metallic Cartridge Alterations for the

Bureau of Ordnance

CHAPTER TEN

Identifying Remington Army and Navy Revolvers

EPILOGUE

APPENDIX A

The Owen-Holt Commission

APPENDIX B

Remington–Ordnance Department’s

Civil War Contracts

APPENDIX C

Serial Number–Production Date Tables

NOTES

INDEX


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PREFACE

The original concept for this volume came about some twenty-odd years ago. Jerry Landskron

had just published his Remington Rolling Block Pistols. Jerry and I had devoted many

evenings in the den of my home, disassembling and studying the construction of dozens of

Rolling Block Pistols. Jack Daniels usually participated in these meetings but did not interfere

with the proceedings. Jerry’s diligent research at the National Archives, combined with our

hands-on studies of the pistols, provided him with the nucleus for his volume on the Rolling

Block Pistols.When his book came off the press, I was duly impressed. This was the kind of research a col-

lector could rely on when looking for answers to questions about arms in his collection.

Faron “Slim” Kohler, another of my gun show buddies, raised the possibility of doing

research in the National Archives for information on Remington’s Army and Navy Revolvers. We

concluded that if there were enough information available, we too might undertake a writing

project. Due to the constraints of my employment, I sat on the sidelines while Slim and his wife,

Lois, made their first foray into the massive records of the archives. Being novices at this type of

research, they were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of material offered but managed to

retrieve enough to convince us that such a project was possible. The following year, Slim and Iboth made the pilgrimage. We decided before embarking that no information concerning any

type of firearm would be ignored. We copied and tabbed (the method of identifying a source,

which is then microfilmed) several hundred letters and reports to and from the Ordnance

Department and Bureau of Ordnance. We devoted two weeks to this trip, working every avail-

able hour the archives were open to the public.

Then came the waiting. It seemed as if the microfilm would never arrive. When it did,

there came another rash of processing the microfilm, making duplicate copies, and sorting all

this information into files. We were elated as the story of the development and procurement

of the Remington revolvers began to take form. There were still pieces of the puzzle missinghowever. These mandated further visits to the archives, and after each trip, more of the pieces

fell into place.

We originally opted to relate the story in two volumes. The first would deal with the

Remington Navy Revolvers, as they had been the first produced. This was proceeding quite well

when subsequent thinking prevailed. Both Slim and I were well into our golden years, and the

possibility that the second volume would never be completed arose. Changing course, we

decided that we could study both the army and navy revolvers in one volume. In retrospect, this

seems to have been a good decision as the stories are entwined.

A decision was made early on that Slim would provide the photography and I would writethe text. I do not remember the reason for this, but considering that I had had a limited educa-

tion (through the ninth grade), I was biting off a mighty big chew.

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Fate took a hand in the development of this project when Slim became so ill he could no

longer participate. This put another burden on me, as I then had to search for the many photo-

graphs needed to illustrate the book. These came from many sources; a great many I took myself.

To all my many friends who have questioned me so many times about the publication date

of this volume, here it is, and I hope it meets your expectations.

One final remark: I have heard it said that no book is better than its editor. A profound

truth! Mr. Drury Williford has provided the substance to hold this story together. An accom-

plished arms researcher and author in his own right, he has spent many hours editing and re-

editing these pages. Were it not for his constant encouragement, this project would have been

abandoned long ago.

I also owe a profound thanks to my daughter, Susan L. Wrye-Jaramillo, who did the final edit

and rectified the many errors that occurred in converting to the Microsoft Word processing pro-

gram. Even my grandson got into the act. He converted all of my tables, which had originally been processed in WordPerfect, to the MSWord format. Thank you, Matthew Wrye.

DON WARE

Russellville, Arkansas

August ,

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PREFACE


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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Every author realizes that the final product of his labors would not have come to fruition

without the generous help and assistance of others. Any literary work, whether fact or fic-

tion, is the accumulation of the efforts of many people. The following all have my gratitude.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, during whose presidential tenure the National Archives and

Records Administration were initiated and early records cataloged and filed by the Works

Project Administration.

Faron “Slim” Kohler, who devoted many hours of time researching National Archivesrecords with the author. His assistance was sorely missed during the final preparation of this vol-

ume. Slim’s death on March , , was sad news to the gun collecting fraternity and particu-

larly to his many friends in the Remington Society of America (RSA). He was an avid Remington

collector, and his vast collection of Remington handguns is at present on exhibit at the Cody

Firearms Museum.

Jerry Landskron, who provided the initial impetus for conducting the research for this volume.

Jerry’s book on Rolling Block Pistols is still the most informative book available on the subject.

Jay Huber, for providing copies of documents and pictures from his collection and for shar-

ing results of his research on the Beals Army and Navy Models.Roy Marcot, for sharing pictures from his vast collection of Remington memorabilia. Roy is

also an accomplished author and researcher. He currently has two books on Remington history

and products in print and is currently working on two more. He is perhaps better known to

members of the RSA as editor of the Remington Society of America Journal .

Edward Hull, for providing research materials and valuable insights to the U.S. Army’s

Ordnance Department. Ed is also an avid researcher and has published many articles on antique

rifles and carbines in various periodicals.

Charles Pate also provided some missing research documents and photos. He too is a great

researcher and is the author of two firearms books and has a third one on the way. Charlie isdoing great work in continuing the Springfield Research Service started by Frank Mallory sev-

eral years ago.

Drury Williford, for donating precious time away from his own many literary endeavors to

carefully edit my manuscript. Drury’s field of interest is combustible cartridges. He has authored

several works on that subject for gun-related periodicals.

Fred Ream, for always being there when I need to explore some aspect of Remington history

or discuss a Remington revolver. A very good gun show buddy.

All the great people at the University of New Mexico Press who were instrumental in the

final preparation and printing of this volume.There are others too numerous to mention who have made minor contributions to this

work. I heartily thank them, each and every one.

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PROLOGUE

The majority of the research material referenced in this book was located in the records of

the National Archives of the United States, Washington, D.C. This was not simply a mat-

ter of choice but was dictated by necessity. Inquiries to the Remington Arms Company and

public libraries in Ilion and Utica, New York, yielded little information on arms produced by

E. Remington & Sons during the Civil War era. I have studied other works on the Remington

firm and arms and I now realize that some of these are little more than fiction. The production

figures and dates quoted therein are not reliable.Many of the daily business records of both the Army Ordnance Department and the Navy

Bureau of Ordnance have been preserved in the archives, and these records must be searched to

gain an accurate picture of the relations between the military and E. Remington & Sons. I have

spent considerable time perusing these records. For the past two decades, I have studied, ana-

lyzed, and cross-referenced the results of my labors. I now feel competent to tell the story of

Remington’s Army and Navy Revolvers with a respectable degree of accuracy.

ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT, U.S. ARMY

The records of the Ordnance Department are found in the “Textual Records of the Office of the

Chief of Ordnance.” I feel it appropriate to present a brief history of this department, and to do

so, I have taken the liberty of using the introduction from the National Archives’ inventory of

these same records:

The Ordnance Department was established as an independent bureau of the

Department of War by an act of Congress approved May , . Before that time

ordnance had been procured for the most part by the Board of War and a secret

committee during the Revolution and, after

, by an officer appointed by thePresident under the Department of War and in charge of military stores. The

Ordnance Department lost its independent status under an act of March , ,

when it was “merged in the artillery,” but regained it under an act of April , .

Thereafter it retained its independent footing in the War Department or Department

of the Army until . With the reorganization of the Department of the Army in

that year, the Ordnance Department was disestablished on August , , and its

functions were transferred to the United States Materiel Command. In spite of

several reorganizations of the Ordnance Department during its history, its functions

remained the procurement of ordnance and equipment and the distribution of themto the Army, the maintenance and repair of equipment, and the development and

testing of new types of ordnance materiel.

