IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Frederic Milward, of Redditch, in the County
of Worcester, Commission Merchant, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS."-A communication from abroad by John
Bisset, of New York, in the United States of America.
Sealed the 29th August 1862, and dated the 10th May 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Frederic Milward at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
10th May 1862.
I, JOHN FREDERIC MILWARD, of Redditch, in the County of Worcester,
Commission Merchant, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:--
The said Invention consists of the several improvements herein-after
explained in breech-loading fire-arms, in which said fire-arms the hammer or
cock is made to act directly upon the cartridge, in order to discharge the fire-
arm, the percussion of the ordinary fire-arm being dispensed with.
The barrel of the fire-arm constructed according to the said Invention is
open from end to end, the breech end of the barrel being slightly enlarged
externally. The rear of the open breech end of the barrel is made into a
chamber at a lower level than that of the barrel, in which chamber a movable
breech-piece works, the said breech-piece carrying in its interior the hammer
and trigger, and the mechanism of the lock. The movable breech-piece
works against inclined shoulders on the frame of the chamber, and the said
movable breech-piece is capable of moving upwards and downwards, as well as

page_text: longitudinally, in the said chamber. A lever, the longer arm of which when
it is in its place constitutes the trigger guard, turns on a pin or centre under-
neath the breech end of the barrel, and the short arm of this lever projects
into the chamber below the breech end, and is jointed through a link to the
front end of the movable breech-piece by moving or raising the guard end of
the lever vertically, so as to make it lie underneath the stock; the breech-
piece is raised in the chamber, and its end made to bear against and close the
open end of the barrel, and when the guard lever is moved from the fire-arm
into a position nearly at right angles thereto, the breech-piece is depressed,
and the breech end of the barrel opened for the introduction of a cartridge.
A slot is made in the upper end of the breech-piece, through which the
hammer passes to strike upon the end of the cartridge in the barrel. After
the discharge of the fire-arm, the guard lever is moved into a position nearly
at right angles to the barrel; the breech end of the said barrel is thereby un-
covered by the depression of the movable breech-piece. During the descending
motion of the breech-piece, a tooth or projection on the link, which connects
the short arm of the guard lever to the breech-piece acting on the tumbler of
the hammer, raises the said hammer to half-cock, and thereby prevents the
accidental discharge of the fire-arm. The hammer can only be raised to full
cock for the discharge of the fire-arm when the breech-piece has been raised
against and closes the breech end of the barrel. The discharged cartridge
case is removed from the breech end of the barrel by a small lever connected
with the guard lever, at the end of which said small lever a small bolt
or horn is jointed, the said lever and horn working in a slot underneath the
breech end of the barrel. After the discharge of the fire-arm, by moving the
guard lever to a greater extent than is required to depress the breech-piece, the
bolt or horn is projected outwards, and pushes before it the discharged
cartridge case from the barrel. The lever and bolt or horn return to their
places by the pressure of a main spring of the lock acting through the
bammer.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Frederic Milward in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 6th November 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
FREDERIC MILWARD, of Redditch, in the County of Worcester, Commission 3
Merchant, send greeting.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Tenth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John Frederic Milward, Her special licence that I, the said John Frederic
Milward, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
John Frederic Milward, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at
any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the terin therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exer-
cise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," a communication to me from abroad by John
Bisset, of New York, in the United States of America, upon the condition
(amongst others), that I, the said John Frederic Milward, my executors,
or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office
within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Frederic Milward, do hereby declare-
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say :-
The said Invention consists of the several improvements herein-after
described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings in breech-loading
fire-arms, the hammer or cock of the said fire-arms being made to act directly
upon the cartridge, in order to discharge the fire-arm, the percussioning of
the ordinary fire-arm being dispensed with.
Figure 1 of the Drawings represents, in side elevation, a breech-loading
rifle constructed according to the said Invention, the several parts of the said
rifle being in the positions which they respectively occupy, when the breech
end has been closed, and the hammer or cock ready to be raised for the
discharge of the rifle ; Figure 2 represents a longitudinal vertical section of
a portion of the rifle, Figure 1, drawn of the full size; Figure 3 represents a
portion of the rifle, partly in longitudinal vertical section and partly in
elevation, the several parts of the said rifle being in the positions which they
respectively occupy when the breech-piece has been depressed, and the breech
end of the rifle thereby opened for the introduction of a cartridge; Figure 4

