Merrill Breechloading Conversion of the 1841 Mississippi Rifle
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- Опубликовано: 26 авг 2024
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James Merrill of Baltimore had his hands in several Civil War era firearms - rifles built from scratch, conversions of the Jenks carbines, and also conversions of 1841 Mississippi rifles done by the Harpers Ferry Arsenal. Merrill’s conversion involved a knee-joint type lever which could be opened to allow loading of a rifle from the breech. The system was relatively simple, and it was one of three (the others were the Lindner and Montstorm) made in small numbers for testing by Harpers Ferry. It appears that 300 Merrill conversions were done, 100 each of the 1841 Mississippi Rifle, 1842 musket, and 1847 musketoon.
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Interesting gun and that brass makes rifle look even more gorgeous.
The*
Agreed
Was thinking just the same you fighting turkey.
Brass furniture just always seems to add a touch of class these days
@@Taolan8472 my favorite gun I own is a blued marlin repeater with brass accents, there's nothing more timeless than a beautifully simple gun with some splash of color.
It's breechloading month boys
That's what she said!
Runs away...
Over 50 years ago my uncle, who had a very large (50+) antique rifle collection, had a Merrill conversion. He told me that the loading procedure was, open the breech and load a bullet then seat it as far as it would go without powder. Now place the paper charge in and close. Compressing the powder but also ruptured the back of paper case. Cap and fire.
Transition weapons always get my attention.
Don't they, I mean it's like that's how they got from point A to B. I mean you see a little of the trapdoor in this.
This seems to be one of the better conversions. Any reports or speculation of how good the gas seal was. Looks as if that "rammer" plug could have been fitted with a gasket of some kind as an obturator.
Great content as always.
I was wondering about that, the groove in the breech plug looks like it may be meant to hold some sort of gasket maybe? Wrap some greased twine around there, better than nothing.
Vulcanised rubber was available back then, it was new to the market and was the latest wonder material of the victorian age.
@@Matt_The_Hugenot some real possibility there.
Richard Elliott At 5:12 it looks like there's a brass-colored fragment in the groove. Might have been a brass ring obturator at one time that embrittled and fell out?
(EDIT) Damn, I missed the : key first time around.
@@markfergerson2145 Ian usually would mention this subject, especially after that Sharps burned the hair from his arm, but didn't this time. Disappointing. Still a great video on a gun we otherwise wouldn't even have known existed.
Civil war breach loader are some of my favorite rifles
That's one of the slickest breach-load conversions I've ever seen. Gorgeous gun.
A few friends of mine collect Civil War era weapons. Those who have them highly prize their Mississippi rifles, because they are just such handsome and well built pieces. I never knew that Harper's Ferry made these conversions. Thanks for the new and surprising information.
Wasn’t the civil war in the 1860’s tho?
Evan Wiltse Yes. And the 1841 was used in the Civil War as well, as was almost any working military arm either belligerent could lay their hands on.
@@evanwiltse6127 There were guys still using flintlocks.
John Kelinske yeah but I just thought the 1841 would be outdated by then
@@evanwiltse6127 Not at all, Model 1816 muskets converted to percussion were used in the early years of the war, among many others.
The last M-1 Carbines were built before 1945, yet they were still in military use well over 20 years later just as another example.
Ian brings a bedroll to RIA, tells them “I’m going to be here a few days boys” what an awesome vacation that would be
Ad be like: "with this conversion you can load your gun as fast as you say Mississippi"
Missussisp... no!
Misiis... damm!
Missish... arg!
Give me the musket I need a longer reload...
@@vertigo4236 *Hands ye olde wheellock musket*
@@Taistelukalkkuna 🤣
Hell yeah, love me some breechloading conversions.
This answers one of my long standing questions; did anyone ever try and use the minnie ball in a breech loading system.