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The first head of the Ordnance Department was a colonel to whom the title

“Commissary-General of Ordnance” was given. In this title was dropped, and for

many years the commanding officer was designated “Colonel of Ordnance” (or, for the

– interval, “Colonel on Ordnance Service” or “Colonel on Ordnance Duty”). An

act of August , , was the first to provide that “there shall be added to the Ordnance

Department of the United States Army as now organized, one Chief of Ordnance.”

Chiefs of OrdnanceThrough

Col. Decius Wadsworth July , –June ,

Col. George Bomford May , –March ,

Col. George Talcott March

,

–July

,

Col. Henry K. Craig July , –April ,

Brig. Gen. James W. Ripley April , –September ,

Brig. Gen. George D. Ramsey September , –September ,

Brig. Gen. Alexander B. Dyer September , –May ,

Brig. Gen. Stephen V. Benet June , –January ,

Brig. Gen. Daniel Flagler January , –March ,

Brig. Gen. Adelbert R. Buffington April , –November ,

For the purpose of this study, we shall become intimate with only three of these personages,Ripley, Ramsey, and Dyer. I have relied on Ezra J. Warner’s monumental work, Generals in Blue,

for a brief biography of these three.

James Wolfe Ripley was born in Connecticut, December , . In he enrolled at West

Point, where his studies were cut short by his early commission into the army to satisfy the need

for officers during the War of . Serving the next eighteen years as an artillery officer, he

transferred to the Ordnance Department in , and the following year he took command of

the Kennebec Arsenal, where he remained until . He was then appointed superintendent of

the Springfield Armory, which he commanded until . After departing this duty, he was

assigned to various duties as inspector of arsenals; he was on this duty abroad when Southernstates began seceding from the Union. He was ordered to return and, shortly after his arrival, was

appointed colonel on ordnance duty, relieving Col. Henry K. Craig. When the act of August ,

, became law Ripley was promoted to brigadier general and assumed the newly created post

“Chief of Ordnance” (figure ). He held this post for almost two and a half years, after which he

was replaced by George D. Ramsey.

At this time, there was no retirement system in the army. President Lincoln created a spe-

cial post for Ripley, “Inspector of Armament and Forts on the New England Coast.” In he

was brevetted major general and continued to serve as inspector until a year before his death

in

.Warner notes that Ripley’s ethics were unquestionable. I should point out that although

Ripley escaped unscathed in the Owen-Holt Commission’s investigations into arms purchases in

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, the postwar congressional investigations of found that the chief of ordnance had

destroyed Ordnance Department documents. Ripley alleged that they were his personal papers.

George Douglas Ramsey was born in Virginia, February , . He graduated from West

Point in and served as an artillery officer until , when he transferred to the Ordnance

Department. As a captain, he served as commander of several arsenals until the start of the Civil

War, when he was promoted to major. On August , , the same day Ripley was promoted to

brigadier general, Ramsey was promoted to lieutenant colonel. He commanded the Washington

Arsenal from

to

and was promoted to full colonel on June,

. A logical successorto Ripley, he was promoted to brigadier general and made chief of ordnance on September ,

(figure ). Ramsey’s tenure in that position was very short; he retired from active duty on

September , . On Dyer’s recommendation, Lincoln created a special post and Ramsey was

assigned as “Inspector of Forts and Seacoast Defenses on the Atlantic and Lake Coasts.” He was

brevetted major general in and continued his inspection duties until . Ramsey lived to

the age of eighty and died on May , .

Alexander Brydie Dyer was born in Virginia on January , . He graduated from West

Point in and served as an artillery officer for only a year before transferring to the Ordnance

Department. He later served as chief of ordnance for the American forces during the MexicanWar. After this duty, he commanded several arsenals and in August became superintendent

of the Springfield Armory.

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Figure Chief of ordnance,Gen. James Wolfe Ripley.(Courtesy: National Archives)


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mention of their arms in this volume. I should note, however, that their control and use of

White’s patent for the bored-through cylinder was detrimental to the government during the

war (see chapter ).

Some large caliber metallic cartridge revolvers were developed prior to and during the early

part of the war; these were futile efforts, as most were patent infringements. When White sought

to extend his patent in the late s, the military vigorously opposed his efforts, and the patent

subsequently expired.

Samuel Colt was issued his first revolver patents in

; his ensuing efforts to producerevolvers have been documented many times. By the late s, he had established his own

armory in Hartford, Connecticut, and was soon manufacturing a variety of these arms.

The War Department had made minor purchases of Colt’s revolvers in the early s, but the

first serious consideration of Colt’s arms as a military weapon occurred when the War Department

approved the purchase of one thousand revolvers for the use of the “Regiment of Mounted

Riflemen” during the Mexican War. These were the Whitneyville-Walker models, large six-shot .

caliber revolvers with a nine-inch barrel, weighing four pounds, nine ounces (figure ).

Their very size and weight precluded their use as a sidearm. They were issued in pairs and

carried abreast in holsters mounted across the saddle or horse’s neck. First issued in

, they received favorable attention, which led to requisitions from officers of other mounted units. Colt

received further orders, but by this time he had redesigned his revolvers and was turning out a

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Figure Chief of ordnance, Gen. Alexander Brydie Dyer.(Courtesy: National Archives)


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Figure Colt Whitneyville-Walker Army Revolver. (Courtesy: Greg Martin Auctions)

Figure Colt Model Navy Revolver. (Author’s photograph)

Figure Colt Dragoon Army Revolver. (Author’s photograph)


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smaller version, designated the Dragoon model (figure ). The new model was still in . caliber,

but the size and weight were trimmed. The revolver now weighed four pounds, two ounces, still

a massive weapon. The department took delivery of seven thousand of these from to .

In Congress authorized the army to organize two new cavalry units. Their command-

ing officers insisted that their troops be armed with Colt Model Navy Revolvers (figure ).

The navy model was . caliber and weighed only two pounds, ten ounces, making it a practical

weapon to be carried in a belt holster. Accordingly, the revolver was easily accessible to thetrooper, whether mounted or on foot.

In army parlance, the navy model became known as a “belt pistol” in order to differentiate it

from the larger Dragoon or “holster pistol.” This terminology remained in use well after the army

adopted the use of smaller . caliber revolvers that were also capable of use as belt revolvers. For

the next five years, the . caliber “belt pistols” became the standard revolver of the army. From

to , the department ordered approximately seventeen thousand Colt Model Navies.

In Colt introduced a smaller model of army revolver. The size was once again trimmed,

making it ideal for use as a holster pistol. Shortly into the Civil War, the Ordnance Department

gave Colt their first order for the

army models, later they received contracts for the samerevolvers and eventually delivered over one hundred thousand before losing their contracts.

There was no serious competition for the army’s revolver needs during this period; conse-

quently, Colt was able to price his goods at whatever the market would bear. The price paid for

the first five thousand Walker and Dragoon models was $.. In , after receiving no orders

for a nine-month period, Colt solicited an order from the department, offering to furnish

revolvers at $., which was the prevailing price until the expiration of his basic patents. When

Colt learned that the department had ordered a small lot of the North-Savage revolvers for

$. each in , he lowered the price to $. per revolver for the Model Navies. The

Armies purchased early in the war were again priced at $

.

(figure), but after theOwen-Holt Commission decisions in , Colt accepted $., and the second contract again

lowered the price to $..

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Figure Colt Model Army Revolver. (Author’s photograph)


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Figure Johnson Model Percussion Army Pistol. (Courtesy: Greg Martin Auctions)

Figure Adams Patent Navy Revolver. (Author’s photograph)

Figure Savage Navy Model Revolver. (Author’s photograph)


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The introduction of revolvers into the army was not without some resistance from the “old

guard,” that is, military officers still willing to rely on large caliber single-shot percussion pistols

(figure ). The department was still receiving these from private contractors and from to

took delivery of approximately forty-three thousand. A large part of these were then issued

to states for militia use.

