Book Read Free

First Freedom

Page 35

by David Harsanyi


  and law enforcement, 193

  lever-action, 177

  ownership of, 237

  pump-action, 177

  sawed-off, 227, 228

  semiautomatic, 179

  taxes on, 227

  and Western frontier, 139–40

  See also specific manufacturer

  showmen

  and Western frontier, 143, 143

  See also specific person or show

  SIG Sauer guns, 236

  Simpson, Steve, 245

  Sioux Indians, 90, 148–49

  Sitting Bull, 149

  sixteenth-seventeenth centuries

  civil defense in, 20

  firearms in, 1, 12–13, 28–29

  gun ownership during, 73

  hunting in, 24

  See also specific topic

  slaves: and gun ownership, 21

  slide-action guns, 177

  slings, 1–2, 3

  Smith & Wesson guns

  Indian use of, 149

  loading/reloading of, 121

  M1, 114–15, 120, 121

  M2, 121

  M3, 121

  M.44-caliber “American,” 138

  Smith & Wesson (Springfield, Massachusetts), 110, 118, 119, 120–21, 137, 224, 236. See also Smith & Wesson guns; Volcanic Repeating Arms Company

  Smith, Horace, 114, 118. See also Smith & Wesson

  Smith, John, 15, 22

  Smith, Joseph, 175

  Smithsonian Institution, 176, 222

  smoothbore guns

  double-barreled shotguns developed from, 139

  muskets as, 29, 55, 59–61, 62, 69, 92, 148

  of North, 93

  percussion carbines as, 93

  and Western expansion, 84

  See also specific type of gun or model

  “snaphaunce,” 22

  snipers. See guerrilla warfare; marksmanship; sharpshooters; specific person

  soldiers, American: British image of, 36

  Somme, Battle of the (1916), 172

  Soviet AK-47 (Kalashnikov), 215–17, 222–24

  Soviet Union. See Russia/Soviet Union

  Spain, 61

  Spanish-American War, 181, 190

  Spencer, Christopher, 105, 123–26, 130, 238

  Spencer guns

  and Civil War, 126, 127–28, 130–31

  development of, 123–25

  Indian use of, 149

  rifles as, 123–25, 126, 127–28, 130–31

  and Western frontier, 131

  Spencer Repeating Rifle Company, 131

  spinning propulsion, 29

  sport shooting, 234–35, 246. See also hunting; shooting contests

  Springfield Armory (Massachusetts)