The Snider bullet was Hollow-base, and the original .50-70 bullets were cup base (amongst others). The expanding base bullet idea stuck around for quite a few decades before people finally came to the conclusion that you didn't really need it if your bullets were even close to groove-sized (technically, you don't need it for muzzle loading rifles either, but your bullet-bore tolerances have to be tighter (not good for military use).
As a Virginian, I always love hearing about guns that have come out of my beloved home state. Assuming you haven’t done one already, and if you could get your hands on one, I’d love to see a video on the Richmond rifle, especially with its ties to the Harpers Ferry Arsenal.
Even if Harper's Ferry wasn't burned, I'm not sure significantly larger amounts of muzzleloaders would have been converted. Ripley was generally resistant to these emerging technologies fearing wasteful expenditures of ammunition
The constant paranoia about ammo is something I find incredibly odd.
I'm pretty sure that firing 30 shots over the course of 4-5 minutes instead of 10-11 minutes would cause the enemy to break faster and could very well save ammo.
Like, good lord what is that mans obsession with "wasting" bullets?
@DOUG HEINS But if we follow the logic that we can already see, aren't they ALREADY firing all of their ammo to little to no effect? And thus wouldn't an increase in fire rate actually increase their effectiveness by lowering the enemy's ability to retaliate and increasing the odds of a hit?
I mean, if they aren't aiming, more fire rate is better.
@DOUG HEINS Yes, I understand what he wanted, but that wasn't reality. Soldiers will take cover if its provided, and evidence shows that they didn't do slow aim and fire because they were trying not to get shot, so getting faster follow up shots would be a net benefit as it's more lead downrange in a faster time, making it harder for the enemy to fire back or get into position.
I get what he meant, but it just doesn't hold up at all and really any engagement with a unit with rapid firing weapons should have shown this.
@@hawkticus_history_corner The entire reason behind the train of logic of concise aimed shots whilst in cover or in Trenches is because of the Logistics at the time where garbage, the chances of the enemy being able to use a cavalry detachment and eat all of your supplies for the campaign was very high and very often occurred during the Napoleonic Wars and the US Civil War. So soldiers firing off all of their rounds in a single battle to "suppress" enemies would be a retarded idea because then the enemy regiments have to just wait unless they miss all of their volleys, then charge down the enemy as they have no ammo and your combat ability for your entire army is instantly depleted in an hour or 5. So precious use of bullets, powder, and caps was more important than even casualties of *any* rank, something that happened even until WWII.
Rip leg was a product of the “peacetime “ Army. A force constantly fighting skirmishes on the borders and frontiers of the rapidly expanding nation. Logistics was extremely limited beyond the railroads, so mules and wagons handled the last hundred miles or so, sometimes more. Practically, that meant troops often only had the ammunition on their persons to last a multi day patrol and any firefights that might happen along the way. There was often very limited ammunition for training as well. Repeaters under those conditions might have been unsupportable, and that was the mindset this man’s whole career. Suddenly having to support a mass army with lots of different weapons using multiple different cartridges cobbled together from all over the US and Europe was enough to drive anyone to distraction.
0:45 Shoutout to the ghost of Jefferson Davis making a guest appearance.
I can only hope that drawings, descriptions and such of the destroyed conversion rifles still exist. It's a darn shame for them and many other rifle experiments and prototypes to be completely lost to time
Hi, Ian. So the burning of the armory was a serious setback for rifle design. This rifle was a great improvement over many of the rifles used in the Civil War. I like the looks of it. Thanks for sharing! Stay healthy!
Wow that is so very interesting. I'm constantly surprised by the technology that was had historically. So often it seems that more modern ideas were tested long before it was generally accepted as a good idea and or made widely available by manufacturing capability.
Yeah, the limiting factors tend to be the limits of material science and also the "limits" people "in the know" put on various things. Like how in ancient China one emperor literally tried to send himself to the moon using rockets. His followers said he made it, his competitors thought him crazy and his subjects liars, and the idea of rocket travel was put on hold for a very long time until people started pushing the science of the day to the limit with people like Von Braun and Goddard finally making headway. But yeah, not a new idea, science and materials just hadn't caught up with the ideas yet.