Officers, who disparaged the use of revolvers, had some minor justification for their com-

plaints. They cited the numerous incidents of multiple discharges, occasions when more than

one chamber would fire at the same time. This was a common occurrence before the advent of

combustible cartridges in the late s. Another benefit derived from the adoption of com-

bustible cartridges was the discontinuance of powder flasks and bulk powder. Flasks were not

requisite accoutrements in early Civil War revolver orders, and by , bullet molds had also

been recognized as superfluous and were no longer required.

Prior to the outbreak of the war, the department made only minor purchases of revolversother than Colts. However, the department was anxious to place other revolvers in the field, pri-

marily for evaluation and comparison with the Colts. In –, the department ordered small

lots of Savage and Adams revolvers (figures and ). None of these were in production when

ordered; the time lapse between placing an order and taking delivery was, in some cases, as much

as two years. With no urgency in receiving these arms, the department was very lenient in grant-

ing leeway in the delivery time. The difficulties facing a manufacturing firm attempting to mass

produce revolvers were formidable; by comparison, producing a muzzle-loading rifle, musket,

or carbine was quite simple. Manufacturing a revolver required more sophisticated machinery,

and even with the use of this machinery, problems were plentiful and complex. Alignment of cylinder chambers to barrel, alignment of rammer to cylinder, and indexing the cylinders man-

dated skills not required when assembling a single-shot, muzzle-loading arm. The ultimate goal

was machine-produced interchangeable parts, which required little or no hand fitting. Even

though Remington began manufacturing revolvers in , they had difficulties with these

aspects of production well into the war. Colt had been producing revolvers for a sufficient length

of time to have surmounted most of these, but other revolver manufacturers faced the same dif-

ficulties as Remington.

In an army board recommended that service revolvers be . caliber and have an eight-

inch barrel. The unprecedented demand for revolvers at the start of hostilities made it impossi-ble for the department to immediately comply with this prerequisite, but by , . caliber was

the requirement on all future Civil War contract revolvers.

Fortunately for the government, Colt’s patents on revolvers expired in . During Colt’s

lifetime, E. K. Root had the opportunity to study the inventor’s attempts at manipulating the

government, and early in the war, he continued to use these shady practices after Colt’s death.

We can only imagine the consequences had Colt’s patents remained in effect during the war.

While Colt seems to have been a mechanical genius and adroit at influencing highly placed peo-

ple, he certainly was no patriot.

The department’s early procurement practices were to create problems in supplying ammu-nition for revolvers. One of the first of these that I noted was in providing percussion caps for

Colt’s revolvers. The nipples of the Colt Navy Revolvers were not the same size as those of

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the large frame Army Dragoon. This subject did not arise until March , , when Colonel of

Ordnance H. K. Craig sent the following letter to Maj. P. V. Hagner, then commander of the

Frankford Arsenal:

Sir:

In reply to your letter of nd ult., I have to say that I have requested the President of the

Sharps Rifle Man: Co. to inform me whether there are any legal obstacles in the way of

our fabricating the Sharps primers for the Carbines the Company is making for this

Department. I have in the meanwhile directed Maj. Thornton to purchase M for pres-

ent issue. Until Mr. Palmer’s answer is received, it will not be advisable [to prepare?] in

advance for them in your preparations for the manufacture of these primers.

Major Mordecai has found some serious difficulties in making up ammunition for

Revolver pistols, which I suppose has grown out of the fact that there are two sizes of conesas well as two sizes of Pistols. When the so called “Navy” or Belt Pistol was at the instance,

as understood of Dragoon and Cavalry Officers was introduced, it was thought that no

more Pistols of the larger size would be procured, therefore, no precaution was used to obvi-

ate the difficulty at first, though subsequently some proposition was made to introduce uni-

formity in the size and form of the tops of the cones, but was not it seems, carried into effect.

The cones alluded to in your letter of the th inst. appear to belong to the two sizes

of pistols. The small size being the Belt, the large size being the Dragoon Pistol, which is

the kind now most in demand. The two cones are herewith returned.

Craig also contacted Maj. A. Mordecai, commander of Watervliet Arsenal, on the same day:

Sir:

Your letter of the th inst. is received. The pistol caps which have been made at Frankford

Arsenal are of the size to fit the belt pistol, which has a smaller cone than the holster pis-

tol. When the making of these caps at Frankford Arsenal was commenced, the belt pistol

had been adopted for use in the army, at the instance of Officers of the mounted regi-

ments, and it was supposed that the holster pistols would be superseded, and soon have

none in service. Since then, the holster pistol has been restored, and none but that kind are to be procured, hereafter for issue. Majors Thornton and Hagner have arranged or

will arrange a uniform cone for all revolver pistols hereafter to be made for the

Government, and the caps will be made to suit it. In the meantime we must have as

heretofore, two sizes of caps. Those for the belt pistols will be of the kind made at

Frankford Arsenal; and those for the holster pistol of a larger size, of which Major

Thornton has on hand nearly two million.

Although the department recognized a problem in supplying the correct percussion caps,

the matter was not seriously addressed until two years later, after it had purchased several dif-ferent types of revolvers. Ripley, who had replaced Craig as chief of ordnance, sent the following

to Maj. R. H. K. Whiteley, commander of the New York Arsenal, on July , :

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Sir:

The defects mentioned in your letter of the th inst. regarding the several kinds of

revolvers now in service and the difficulty of using the same percussion caps for all, have

been referred to Maj. Thornton, Inspector of Contract Arms, with instructions to have

them corrected hereafter.

This was one of the more minor problems facing the department as the war continued. The

multitude of different types of patented arms that the department eventually purchased created

a logistical nightmare in supplying the correct ammunition.

Shortly before the war, some members of Congress became alarmed at the procurement

practices of the War Department and enacted a law that forbade the purchase of patented arms

without authority of law; this law essentially prohibited the purchase of any repeating arm. It

also forbade the purchase of arms without advertising for bids. This act was passed on June

,, but the department did not advise ordnance officers of its passage until September when

the following circular was sent from the Ordnance Office to the commanders of all arsenals:

(Circular)

The accompanying Extract from the Act of rd June, , in relation to purchases and

contracts, and prohibiting the purchase of arms and military supplies is communicated

for your information and government.

Respectfully &c.

H. K. Craig, Col. of Ordnance

Extract

From “an act making appropriations for the legislative, executive, and judicial expenses of

Government for the year ending the thirtieth of June, Eighteen hundred and sixty one.”

“Sec. . And be it further enacted, that all purchases and contracts for supplies and services

in any of the departments of the Government, except for personal services, when the public

exigencies do not require the immediate delivery of the article or articles, or performance of

the services; shall be made by advertising, a sufficient time previously, for proposals respect-ing the same. When immediate delivery or performance is required by the exigency, the arti-

cles or services required may be procured by open purchase or contract at the places and in

the manner in which such articles are usually bought and sold, or such services engaged

between individuals. No contract or purchase shall hereafter be made unless the same be

authorized by law, or under an appropriation adequate to its fulfillment, except in the War

and Navy Departments, for clothing, subsistence, forage, fuel, quarters or transportation,

which however, shall not exceed the necessities of the current year. No arms nor military

supplies whatever which are of a patented invention, shall be purchased, nor the right of

using or applying any patented invention, unless the same shall be authorized by law, and the appropriation therefore explicitly set forth that it is for such patented invention.”