  Allin at, 131

  and Berdan’s sharpshooters, 128–29

  British visit to, 126

  and Browning firearms, 184

  as center of gun technology, 88

  as centralized armory, 88–89

  and conversion of muzzleloaders to breechloaders, 131

  first official muskets at, 69

  Garand at, 200, 202–3, 206

  and Garand M1 rifles, 204

  Hall’s ideas at, 94

  manufacturing at, 119

  as production center for American arms, 89

  Ripley at, 126, 127

  Smith (Horace) at, 118

  Springfield guns

  carbines as, 149, 185, 204

  and first official muskets, 69

  M1795 flintlock musket, 89

  muzzleloaders as, 128

  See also Springfield rifles

  Springfield rifles

  ammunition for, 201

  and hunters, 145–46

  M.70-caliber trapdoor “Lucretia Borgia,” 144

  M1803 flintlock, 89

  M1863 rifles, 131

  M1903 bolt-action, 182, 212

  and Maxim, 169

  standard military, 201

  and Western frontier, 131, 145–46

  in World War I, 186

  “stabillite,” 171

  Standard rimfire pistol, 234

  standing armies: and debate about right to self-defense, 74–75, 77, 78

  Standish, Myles, 19, 21

  steam-powered guns, 162

  Steinkirk, Battle of (1692), 23

  StG 44 guns, 206

  Stoner, Eugene, 217–19, 222, 223–24, 238

  Story, Joseph, 240

  Sturm, Alexander, 234, 235

  Sturm, Ruger & Co., 234–36

  submachine guns, 198, 216, 226. See also tommy guns

  “submarine” mine: of Colt, 102–3

  Suffolk Resolves, 49–50

  Sullivan Act, 226

  Sullivan, Timothy D., 226

  Summerall, Charles Pelot, 182–83

  Sumner, William H., 240

  Supreme Court

  and Brady Act, 243

  and Emerson case, 244

  and Heller case, 246–47

  McDonald v. City of Chicago decision of, 247

  Miller ruling by, 228–29

  NFA ruling of, 228–29

  and Second Amendment rulings, 228–29, 238, 243, 246–47

  swivel guns, 83–84

  swords, 1–2, 6

  Tammany Hall, 226

  Taoists, Chinese, 36

  target shooting, 210, 233

  taxes, 227

  Taylor, Zachary, 101, 104

  Tennessee: gun laws in, 241

  Tenth Amendment, 75, 243

  terrorism, 216

  Texas Rangers, 104

  “30 aught 6” cartridges, 203

  Thompson, John T., 185–86, 190, 191, 194, 197–98, 216, 233

  Thompson, Marcellus, 192, 194, 197–98

  Thornton, William, 92

  .357 Magnum, 104

  Tocqueville, Alexis de, 134

  tomahawks, 11–12

  tommy guns, 185, 189–98, 189

  Tower musket, 67

  Towton, Battle of (1461), 7

  trade

  gun, 25, 148

  and Western expansion, 85

  “trapdoor,” 131

  traveling shows, 98–99. See also specific show

  treason, 240

  Tribe, Laurence, 244

  Trobriand, Philippe Régis de, 137–38

  trophy, target shooting, 211

  Tucker, Barbara, 96

  Tucker, George, 240

  Turkey, 164

  Tutt, Davis, 132–33, 134, 136, 138

  Twain, Mark, 106, 157–58

  “two-trigger” setups, 146

  United States

  culture of, 233, 248

  first battle in history of, 43–44

  first guns manufactured in, 24

  as “great arsenal of democracy,” 201–2

  “gun culture” in, 48, 248

  role of guns in, 238–39

  See also specific person or topic

  United States Electric Lighting Company: Maxim at, 168

  unsnapping latches, 121

  Urschel, Charles, 196

  Valentine’s Day Massacre (1929), 194–95

  Valley Forge, Battle at, 68

  Verdun, Battle at, 211

  Vicille, Paul, 170

  Vickers Ltd., 171

  Vickers machine guns, 171

  Vietnam War, 89, 204, 205, 213–14, 215–16, 220–21, 222, 223

  Villani, Giovanni, 6

  Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (1994), 243

  Virginia, 20, 48, 76

  Vitelli, Camillo, 23

  Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, 119, 120. See also Smith & Wesson

  “Volitional Repeater” rifle, 118

  Volkov, Cyril Alexander, 223

  von Steuben, Friedrich Wilhelm, 63, 68

  Waldron, Adelbert F., 214

  Walker, Samuel, 104

  “walking fire” guns, 183–84

  Walsingham, Francis, 161

  Wampanoag Indians, 19, 21

  War Department, U.S
., 128, 131

  War of 1812, 93

  Ward, Artemas, 63

  warfare

  ancient, 1–3

  atomic, 207–8

  and Browning, 189, 190, 224

  Colt firearms role in, 96

  first use of gunpowder in, 5

  gang, 193–94

  historical frequency of, 2

  impact of automatic weapons on, 167

  incendiary substances in, 35–36

  introduction of gunpowder for, 36

  range, 2–4

  role of rifles, 182, 207–8

  and Sharps rifles, 146–47

  sharpshooters role in, 214

  and short-range battles, 205, 206

  and shotguns, 139

  studies of firearms for, 205

  and weight of firearms, 190

  and Western expansion, 85

  See also specific war or battle

  Warren, Joseph, 46, 49–50

  Washington, George

  and American Revolution, 34–35, 39, 40, 41, 52, 56, 57, 58, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 70