Those sort of work like a Podewils-Lindner. Opening the breech, putting in a paper cartridge, and capping the gun.
More similar to a Westly Richards than the bolt action on the Lindner.
Always been a fan of the Mississippi Rifle, so this was a very interesting installment of Forgotten Weapons.
This is definitely one of the better and nicer capping breachloaders
"In the very beginning, the 1841 was really kinda more of a jaeger rifle"
Dang, all the way before light, Earth, seas, and man! But so sayeth gun Jesus.
"And Davis saw the rifle, and that it was good."
"yeah yeah, light and waters and stuff, but check this out; comes out in 1841, i cant wait"
I believe it was considered, at the time it was introduced, to be one of the most accurate military rifles of the day. Some even had steel barrels.
I wondered if John Brown would have used any them when he seized the arsenal in 1858?
No, he was captured pretty quickly. And hung not long after the raid.
M1841 was very accurate. I have one still in its original 54 cal. and it shoots a 2" pattern at 100 yards...patched round ball.
I shot a nice 9 pointer with it a few years ago. Very fun to shoot.
The breech load conversion looks really interesting. The one I use was made in 1850 by Robbins and Lawrence, one of the contractors hired to manufacture them. It has a steel barrel and the original brass tipped ramrod.
I had an Italian reproduction of a '41 Mississippi/Whitney/etc rifle in .54 caliber. Even though it had a very simple rear sight, it was accurate and easy to handle and balanced great. The barrel had thick walls to give it some weight but it didn't feel heavy. I mostly shot patched round balls. The repros had very wimpy ramrods designed for Minie bullets which like you said were used on the converted, rebored to .58" guns. You do not want to try to use a ramrod with a tightly patched roundball or the brazed on tip might warp or snap. Another thing, the Mississippi rifle was also used by the Texas Rangers along with their Walkers. They would shoot their rifle and instead of bothering to reload, they would draw their Walkers and finish what they started. The Mississippi rifle with a roundball used the same amount of powder as the Walker could hold, 60 grains. Mine being a repro with more modern and better steel, could handle higher loads, but I never saw the need of it, because more powder, means more blow through and more smoke and flash outside of the barrel instead of behind the ball where it counted. :)
Man, I like these videos! So many interesting weapons I'd never heard of or knew very little about! Thanks Ian! You do a great job with these.
That is a BRILLIANT conversion! Could have revolutionized the war effort, IMHO. Thank goodness there are still a handful of examples left for us to appreciate. Present - day black powder shooters would have lots of fun with a reproduction of one of these. I know *I* would!
Early breechloaders are so cool. I love how Ian is covering them.
an early upload. now i can go to bed at a reasonable time
I wake up to get this as early as possible
Nice looking and robust construction never seen one like that Been learning allot from your channel take care
I would very much advise always using paper cartridges in that design. There is a fairly large cranny at the rear and some nooks in front where loose powder flakes could accumulate should you load a few rounds by clumsily pouring powder in and hoping the knee joint rammer pushes it all. It probably won't. Eventually you will therefore have a potential grenade to he held against one's cheek when firing. Stick with paper cartridges. :)
You’re a very underrated channel
What a beautiful rifle...looks very handy indeed
Aight gentlemen, we are quite early today
ForgottenBreechloaders, the new miniseries brought you by the producers of ForgottenBergmanns
Love the loading mechanism!
A really cool, and beautiful rifle.
Could the Harper’s Ferry name be used for a new gun company for name recognition, similar to Springfield?
Probably. You'd need to check the names of gun makers with the ATF to be sure.
I'd like to know whether the extra woodwork was original, part of the conversion, or a repair at some point. Looks like it would have been one of the faster shooting rifles of the time other than the tube loaders that were just around the corner.
I was curious about the woodwork as well.