Approved June rd,

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The prohibition against purchasing patented arms would seem to have been directed at

Samuel Colt, from whom both the army and navy had been purchasing revolvers for several

years. Colt would later allege that this was the case and also asserted that the provision had been

motivated by (then) Senator Jefferson Davis.

As early as February various parties had urged the department to consider the services’

adoption of more repeating firearms. Henry K. Craig, then colonel of ordnance, took a dim view

of this suggestion. On February , he expressed his opinion in the following correspondence to

Secretary of War Joseph Holt:

I have the honor to acknowledge the reference to this office, of a letter from the Honorable

S. R. Curtis in behalf of the Commissioner on Military affairs of the House of

Representatives, submitting a report thereon, a memorial asking Congress to make an

appropriation to secure the purchase or manufacture of Revolving firearms, so as to armour Soldiers with them, as far as possible; upon which subject I respectfully report.

It is not believed that what are called repeating arms are desirable for Infantry of

the line or riflemen. They are complicated in their mechanism, more liable to get out of

order, and more difficult to repair than the muzzle musket and rifle of the present

model, which are unsurpassed for Military purposes. The revolving repeater, by the

rapidity with which five or six discharges can be made, then leaves the soldier with an

empty weapon, which requires considerable time to replenish even under favorable cir-

cumstances, rendering it quite practicable in time of action, for a soldier to discharge a

muzzle loading gun seven times in as short as a space of time as the same number of discharges could be made from a six chambered revolver. Excessive rapidity of fire is not

the great desideratum for military guns. The soldier can carry only a certain weight of

ammunition, which to be used with effect, should be expended with deliberation.

Revolvers have been known to discharge several of their charges at the same time (by

accident), thus rendering them unfit weapons for troops formed in two ranks, for the

reason that the front rank men would be more in dread of those behind them than of

the enemy. Repeating arms are more costly than muzzle loading guns that discharge

balls of equal weight of metal with equal force besides being necessarily heavier. The

principal of the repeating arms is suitable for pistols and should, in my opinion, berestricted to that weapon, and is already adopted into our service to as great an extent

as is deemed useful.

The proviso to the Act of rd June , prohibits the purchase of arms of a patented

character and will prevent the purchase of Revolving Pistols, without special authority of

law: and it would be advisable that such discretionary authority be given, in case the

demands of the service should render it necessary to purchase such arms.

The letter of the Honorable Mr. Curtis, with its enclosures is herewith returned .

Craig was quite vocal in his adverse opinions concerning repeating arms but was also wiseenough to foresee that preparations should be made to make further purchases of the same. His

advice was heeded on March , when Congress acted to repeal this stipulation. Subsequent

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events were to prove Craig correct, and patented arms, both revolvers and carbines, were soon

to be a top priority with the Ordnance Department.

BUREAU OF ORDNANCE, U.S. NAVY

I now present a brief description of the Bureau of Ordnance, the navy’s counterpart of the

army’s Ordnance Department:

The Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography was established by an Act of Congress,

August , , which abolished the Board of Navy Commissioners and directed the

Secretary of the Navy to apportion the Board’s functions appropriately among the five

Navy Department “Bureaus” authorized by the Act. On July , , the Bureau’s

hydrographic functions were transferred to the newly formed Bureau of Navigation,and its title was changed to the Bureau of Ordnance.

The functions of the Bureau have varied from time to time. It is now responsible

for the design, manufacture, procurement, issue, maintenance, and efficiency of all

offensive and defensive naval arms and armament, including net appliances, depth

charges, mines, torpedoes, armor, pyrotechnics, and buoys, and, except as specifically

assigned to other authority, optical and other devices and material for the control of

guns, torpedoes, and bombs. It also provides for the upkeep, repair, and operation of

naval gun factories, ordnance plants, torpedo stations, proving grounds, powder facto-

ries, ammunition depots, and mine depots. In connection with the procurement of reliable ordnance material, the practice was early adopted of assigning Naval Officers

as Inspectors of Ordnance to foundries, factories, and Navy yards to test and prove

articles manufactured under contract.

Chiefs of the Bureau of OrdnanceThrough

Capt. William Montgomery Crane September , –May ,

Capt. Lewis Warrington May

,

–November

,

Capt. Charles Morris November , –March ,

Capt. Duncan Nathaniel Ingraham March , –September ,

Capt. George A. Magruder September , –April ,

Commodore Andrew Allen Harwood April , –July ,

Rear Adm. John Adolphus Dahlgren July , –June ,

Capt. Henry Augustus Wise June , –June ,

Rear Adm. John Adolphus Dahlgren August , –July ,

Rear Adm. Augustus Ludlow Case August , –April ,

Commodore William Nicholson Jeffers April

,

–June,

Commodore Montgomery Sicard July , –January ,

Commodore William Mayhew Folger February , –January ,

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Commodore William Thomas Samson January , –May ,

Rear Adm. Charles O’Neil June , –March ,

As noted above, the Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography, first established in , was

responsible for supplying the U.S. Navy with all manner of ordnance equipment. In addition to

these duties, the bureau supplied navigational charts and equipment to the navy’s vessels. In

July , these functions were separated, and thereafter, the department was known as the

Bureau of Ordnance.

After the bureau maintained ledgers to record daily payments for purchases and ser-

vices received. These ledgers, “Records of Accounts Approved for Payment,” are invaluable for

the purpose of verifying deliveries of arms under letter orders and contracts. I could not locate

the first volume of these ledgers, to mid-, in the National Archives; therefore, all arms

purchases prior to mid-

have to be verified from other archival files. I now realize that thefinal entry dates of the missing ledgers and the separation of duties of the Bureau of Ordnance

from the Bureau of Navigation coincided; it is possible that the ledger was mistakenly trans-

ferred with other records to the newly formed Bureau of Navigation. I have not had the oppor-

tunity to explore this possibility. The ledgers that are available are not infallible and contain

numerous errors and omissions.

The U.S. Navy, like the army, relied on Colt to supply their revolver needs for the better part

of the s. There is some evidence that the navy acquired a small number of Colt’s Paterson

models in , but they were not obtained from Samuel Colt. Rather, they were purchased from

John Ehlers, the principal creditor of the defunct Patent Arms Manufacturing Company. Thefirst documented orders of revolvers by the bureau from Colt occurred in and were deliv-

ered to Commodore Matthew Perry for use during his famous expedition to Japan. The order

was for one hundred revolvers, that is, twenty-five army-size (Dragoons), fifty Navies, and

twenty-five Pocket Models of four-, five-, and six-inch barrel lengths. There were no fur-

ther orders from the bureau to Colt until , when five thousand Navy Revolvers were

ordered, that is, three thousand for the army and two thousand for the navy. Another two years

passed before the bureau sent another revolver order to Colt, this time for six hundred

Navies. The next orders did not occur until shortly after the start of the Civil War. The bureau

sent numerous small orders to Colt during the remainder of

and the first eight months of ; Model Navies and some Model Army Revolvers were delivered on these orders.

Colt lost their navy business in August , after refusing to deliver revolvers at a competitive

price. Remington and Whitney soon filled this void and supplied revolvers to the navy for the

remainder of the war.

In the bureau ordered three hundred Savage revolvers. There was a considerable delay

in their delivery, and they were not received until late . Shortly after the start of the war, the

bureau ordered an additional eight hundred Savage, one hundred Joslyn, and one hundred Starr

revolvers. Navy inspectors rejected forty of the Starrs and returned them to the company.

Both prior to and during the war, the navy also extensively used military-style single-shotpercussion pistols. Those in use during the war consisted of arms previously ordered by the

bureau from arms contractors, as well as a great many requisitioned from the Army Ordnance

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Department (see figure ). These were known as “boarding pistols” and were issued only to

“jacks” (seamen).