  and centralized armory, 88–89

  French-English wars and, 45

  and Morgan, 56

  and Philadelphia Convention, 71

  and riflemen, 56, 57, 58, 61, 62, 63

  Whiskey Rebellion and, 88

  water-cooled machine guns, 183, 191

  water jacket, Maxim’s, 169

  Wayne, Anthony, 62

  Webber, Alan, 231

  Webster, Noah, 77

  Weiss, Hymie, 193, 194

  Welch, Richard E., 226

  Wellington, Duke of, 162

  Wells, Ida B., 242

  Wesson, Daniel B., 114, 118. See also Smith & Wesson

  Western frontier

  Army on, 148–49

  and Browning family, 174–77

  and Browning reputation, 176

  cannons on, 84

  Cody as personification of, 150

  Colt firearms on, 96, 103–4, 109, 112, 138, 195

  crime on, 141–42

  decline of, 152

  derringers on, 138–39

  duels on, 132–33, 134–35

  expansion on, 83–91, 174–75

  and flintlock pistols, 135

  folklore about, 133, 135–36

  gun control on, 141, 241

  homicide rates on, 140–41

  hunting on, 144–45, 146

  prevalence of guns on, 87, 137–38, 240–41

  railroads on, 145

  and Remington guns, 138, 195

  and repeating rifles, 135

  reputation/romanticizing of, 109, 135, 140–41, 142, 143–53, 143, 233

  and revolvers, 103–4, 135

  and Sharps rifles, 145, 146–47

  and shotguns, 139–40

  showmen on, 136

  and Spencer rifles, 131

  and Springfield rifles, 131, 145–46

  unsavory characters in, 86–87

  violence on, 132–42

  and Winchester guns, 122, 138

  women on, 151–52

  See also specific person

  Wheeler, Artemus, 98

  wheellock muskets, 21–22

  Whiskey Rebellion (1791), 88

  Whitehill, Robert, 78

  Whitehouse, Joseph, 90

  Whitney, Eli, 91–92

  Whitney, Eli Jr., 104

  Whitworth rifles, 209

  Wilder, John T., 127

  Wilder Machine Gun, 165

  Willow Run (Michigan): Ford plant in, 202

  Wilson, James H., 130

  Wilson, John Lyde, 134

  Winchester, Oliver, 119–20, 121–22

  Winchester Repeating Arms Company, 122, 131, 176–78, 179–80, 203, 235, 236

  Winchester rifles

  and Blacks as gun owners, 242

  Indian use of, 149

  lever-action, 178, 233

  M70 Sniper, 213

  M1866 “Yellow Boy,” 122

  M1885 Single Shot, 177–78

  M1886 Lever-Action, 178

  M1894 repeating, 178

  and sharpshooters, 213, 214

  and Western frontier, 138

  and World War I, 182

  Wingate, George, 210, 211

  Winthrop, John, 20, 21

  Wister, Owen, 150

  Wolfe, James, 46

  Wolseley, Garnet, 170

  women, 151–52, 189, 208

  world affairs: role of guns in, 238–39

  World War I

  assault weapons in, 216–17

  casualties in, 158, 172

  firearms for, 182–87

  and firepower, 205

  and machine guns, 158, 183, 190–91

  and Maxim guns, 172

  and rapid-fire guns, 183, 186

  rifles in, 182, 184, 186, 203

  sharpshooters in, 208–9, 211, 214

  trench warfare in, 190

  World War II

  Browning weapons in, 187

  and Garand rifles, 200, 201, 202–3, 204

  and Lend-Lease Act, 202

  mobilization of U.S. manufacturing for, 202

  role of guns in, 239

  Roosevelt comments about, 201–2

  and semiautomatic rifles, 203

  sharpshooters in, 207, 208, 212

  and short-range battles, 206

  studies of weapons deployed in, 205

  and tommy gun, 198

  and U.S. as “great arsenal of democracy,” 201–2

  Yankton Sioux Indians, 90

  Yellow Hair (Cheyenne warrior), 144

  York, Alvin Cullum, 186

  Yorktown, Battle of, 64–65, 69, 70

  Young, Brigham, 175

  Young, Gustave, 110

  Zaharoff, Basil, 171

  LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND CREDITS

  “The Struggle on Concord Bridge.” Illustration from “Life of George Washington” by Washington Irving, 1857. The New York Public Library digital collection.

  Prologue: “A samurai shooting an early firearm in the mid-1600s.” Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861).

  Part I: “First Blow for Liberty.” Ritchie, Alexander Hay and Darley, Felix Octavius Carr. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-2727.