The armory may have been burned down but the tooling and machinery was sent to Richmond virginia and fayettvile North Carolina and they would go on to make about 60k-75k richmond fayettevill pattern rifles some of the few reliable domestically built rifle by the confederates
Ram, Powder and Ball, three of the four Beatles.
Very cool. The auction estimate seems reasonable for such a rare piece. It'll be interesting to see what it finally sells for.
I visited mr Knights museum in Florida and I’m pretty sure that was the day you were shooting the knights lmg. I know you were shooting something. I appreciate you putting the link in the Farquhar video.
wow would be a great documentary on the place if it would be possible
Thank you , Ian .
Hey Ian. Not sure if you noticed or if it's pointed out but there's a few visual artifacts or something in this video. Right at the end, there's a green flash on I think the top left of the video. I believe there was a similar thing earlier in the video too.
My 1841, marked 1854, is my favorite 19 th century military arm, including a few 1816 conversions to caplock, a 1854 Lorenz and 1862 Richmond. The Mississippi outshines them all.
Sounds like a very interesting what if scenario.
Yes
Ian not to correct but Harpers Ferry was not in Confederate territory after 1861.Historically the dividing line of Union and Confederate held territory in that area, was the Shenandoah river. Harpers Ferry is currently in West Virginia now. Not including The city of Winchester. Which traded hands three times. But the area surrounding the Town of Harpers Ferry remained in the part of Virginia that seceded to become West Virginia and at no time was Confederate territory after secession. They moved the tooling to Richmond very early on. You yourself spoke of this in other videos concerning Confederate arms. The tooling was moved twice more to South Carolina. Harpers Ferry was in the headquarters area for the Valley Campaigns. Which spanned from Berkeley Springs in the west through Martinsburg all the way east to Lovettsville Va.Franz Segel and Burnside commanded the Dept of West Virginia. In the area was encampmented approximately 60,000 to 125,000 UNION troops depending on the time.i happen to know this because I've lived in Northern Virginia all my life and the history was pretty much driven home. If it's any indication I live 43 miles east of Harpers Ferry. In the town where McClellan gave his farewell to the troops speech.
I understand why Ian loves this gun. With all these conversions it reminds him the Lebel 🇨🇵 😉
Very interesting Cap an Ball Musket Rifle !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
At the time harpers ferry was in Virginia but today it is in West Virginia.
RocketSurgeon Actually, when tectonic plates shift, you don’t have to do any of the work.
Today the Harper's Ferry Arsenal is actually located in nowhere since it burned down 159 years ago.
Watching the rammer work, I'm thinking 16" naval gun.
Huh, it's pretty much a Morse Carbine action but set up for loose ball and powder instead of cartridges.
Interesting! I suppose the guys at Harper's Ferry really liked it.
That thing is Beautiful! Also Slick!
I wonder if Lee got his idea for the Lee Hand Loader from this rifle? It popped in to my mind as soon as I saw you operate it.
Beautiful rifle :)
This thing is really steampunk looking
Good looking rifle.
Ian, how about a book "civil war breech loading firearms and concepts" ?
The video seems to have couple of green artifacts here and there, like on the 12th frame from 8:06
Re WATCHING?
I noticed the distance past touch hole the ram would be in battery. Then I noticed a view filmed of the face of the pusher piston looked to have a hole centered. While I also noticed the O grove on the skirt of the pusher piston.
Could this whole knee jointed mechanism forward of the touch hole be part of the area exposed to BP gasses as they expanded?
I would love to see the relation of the touch hole to all of this!
I suspect the loading procedure was a bit different than as mentioned?
"I Suspect" the arm was pulled out of position with an open breach, then a projectile was rammed forward and opened again, then a powder charge from opened paper cartage was dumped into the open breach rammed home and closed into battery before the nipple was caped.
This "Suspected method" would leave enough powder for the touch hole area to start the powder train to the main charge.
Is that groove on the breech plug supposed to have an obdurator of some sort?
Probably a leather washer.
The Mississippi Rifles' Mississippi Rifles
New World was a lot of fun.