The navy had two methods of procuring small arms during this era: letter orders and con-

tracts. The most common that I noted were letter orders. The awarding of contracts seems to

have been limited to those arms that were procured in large numbers. Prior to and during the

war, the navy ordered revolvers in small numbers; orders exceeding five hundred arms were

rare. The meager navy budget allocation for small arms seems to have necessitated this procure-

ment method.

In the following narrative, I have functioned more as an editor than as author, presenting orig-

inal letters and documents from the National Archives as I found them, in chronological order,adding comments where appropriate. Not all of the original correspondence has been located;

accordingly, in many instances, I have had to read between the lines. In order to retain the

reader’s interest, I have taken the liberty of deleting the dates, addresses, salutations, and clo-

sures of most correspondence, except in instances where I felt these were necessary to complete

the story.

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INTRODUCTION

Remington Historical

Background

Any study of the arms of E. Remington & Sons would not be complete without some history of the Remington family. After due consideration, I have decided to present an address

given by Albert N. Russell before the Herkimer County Historical Society over one hundred

years ago. When my good friend and author Jerry Landskron was preparing the publication of

Remington Rolling Block Pistols in , I encouraged him to consider inclusion of this address in

his book. He heeded my advice, and the address was first presented there.

Russell was first hired as a Remington employee in , shortly after the death of the

founder. His employment continued throughout the postwar years, as he served in several

responsible positions. In his roles as resident of Ilion and Remington employee, he came to be

personally acquainted with the Remington brothers and their business associates, as well as withmost of the residents of the small village. He was one of the court-appointed administrators of

the Remington firm during their bankruptcy and subsequent sale in .

The astute reader will note that Russell made some errors in dates and figures in his presen-

tation. I attribute much of this to his faded memory. Overall, his address gave an excellent his-

tory of the village of Ilion and the Remington family.

“ILION AND THE REMINGTONS”

An Address by Albert N. RussellDelivered to the Herkimer County Historical Society, September ,

This history of Ilion as a village, both as to its origin and growth up to the present decade, is so inti-

mately connected with the lives and achievements of the Remingtons as to warrant the combination

in the title to this paper, as well as to forbid any attempt at a treatment of the first independent of

the last.

The proper limits to a paper to be read at a meeting of this society, however, confine me to the

statements of such historical facts regarding the growth of the village as are coincident with, and

inseparable from, the progress of the Remington works. In referring to the various enterprises and industries, which comprise in part—the history of “the Remingtons,” I shall not treat each in its reg-

ular sequence, nor in detail, but shall endeavor to make a brief record, informally, of that which may

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be interesting to those who may consult the archives of this society in years to come, and with a con-

sciousness that my paper will afford but slight entertainment to the audience.

The appellation, “the Remingtons,” is used here as applying to the members of that family who

originated and conducted the manufacturing enterprises, the development of which have been the

potent factor in the establishment and growth of the village, with its great industries, viz: Eliphalet

Remington (the second bearing that name) and his three sons, Philo, Samuel and Eliphalet Jr.

The father of the Eliphalet Remington referred to, also named Eliphalet, was born in Suffield,

Hartford County, Connecticut, October , , and his wife, Elizabeth Kilbourn, in Sandersfield in

the same state, August , . They were married March , . Their children were Elizabeth,

born February , ; Eliphalet, born October , ; Aphia, born May , , and Samuel, born

January , , who died in infancy.

Elizabeth married Alanson Merry and was the mother of Mrs. Aphia Chismore, now living in

Ilion, aged

years; John, living in Placerville, California; Eliphalet, who was one of the many pas-sengers lost in the wreck of the steamer “Central America” in , on a return voyage from

California; Edward, Charles and Welthy, deceased.

Eliphalet Remington, the founder of the Ilion works, married Abigail Paddock, who was killed

by being thrown from a buggy by a runaway horse on August , . Besides his three sons his chil-

dren were: Mary Ann, now living and widow of Reverend Charles Austen, and Maria, who became

the wife of the late Lawrence L. Merry, and mother of Seward, now living in Ilion, and two daugh-

ters, Carrie and Addie, now living in Streator, Illinois. Mrs. Merry died March , . Susanna,

another daughter died at the age of , unmarried.

Aphia P., his sister, became the wife of the late John S. Avery of Litchfield and mother of four sons: William, now deceased; Sanford, now living on part of the homestead in Litchfield; Samuel,

living in Council Bluffs, Iowa; Alanson, deceased; and four daughters, viz: Thetis, wife of Lorin

True, both of whom are deceased; Elizabeth, now living in Ilion; Mary M., who married Thomas

Davis and is deceased; and Lucy, the wife of James Leveck, now living at or near the old homestead.

I have stated that the first Eliphalet Remington and Elizabeth Kilbourn, his wife, were natives

of Connecticut and have given the date of their marriage [March , ]. Their first three children

were born in that state. In they immigrated to Herkimer County, first making their home in

Cranes Corners, where Mr. Remington worked at his trade, that of carpenter and, as Mrs. Chismore

informs me, built there what is known now as the “Old Union church.” Previous to moving here, viz, March , , he purchased from James Smith of Litchfield

acres of land, the deed for which is of record in , in the first book of records made after the fire,

which destroyed all records of previous date.

His subsequent purchases, as indicated by the records, gave him a holding of about acres of

land covering the territory where the Columbia Springs Hotel now stands in the Gulph, about three

miles south from Ilion, and sufficient land along Steele’s Creek at that point to make its waters avail-

able as a power for industrial purposes.

At that date, there was no continuous road leading through the Gulph to Cedarville from where

Ilion now is, but instead, one crossing Steele’s Creek to the west near the present residence of DennisH. Dygert and following near the creek to where the Harrington Road now turns west and by that

route up to the old Remington farm, then down the hill as now, to the sulphur springs in the Gulph

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and along the creek for some distance, then again taking to the hills on the west and back to the creek

at Cedarville.

This made the senior Remington’s property on the creek a suitable place for a blacksmith’s

shop and gave such control of the stream as to enable him to utilize it as a water power for pro-

pelling machinery.

The foregoing is written as prefatory to the formal introduction of Eliphalet Remington the sec-

ond, as the founder of Ilion and its industries and to enable me to correct some errors in tradition

and written history.

The first relates to his birthplace, which has been given as Litchfield, while in fact he was years

old when his parents emigrated to that place from Connecticut. Other errors will be manifest as I

proceed. The initiatory step to his mechanical and business career was the forging of a gun barrel for

his own use, which was done in the blacksmith shop referred to.

In Beer’s History of Herkimer County, it is stated that this occurred in

and when he was

years old. If that was his age, it must have been in . If in , his age was , for he was years

old in .

From all the information attainable, I am led to the conclusion that the blacksmith shop referred

to was in fact a forge having power furnished by a waterwheel, and that the welding of scrap iron

into bars and forging the bars into crowbars, pickaxes, sleigh-shoes, plowshares and points was car-

ried on there as well as horse-shoeing and general repair work for farmers, and that the industry was

installed by Eliphalet Remington st, who as we have seen was a mechanic, and who doubtless was

well aware of the mechanical genius of his son and wisely provided for his establishment in a con-

genial business.The association of the father with the son, and his active participation in his enterprises contin-

ued till the property, where the great manufactory in Ilion now is, was purchased in , and his

life was sacrificed in the birth of that establishment.

On the nd day of June in that year, while engaged in hauling the timbers which entered into

the construction of the first shop, he [Eliphalet Remington I] was thrown from the load by the cant-

ing of one of them and fell in such a position that the wheel of the wagon ran over him and injured

his spine so seriously that death resulted after days—on the th.