page_text: represents separately in side elevation the breech-piece; and Figure 5 is a
front elevation of the same; Figure 6 represents separately in side elevation
and end elevation the sliding bolt or ejector, by which the discharged cartridge
case is removed from the breech end, as hereinafter explained. The same
letters of reference are employed to indicate the same parts in the several.
Figures of the Drawings.
a is the barrel of the rifle, open from end to end, the breech end a² being
strengthened as represented. At the rear of the open breech end a² of the
barrel is a chamber b, in which said chamber the breech-piece c works, tho
said breech-piece carrying in its interior the hammer d, trigger c, and the
other parts of the mechanism of the lock. The back of the moveable breech-
piece works against inclined shoulders f, f, on the frame of the chamber b,
and the front or face c of the said breech-piece bears closely against the open
breech end a of the barrel a. The said moveable breech-piece c is capable
of moving upwards and downwards as well as longitudinally in the said
chamber ;,, is a lever, turning on a pin or centre h underneath the
breech end of the barrel. The longer arm g of the lever 9, 9, when it is in the
position represented in Figure 2, constitutes the trigger guard. The short arm
y of the said lever projects into the chamber 6, and is jointed through a link i
to the front end of the moveable breech-piece c. By moving or raising the
guard end g of the lever g, g, vertically, that is from the position represented
in Figure 3 to that represented in Figure 2, the said lever is made to lie
underneath the stock, and the breech-piece c is raised in the chamber b, its
front end or face bearing closely against and closing the open breech end
of the barrel, the said breech-piece being supported at back by the shoulders
ff, as. represented in. the said Figure 2. The lever g, 92 is fastened in its
place by means of the spring catch fastening k. By moving the guard end of
the lever g, g², from the rifle, that is from the position represented in Figure 2,
to that represented in Figure 3, the breech-piece c is depressed, and the
breech end of the barrel uncovered for the introduction of the cartridge as
represented in the said Figure 3. The cartridge having been introduced into
the breech end a², the guard end g of the lever g, g, is raised and the breech
end closed. The cock or hammer d being raised by hand, the rifle can be
discharged by pressing the trigger e. A slot c³ is mado in the top of the
face of the breech-piece, through which slot the flat part d² of the cock d
passes to strike upon the end of the cartridge in the breech end a. The cock
or hammer turns on a pin or axis d, and the trigger e turns on a pin on
axis, the said pins or axes d' and 2 being secured in the breech-piece c
The end of the trigger e is kept to its bearing by the small bolt 7, the said

page_text: I
bolt being acted upon by the coiled spring m. The said end 3 of the trigger e
engages with the tooth on the tumbler of the hammer when the said
hammer is raised to full cock, and with the tooth ds when the hammer
has been liberated and the rifle discharged. n is the main spring of the
lock, the free end of which is connected to the hammer by the link o.
During the descending motion of the breech-piece c
to open the
breech end, a tooth or projection on the link which connects
the short arm g to the breech-piece c bears against the tooth do
on the tumbler of the hammer d, and raises the said hammer to
the position of nearly half-cock, as indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 3.
From an examination of the said Figure 3, it will be seen that by the de-
pressing of the guard lever 7 the position of the link i is so changed that its
tooth is made to engage under the tooth on the hammer d, and raises the
said hammer to nearly half-cock, and holds the said hammer in that position
until by the raising of the guard lever g the breech-piece c has been brought
against and closes the breech end of the barrel. The parts of the breech
mechanism then assume the position represented in Figure 2, and the hammer
d can be raised for the discharge of the rifle. By the arrangement described the
discharge of the fire-arm while the breech is open is prevented. The discharged
cartridge case is removed from the breech end by means of the small sliding
bolt or ejector p, 2. The said bolt or ejector is shown separately in side ele-
vation and front elevation in Figure 6 of the Drawings. The open breech end
of the barrel has an annular recess a³, which recess the cap of the cartridge
case occupies when the cartridge case is pushed into the breech end. The
part of the bolt or ejector is shaped to fit the concavity of the barrel, as repre-
sented. After the discharge of the rifle by pressing the finger plate p³ towards
the breech end, the projecting top of the part 2 of the bolt or ejector acting
on the cap of the cartridge case pushes the said cap before it and projects the
cartridge case from the breech end. On removing the finger from the plate p³,
the bolt or ejector p, p, returns to the position represented by the action of
the cailed spring p. The bolt or ejector p, p, may be connected through a
small lever with the short arm g of the guard lever g, g², and be actuated by
the said lever. In this case by moving the guard lever to a greater extent
than is required to depress the breech-piece c the bolt or ejector is projected
outwards and pushes the discharged cartridge case from the breech end. The
lever and bolt or ejector return to their places by the pressure of the main
spring of the lock acting through the hammer. It is preferred, however, to use
the arrangement first described for projecting the discharged cartridge case
from the barrel. The cartridges used with the rifle herein-before described and

page_text: illustrated in the Drawings are of the kind known as metallic cartridges or
fixed ammunition.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not
limit myself to the precise details herein-before described and illustrated in the
Drawings, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of
the said Invention; but I claim as the said Invention the general arrangement
or combination of parts of breech-loading fire-arms herein-before described and
illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Frederic Milward, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fifth day of November, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
JOHN FREDERIC MILWARD. (L.S.)
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.