  Chapter One: “Musketeer from Jacob van Gheyn’s Wapenhandelingen van Roers Musquetten ende Spiesen.” (1608).

  Chapter Two: “Samoset comes ‘boldly’ into Plymouth settlement.” Woodcut designed by A. R. Waud and engraved by J. P. Davis, 1876. From the book A Popular History of the United States by Bryant, William Cullen and Gay, Sydney Howard (Scribner Company).

  “Mayflower Gun.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.

  “Kentucky Rifle.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.

  Chapter Three: “The Method of Refining Salt-Petre” by Paul Revere, 1774. Courtesy of American Antiquarian Society.

  Chapter Four: “The Battle of Lexington” by Luigi Delnoce, 1882. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

  Chapter Five: “Maryland Rifleman, 1775–1776.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections.

  Chapter Six: “The Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton,” January 3, 1777. Yale University Art Gallery, Trumbull Collection, (1832.6.1).

  “Brown Bess.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.

  “Charleville lock.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.

  Chapter Seven: “George Washington presiding over the Philadelphia Convention.” Howard Chandler Christy, 1939. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USA7-34630.

  Part II: “Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap.” George Caleb Bingham, The Bridgeman Art Library, Object 29102.

  Chapter Eight: “Daniel Boone” by Alonzo Chappel, 1862. National Portrait Gallery of Eminent Americans, Vol I, (Steel Engraving).

  “Springfield 1795 flintlock musket.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.

  Chapter Ni
ne: “Steel Engraving of Samuel Colt with a Colt 1851 Navy Revolver,” 1855. Based on a lost daguerreotype by Philipp Graff (1814–1851) taken between 1847 and 1851.

  “Colt Model 1860 Army Percussion Revolver.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.

  “Colt Second Model Dragoon Revolver.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.

  Chapter Ten: “Claude Étienne Minié.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude-Étienne_Minié.

  “Smith & Wesson Model 1.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.

  Chapter Eleven: “Frank Leslie’s scenes and portraits of the Civil War,” by Frank Leslie, 1894. The Institute of Museum and Library Services.

  Chapter Twelve: “Wild Bill Hickok.” Heritage Auctions.

  “Remington New Model Army Percussion Revolver.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.

  Chapter Thirteen: “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Historical Sketches and Programme,” 1896, Missouri History Museum.

  “Sharps Rifle.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.

  Part III: “Recruits, 18th Penn. N.G., Pittsburgh.” Bain News Service, 1915. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ggbain-22112.

  Chapter Fourteen: “Battery Gun by Richard Jordan Gatling,” 1865. National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the Patent and Trademark Office.

  Chapter Fifteen: “Sir Hiram Maxim.” Bain News Service, 1915. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ggbain-23307.

  Chapter Sixteen: John M. Browning’s son Lt. Val Browning with the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, 1918.” Army Heritage and Education Center.

  “Winchester Model 1886 Lever-Action Rifle.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.

  Chapter Seventeen: “Amusements—Games and Rides—Woman shooting tommy gun.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1935–1945.

  Chapter Eighteen: “You Can’t Afford to Miss Either! Buy Bonds Every Payday,” 1944. United States Department of the Treasury.

  Chapter Nineteen: “A U.S. Army sniper team from Jalalabad Provincial Reconstruction Team,” U.S. Department of Defense, 2006.

  “U.S.M.C. Winchester M70 Sniper Rifle.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.

  Chapter Twenty: “A U.S. Army M.P. inspects a Chinese AK-47 recovered in Vietnam,” 1968. United States Army Heritage and Education Center.

  Chapter Twenty-One: “Two men and three women of the Home Defense Unit with guns,” 1935–1945. The New York Public Library Digital Collections.

  Conclusion: “Come and Take It.” Flag raised by Texas settlers at the Battle of Gonzales in October 1835. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Texas Flag Come and Take It.svg.

  Notes: “The New Hampshire Sharp-Shooters,” 1861.The New York Public Library Digital Collections.

  Glossary: “Rod and gun from Canadian Forestry Association,” 1898. University of Toronto.

  Selected Bibliography: “Lewis and Clark Expedition 150th anniversary issue, designed by Charles R. Chickering.”

 

‹ Prev