Whether young Eliphalet Remington forged his first gun barrel and with his own hands pro-

duced the finished gun because of his father’s unwillingness to buy him one, as stated in existing histories, or because of an ambition to achieve such a mechanical success is a question of minor

interest, but as the initiatory to an immense manufacturing business sending its products to the

ends of the earth, and the founding of a village ranking among the first in the valley of the Mohawk,

it becomes of great interest and a str iking illustration of the wonderful developments of this age or

of our locality.

The quality of this first gun was such as to create in the neighborhood a demand for others of like

efficiency. In response to this demand, barrels both for rifles and shotguns were forged, and appliances

devised and put into use finishing exterior and interior, ready for stocking and completion.

In those days, no factories for the manufacture of guns were in existence, but in every important village or town was to be found a gunsmith, whose business was by primitive methods to make and

repair firearms for those living in the vicinity, the barrels for the same being imported from England

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and Belgium by hardware merchants. Morgan James was the leading smith in Utica, and to him,

Mr. Remington took his first rifle barrels to be rifled, often taking, as I am told, as many as he could

carry on his back and making the journey of miles on foot, returning with a like load of those left

on the previous trip.

This was, however, but a temporary expedient. He soon had a rifling machine of his own in

operation and was producing more effective barrels than could be obtained elsewhere. Ponderous

grindstones were quarried from a ledge of red sandstone a short distance up the creek from the forge

and used to grind the exteriors true and to the desired form, being driven by water power. The rep-

utation of the Remington barrels soon became so great and extended so far, that the gunsmiths were

obliged to use and the hardware merchants to handle them in order to retain their customers.

Thus the merits of these products became known throughout our whole country, and the little

forge assumed the dignity of a factory.

An examination of an account book commencing in

shows that, while the making of gunbarrels became a prominent part of the industry, the other branches of work were kept up, and that

the prevalent method of paying workmen in part with “store goods” obtained with them. Among

other articles manufactured, there was one, the use of which is little known by the present genera-

tion, the cow bell.

The work was carried on at this point till , when acres of the John A. Clappsadle prop-

erty was purchased and removal made to the site of the now village of Ilion. To this purchase, sev-

eral additions were subsequently made. The firm of Hawes and Haines succeeded in the occupancy

of the Gulph establishment, where they manufactured carpenter’s squares and edged tools. They, in

turn, sold to John F. Brown, who conducted the same business till about

and then sold out to a firm who removed the works to North Bennington, Vt. This Mr. Brown conceived the idea of mak-

ing a watering place by the sulphur spring found there and built the brick house known as the

Columbia Springs Hotel. The enterprise was unsuccessful, and the establishment is at this writing in

a seriously dilapidated condition.

Following Mr. Remington to his new location, we find at “London,” now the west part of Main

Street, two hotels for the accommodation of teamsters and canal men and a third near the site of the

present gas works, a small store on the site of the new Heacock-Walker block, a canal warehouse,

where the recently built brick Hoteling block now stands, and perhaps a half dozen dwellings, mostly

farm houses.The first structure erected by Mr. Remington was a dwelling on the ground, now occupied by

O. B. Rudd’s jewelry store. Following this, came the wooden shop directly in the rear of the office

building, in the tower of which is the town clock.

In this building was installed the machinery for forging bar iron and converting the same into

the various utensils previously made in the Gulph establishment, and for making and finishing

ready for market barrels for rifles and shot guns, comprising in part a large trip hammer, several

light trip hammers, a large tub bellows, and grindstones, with the necessary boring and rifling

machines. To furnish power, water was brought from Steele’s Creek, by what is known as the “lower

race,” and utilized for driving the several water wheels, the waste from which was by an arrange-ment with the local authorities, discharged into the Erie [C]anal as a feeder. Increasing business

demanded increased facilities; a stone building near the canal was built the following year and

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equipped with water wheels and trip hammers, to be used especially for welding and forging gun

barrels. This has always been known as the “Stone Forge.”

The demand for the Remington gun barrels had, by this time, become so extended that an

organized shipping department became necessary, where a supply of locks, rough gun stocks, butt

plates, patch boxes, and other trimmings were kept, so that the gunsmith could obtain his complete

outfit. For many years and till the making of guns passed from the gunsmith to the factory, this

department was in charge of Mr. A. C. Seamans, father of C. W. Seamans of typewriter fame.

In this manner, the business was conducted by Mr. Remington with such changes and improve-

ments as experience suggested, till in , he entered into a partnership with Benj. Harrington for

the purpose of making the manufacture of iron and such articles as were not properly connected with

the gun business, a separate enterprise. For this purpose, they built a dam on Steele’s Creek and

diverted the water into a pond or reservoir on the land now owned by the heirs of John Beihn, near

the present residence of William Harrington, and about a mile south of the Ilion works, erected thereby the necessary buildings and equipments for making bar iron from scrap and, from the iron

produced, made the utensils commonly used by the farmers in those days, also mill spindles and such

other irons as were used in grist and sawmills.

To furnish the scrap iron used, teams were employed to traverse the surrounding country and

gather it in. The field of supply embraced all the surrounding counties, including Oswego. Iron ore

was also drawn from the Clinton ore beds in Oneida County. To furnish the fuel, the timber was cut

from the surrounding hills and burned into charcoal. The firm also built and operated the saw mill

known as “Harrington’s Mill,” the ruins of which were burned about three years since.

This forge was operated until the manufacture on a large scale and in proximity to the suppliesof ore and coal rendered it unprofitable, and today, nothing remains to mark the spot but a remnant

of the diverting dam and the bands of the pond, the bed of which is a productive market garden.

In the meantime, the sons of Mr. Remington were attaining maturity. Philo, who was born

October , , became of age in ; Samuel, born April , , in ; and Eliphalet, born

November , , in .

Philo was educated in the common schools and at Cazenovia Seminary, Samuel at common

schools and at Wilbraham Academy. Eliphalet attended Little Falls academy and Cazenovia

Seminary, in addition to the home schools.

Philo remained with his father and became master of all branches of the mechanical work, whileSamuel tried his fortunes for a time in railroad construction in the West, meeting with so little suc-

cess that he soon returned to Ilion, where, for a time, he conducted business by himself, opening a

store on the canal bank in .

In , war with Mexico being imminent, our government entered into contract with Ames and

Co., of Springfield, Mass., for the construction of several thousand carbines, the invention of one

William Jenks. For some reason, this company desired to be relieved of their job after having com-

menced to execute it, and Mr. Remington purchased the contract, together with such machinery as

they had adapted to the work. The equipment was meager, but combined with his own facilities,

enabled him to execute the work to the satisfaction of the government. Mr. Jenks, the inventor, cameon to supervise the work and afterwards built the brick house on the north side of the canal, now

known as the John A. Rasbach homestead.

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The building on the hill, now called the old armory, was built to enable Mr. Remington to carry

out this first contract, and what is called the upper race constructed to bring water to the wheel by

which the machinery was driven.

Thus equipped, Mr. Remington was ready to undertake other contracts, and before he had fin-

ished the carbine work, he had an order for , “Harpers Ferry” rifles, and before they were deliv-

ered, a further order of , was received, and later an additional one for , of the same; ,

Maynard self-priming musket locks were also made during the years and . I summarize this

as embracing most of the military work executed up to the advent of the War of the Rebellion in ,

but about , one Fordyce Beals invented a revolver, which Mr. Remington manufactured under

the inventor’s supervision, and the making of pistols of various models became an important branch

of the work carried on.

Meanwhile Samuel had, in connection with others, engaged in the manufacture of broom han-

dles and brooms and in

or

, in one of the buildings, which is now about in the center of the group, had commenced the manufacture of Yale’s patent locks, the father of Louis Diss, now assis-

tant superintendent of the typewriter works, having charge of the work. After a year or so he also

undertook the manufacture of safes and vault doors for banks, John F. Thomas being foreman in this

department. Among the establishments equipped by him was the U.S. Mint at Philadelphia. In ,

he also manufactured breech-loading guns of a model patented by one Merrill, but the system

did not prove practicable, and no more were made.

