Printed Circular For The UNION REPEATING GUN – With Pennsylvania Militia Letter – SOLD

Description

Printed Circular For The Union Repeating Gun Mailed With Pennsylvania Militia Letter, sent together to Colonel Lewis of the 110th Pa. Volunteers.

 

“Head Quarters, Pennsylvania Militia,  Adjutant General’s Department, Harrisburg, April 21, 1862.

Colonel, 

              Enclosed find Circular description of a newly invented Projectile styled “The Union Repeating Gun” an experimental trial of which has been witnessed by the Governor with much satisfaction.

      He directs me to recommend that a Requisition be made according to the prescribed form, for two of these guns for your Regiment.

                                                                                                                           Very Respectfully &c.

                                                                                                                                  A.L. Russell

                                                                                                                           Adjutant General Penn

 

To

    Col William D. Lewis, Jr.

       Com’g 110th Regt. Penn Vols.”

 

 

The one page printed circular, made claim that the Union Repeating Gun, was “equal to a regiment in six feet square, is acknowledged by the highest military authority in the United States to be unequaled as a weapon for offensive or defensive warfare, doing its work of destruction, advancing or retreating. Two of them, properly shielded, are calculated to do the work of a regiment of infantry.”

The company claimed that with the same sized cartridge, “its penetration is much greater, than that of the justly celebrated “Sharps Rifle,” or the “Enfield Rifle,”……  The circular continues with all the guns capabilities on land and sea; its operation, and more.  Communication respecting the guns, was through the makers,  “American Arms Company” with their address written in manuscript, “63 Franklin Street, New York.”

In the summer of 1861, the American Arms Co. demonstrated the gun to President Lincoln, who’s response to the weapon was favorable, and ordered 10 guns, with objection by the Ordnance Department.  General George B. McClellan ordered an additional 50 more shortly after.  A few of the main problems foreseen by the Ordnance Department, beside the use of new technology, which they were usually adverse to, was the abundance of ammunition required to keep these guns in action, and seeing the need to put more money into mass producing the standard shoulder arm, that would be far more useful in most combat situations.

 

What regiments used these repeating guns will take some time to research, but it is known that a few Pennsylvania regiments did use them for a while.  The 28th and the 96th PVI were two of the regiments that used them, but I have found no information if Colonel Lewis was persuaded to adopt a pair of these for his 110th Pa Vols.  Would have come in handy at Gettysburg.

It is a fascinating period for weapons development, and the Union Repeating Gun was one of the forerunners in the development of rapid fire systems, the Gatling Gun being the most successful of this early single shot crank action weapons.  The Union Repeating Gun was also referred to as the “Agar” or “Coffee Mill Gun.”

 

A great letter referring to a rare weapon from the early part of the Civil War, and an extremely RARE circular marketing one of these rapid fire weapons.

Very good condition.