We need you in a John Wick movie.
Simple conversion; easy to operate. A potential game changer, had things been different...
You should try to get a look at the new kn 7.5
Do a video on the Iver Johnson Champion line of shotguns please.
Did the groove in the ramming part originally have a rubber O ring to obturate the chamber?
I was wonder, looking at the breach, how they manage to ram the paper cartridge & ball home without destroying the paper cartridge.. then I saw something in the business end of the plunger indicating this may be a two loading process.. 1st the ball goes into to the breach.. it is rammed home.. then the paper cartridge is inserted & rammed home.. once the power charge is press up against the ball, it's time to half-cock & load the primer. am I wrong here?
Can ya slow down the subliminal messages? I’d like to appreciate them a bit more... but maybe that’s just me.
What do you mean?
@@joaquimpereira4995
0:47
@@joaquimpereira4995 I think they were referring to a brief rendering artifact that caused a frame to be misplaced.
On closer examination that was an image of the gun's trigger guard scaked down to the top left with a green background. No subliminal messaging, just an editing error
Illuminati confirmed!
Very similar to the Darne system.
Do you think there'd be a rubber ring in that groove in the bolt?
What a catchy name!
Yes.
Something went wrong with editing, because it looks like it's been blinking a few times with a green screen and the content in a smaller portion of the screen.
Yeeehaw! Amazing rifle.
Can you make a video on the Indian 5.56x30 carbine round
Great video as always. One question, though. The "rammer" seemed to have a concave hollowing with a hole as the base of the chamber. Was this hole through which the sparks from percussion cap entered the chamber?
Very interesting
Now we know why John Brown stormed Harper's Ferry.
6:42 Does anybody know why the bolt face is hollow rather than flat? Does that center hole lead anywhere?
Question Ian, while not related to this gun, where do you go to find and research gun patents?
Has that butt stock been repaired? Looks like wood has been scabbed onto the left site where the cheek goes. Very cool rifle!
Un cordial Saludos
do you have some opportunity to make a video about AEK 971?
Nice mod.
Notice the small glitch at 8:05
A lot of times when I see neat designs like this, I think of what would happen in the event of societal collapse. While most guns wouldn't be going anywhere, I do think many of these rifle designs would come back into prominence.
Imagine if you could travel back to any point in time... How far back would you go to tell the firearms design community that with the help of metallurgy, you can house powder & bullet in a single self-contained unit.
they were using paper cartridges in the 1600's, so earlier than that, I suppose. There were wheellock breech loaders from the 1400's that used replaceable chambers, the biggest issue with adopting metallic cartridges is the lack of industrial backing for them pre-1850's (even still, drawn cases weren't widespread until the 1870's in most places). In line ignition was more-or-less conceptualized by the early 1700's because there are quite a few inline flintlocks from the 1720's. Ease of manufacture, logistics, and the knowledgeability of the customers were the determining factors in the development of firearms.
Is there a good book on these Merrill conversions?
I'm curious as to the extent of the testing the various conversions underwent and if there was any clear "winner" as far as effectiveness, and ease and cost of conversion.
I would recommend reading "The Best Gun in the World" by Seigler. It is about the Morse carbine, but it does go over the testing of breechloading rifles of the time.
"In the very beginning", there was the Word and the Word was... oh wait that's not what he was talking about.
Why did part of me expect to see Skittles in the patch box
During the civil war was this a standard regular line infantry issue or only for skirmishers and special infantry units?
They were not common. An Indiana unit bought some during a TDA in DC. I handled one attributed to a soldier of that unit.
Please make a review of the guns used in the Crusades
hey, did that forgotten weapons logo at the start look kinda low res for anyone else? File got lost or smth. Hopefully they figure something out,
Nope, mine was normal
You sure your video quality just didn't start low for the first few seconds while the video loads ahead? That's pretty common...
Aight, might be on my end. Weirdly seemed consistent, so I wondered aloud.
Why Does The H Look Like A K ?