The separate enterprises, which Samuel had inaugurated, were abandoned in , and there-

after all the business was conducted by E. Remington & Sons, the three sons being partners.

About that time Mr. Charles Sayre, of Utica, invented a cultivator tooth, which they commenced to manufacture on the premises where the safe and lock work had been done, and Mr. David D.

Devoe became foreman of that work. This may be considered as the beginning of the agricultural

works, which later became so extensive.

During the period between and , a thrifty little village with about inhabitants had

grown up around the Remington works. A Post Office was established in , first named after Mr.

Remington but, at his urgent request, changed to Ilion, a name suggested by D. D. Devoe, who was the

first postmaster. Mr. Remington had built himself a substantial residence, the brick building on Main

street now occupied by the Remington Arms Co., as an office, the bank block, and the Osgood Hotel.

Philo and Eliphalet Jr. had each become established in homes built on Otsego Street, directly opposite the first armory buildings, and on the corner of Otsego and Second streets, where the pres-

ent brick Baptist Church stands, a Union Church had been erected. The stone school house on

Morgan Street provided accommodation for educational purposes. The village was incorporated

under the general laws in , but subsequently, a special act of incorporation was obtained which,

with various amendments and substitutions, remains in force. In August of that year the Ilion Bank

was incorporated with a capital of $ , with Eliphalet Remington as president, he holding that

office until his death.

With the advent of the Civil War, a new impetus was given to the work of the “Armory,” the new

name now applied to the works. Orders were given by our Government for army and navy revolvers.For the manufacture of these many new and special machines were purchased and tools adapted to

the work made. Additional room was provided by building, and steam engines [were] installed as

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auxiliary to the water power. Work was pushed night and day, but the requirements of the

Government could not be met in full, and a building was rented in Utica and equipped for pistol

work, which was carried on there for a short time and then brought to Ilion. Orders were also

received for large numbers of the regulation U.S. Spring field musket, which could only be made after

the erection of several large buildings, with corresponding increase of expensive machinery and the

necessary tools and fixtures.

Under the pressure of these new demands upon his energies, the elder Mr. Remington was pros-

trated and on August , , his remarkable career was ended, the second sacrifice to an enterprise

of which communities and nations were to be the beneficiaries. [The actual date of death has been

established as July , . At the time of his death, the Ordnance Department had not conveyed

any orders or contracts to the Remingtons.] His burial place was in the village cemetery, in a spot

selected by him while surveying the land first purchased in Ilion.

I cannot speak of the personalities of Mr. Remington from the standpoint of an acquaintance,his death occurring a few weeks before I became a resident of Ilion, but as gathered from others only.

In stature he was tall, of muscular build and capable of great endurance. His manners were gentle

and kindly, but his resolutions were firm, and obedience was enforced in the execution of his plans.

His education was such as was afforded by the local schools, but he was a careful reader and became

a well informed man. His habits were strictly temperate, his morals pure. As a neighbor he was

always kind and obliging. In every movement to promote the interests of the village, he was a leader

and coworker. He was a man of sterling integrity and had the implicit confidence of his employees,

who always sought his advice and counsel. In politics, he was an old line Whig until the advent of

the Republican Party, with which he early identified himself.In his religious views, he was liberal rather than sectarian, and he contributed generously for

building a Union Church to be free for the use of all denominations, regarding that the best way to

promote the religious interests of a community as small as Ilion then was. A strict economist, he

wasted neither time nor money, but I am persuaded that he was not greedy, and that an ambition

to be rich was far from being his impelling motive. With men of his type, it seems to be an impulse

to do, to develop, to produce and improve, which has no need for avarice as a motive power or self-

ishness as an incentive to economy. He evidently had but little taste for business as conducted by

office machinery. It has been said of him that “he carried his office in his hat.” This saying was

doubtless inspired in part by his custom of carrying his current letters and papers in the tall hat,which he commonly wore, instead of in the inside pocket as many of us do.

In looking over his books, I find none of those special accounts now so generally kept, such as

construction, repair, tools and machinery, etc., nor of interest or expense accounts, bills receivable

and payable, and other entries serving in any way to indicate his financial condition or business

profits. An unusually retentive memory seems to have enabled him to carry under his hat a greater

part of that which is usually confided to the keeping of the ledger.

I am able to pronounce no greater eulogy upon his character than by saying that during the

years I have lived in Herkimer County, I have never heard him spoken of except in terms of respect

and commendation.The management of the manufacturing department was devolved upon Philo, the oldest son,

while Samuel, the second, assumed a position corresponding with that of general agent, which made

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him the negotiator of contracts with the Government, purchaser of machinery materials, etc., a work

which required him to spend much of his time at the Capitol or in the business centers of the coun-

try. To Eliphalet was left the general supervision of the office and particularly the correspondence,

for which he was especially qualified by reason of superior penmanship and great felicity in the use

of language. The firm name “E. Remington & Sons” was retained until , at which date the busi-

ness was capitalized, an incorporation being effected under the same name with a nominal capital

of $ , , , and a plant valued at about $ , ,. This organization covered only the arms busi-

ness and properties, other interests being retained under the name of Remington Brothers or by the

brothers individually.

The work was pushed with unremitting energy until the preparations were complete, and they

were able to make regular deliveries of muskets to the War Department.

On the th day of April , immediately after the surrender of the Confederate Army by

General Lee, an order was issued from the War Department stopping all further purchase of armsand munitions, and the Remingtons were notified to discontinue the production of guns and

revolvers for Government use. [This was an error on Russell’s part. Although Remington’s final

revolver contract had been fulfilled the previous month, the company was granted extensions and

allowed to complete their musket and carbine contracts.] This doubtless was a necessary act on

account of the impoverished condition of the Treasury but none the less cruel in its effects upon the

company, which had incurred a large indebtedness depending upon the profits of Government work

for its liquidation.

With resources thus cut off, the struggle for life became intense. The Ilion Bank, which was a

large creditor, was so deeply involved as to cause its suspension, and Thomas Richardson, Esq., asreceiver, wound up its affairs. In this connection, it is a pleasure to record that afterwards, when

returning prosperity enabled them to do so, the Remingtons paid the stockholders and all persons

holding claims against the bank in full with interest.

During the progress of the War, it had been clearly demonstrated that the future infantry arm

must be breech-loading, and in anticipation of this change, the company had already availed itself

of the inventive genius of Mr. John [ sic] Rider [Rider’s given name was Joseph] , a German by birth

and a resident of Newark, Ohio, and placed under his direction a corps of skilled mechanics, John V.

Schmidt and others, who were working for the production of a breech-loading rifle with the qualifi-

cations necessary to secure its adoption by military authorities.The company possessed the confidence of the public to such a degree that creditors willingly

granted extensions of time, during which their running expenses were met by the proceeds of the

other branches of work, and in due time, they were prepared to offer the governments of the world

the simplest, most effective and durable firearm the inventive genius of the age had produced.

It should be stated, in this connection, that some parts of the mechanism of these guns were the

invention of parties outside of the Remington works, the use of which was obtained by license, with

payment of royalty.

The manufacture of this new model of gun required the construction of a complete set of tools

and fixtures, of such accuracy that all the parts would be interchangeable, that is, that each piece of a given gun would fit perfectly into any or all the others. The cost of these tools and the additional

machinery required a further outlay of many thousands of dollars, but with a faith and perseverance

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that yielded to no discouragements, they worked on till in the government of Denmark adopted

the gun and entered into a contract for , stands of arms. Mr. Samuel Remington had now

become the representative of the house in foreign lands, where he remained till . The works were

run night and day, and the contract successfully executed.

In , an order was also received from the Naval Department of our Government for ,

rifles, which were duly delivered. Spain came in the same year for ,. Next, in , came

Sweden with an order for , , followed in [ sic] by Egypt, with a call for ,. In ,

France and Germany being engaged in a war for which France was ill prepared; that government

came to Ilion for help. Unlimited orders for arms were given.

Neither buildings, machinery, nor tools had sufficient capacity to meet the demands.

Large additions were made to every department and the working force increased till , to

, men were employed, a large number of whom were skillful mechanics. The regular output of

rifles was

to

,

per day, besides great numbers of pistols.So excellent was the management and so perfect the equipment and organization that the prod-

uct per day for each man employed was largely in excess of that attained in the Springfield Armory

during the Civil War or of any other arms factory in the world.

A most marvelous exhibition of capacity and skillfully directed energy was made during the lat-

ter period of this undertaking, when the output of completed rifles was , to , per day and of

revolvers about . The record of such achievements needs no commentary to establish the reputa-

tion of Philo Remington as one of the most capable manufacturers our country has produced. The

work was done under the contract system, being divided among or more capable contractors,

under the direction of a superintendent and the necessary foremen. The aggregate number of arms furnished France was ,. The execution of these contracts had resulted in large profits by which

the debts of the corporation were liquidated, and the termination of the transactions with France left

them with a surplus, which was deemed sufficiently large to warrant a dividend which was made

approximating $ , ,. , to which smaller sums were subsequently added.

Previous to this, Col. Watson C. Squire married a daughter of Philo Remington and became

prominently connected with the business management, occupying the position of Secretary and

Treasurer and by virtue of his position, the financial executive. He also acquired the ownership of a

portion of the stock of the company, which he retained for a time and then exchanged with Philo

Remington for real estate in Seattle, Washington. He was succeeded by Eliphalet Remington in theoffice of Treasurer. Incidentally it may be stated that by appointment of President Arthur, Col.

Squire became Governor of the Territory of Washington and later by election, U.S. Senator from the

new state, which position he held for two consecutive terms.

In , the State of New York, having adopted the Remington rifle for use by the National

Guard, made a contract for , which were duly furnished.

I think it is to be recorded, at this point, that in the spring of , a board of Army officers

appointed to test the various arms, which had been invented and were seeking adoption by our

Government, met at St. Louis, Major General Scofield being chairman. About different models of

rifles were submitted to the most severe tests, in which the Remington was victorious and the com-mission reported decidedly in its favor. This report was fully endorsed by General Sherman, the head

of the Army. This was supposed to have been conclusive and to have established the Remington as

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the national arm, but by methods, which are not subject to discussion here, interested parties finally

procured the adoption of what is known as the “Allin Gun,” which our Government has wasted mil-

lions in manufacturing, and now, strange to tell, our state legislature has committed the folly of pro-

viding for the exchange of her Remingtons for these inferior arms.

Following the completion of the French requisition, came in quick succession an order from

Puerto Rico in for , , from Cuba the same year for , , followed by Spain for , ,

Egypt for , , and another from Cuba for , . Subsequent orders executed for the government

of Mexico aggregated , , and for Chile , , and sales were made from time to time from the

New York office and by Messrs. Hartley and Graham aggregating , . The dates given above are

of the first deliveries on the several orders. For work executed subsequent to , I have not secured

accurate statistics, but I am informed by Mr. Frederick Armstrong, who for a long time was book-

keeper for the company and who had kindly furnished me the foregoing data, that sales to the United

States, and Colombia, Honduras, China, and other governments will swell the number to consider-able above one million arms manufactured and delivered.

The introduction of the breech-loading rifle was accompanied with great improvement in the

range and effectiveness of military firearms, and one of the qualifications of the good soldier must

be expert marksmanship, the ability to pick his man at a distance of , yards or more. Both in

this and foreign countries “ranges” were established where both soldiers and “teams” of men from

private callings engaged in practice and contests for superiority. The Remington “Creedmore Rifle,”

of which many were manufactured on account of its great accuracy and projectile force, became a

favorite in these matches, and with it victories were won in both national and international

matches. If any evidence were lacking to prove the excellence of the products of the Ilion works, thesecontests furnished all that was needed.

The conduct of a business of such magnitude, and so intricate in its details, required the employ-

ment of numerous assistants in both financial and mechanical departments. Prominent in the

Department of Finance was Floyd C. Shepard, who retained his connection with the company till its

dissolution. Thomas Richardson Esq., was their legal counselor and, as such, crossed the ocean sev-

eral times in their interests.

From the time of the enlargement of the works in the sixties and until , when he was suc-

ceeded by W. S. Smoot, J. M. Clough was Superintendent of the Manufacturing Department. Mr.

Smoot was succeeded by John Hoefler, who continued to occupy the position until the business passed into other hands.

For several years John F. Thomas was in charge of the machine and repair shop. He was suc-

ceeded by Charles E. Pettee.

From to , the writer was in charge of a department covering freight and transportation,

buildings, fixed machinery and millwright work, coal, lumber and supplies of a general nature, a

department outside of the manufacturing line, but intimately associated therewith as an auxiliary.

In this position, a general knowledge was acquired, which was doubtless the basis of an appointment

to which reference will be made hereafter.

Mr. Samuel Remington with his family made their home in London, while abroad, and remained there till as stated, when they returned and resided in New York City till the time of

his death, which occurred December , . His family consisted of wife, now deceased, formerly

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Miss Flora, daughter of Benjamin Carver; three sons, Carver, Eliphalet and Frank, now of Chicago,

and one daughter, Jennie, now Mrs. Prettyman, and also, I believe, is residing in Chicago. My

acquaintance with Samuel Remington was less thorough than with his brothers but sufficient to

enable me to estimate with some degree of correctness his qualities. In stature he was of medium

height, with an inclination to corpulency. His complexion was fair, his hair dark, and a pleasant

expression of the eye made his presence agreeable. I think he was an ambitious man, and that he had

a greater desire to make money for personal ends than either of his brothers. He taxed his physical

and mental powers to the point of utmost endurance and chafed and worried over delays, whether

unavoidable or the result of negligence on the part of others. His integrity was unquestioned, and his

success in negotiating contracts with foreign potentates testifies to his ability in that line.

During the Franco-German War, France not only gave him unlimited orders for arms of his

own company’s make, but made him purchasing agent of all the arms and munitions which he

could procure in this country, a commission of great responsibility, involving transactions amount-ing to many millions.

He was not in harmony with his brothers in their religious convictions and seemed but little

interested in church or social affairs. He was a friend of the common school and a liberal supporter

of all schools to improve the village schools. In politics, he was a Republican but was too busy a man

to devote his time to political work.

In the settlement of his estate, his administrators sold his stock and all his interest in the busi-

ness of the corporation to his brother Philo, who then became chief owner as well as manager of

the business.

Following the adoption of the breech-loading rifle as an infantry arm and the systematic man-ufacture of machinery with interchangeable parts, all the first class governments of the world, and

some of the lesser ones, made haste not only to equip their armies with breech loaders, but to estab-

lish plants for their manufacture. Some adopted the Remington, others models devised by their own

inventors. All sought to make themselves independent of foreign countries in time of war, as well as

to promote manufacturing industries within their own domains.

The Turkish government while not included in the first class is among the most warlike but too

near barbarous and destitute of skill in the mechanical arts to be competent to manufacture her own

arms, remained an open field for their sale. At one time, after protracted negotiations, the

Remingtons were at the point of closing a contract with that government for

,

rifles when a party, nonofficial but occupying a position of great influence with the Sultan, stepped in with a

demand for a bonus of cents per gun, which the company refused to pay, with the result that they

Documents

Remington Army and Navy Revolvers 1861-1888.pdf