IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Waller, of Conduit Street West, in the
County of Middlesex, Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS."-A communication from abroad by
Christopher Tyler, Stephen Wood, Egerton Marcy, and John Wilkinson,
all of New York, in the United States of America.
Sealed the 12th September 1862, and dated the 17th March 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Waller at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 17th
March 1862.
I, THOMAS WALLER, of Conduit Street West, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:-
The main parts of the fire-arm are the barrel, the stock, the gate, the
hammer, and the breech-piece. The gate is a moveable part situated at the
breech part of the arm, and opens to allow the cartridge to be inserted into
the breech of the barrel or chamber, and is closed again until the discharge
takes place. The breech-piece serves to unite the barrel and stock, and
mount the gate, hammer, and lock upon. The cartridge to be used with this
fire-arm bas a metallic case, which by its expansion on the explosion of the
charge prevents any leakage of gas, and which also contains the fulminate,
thus requiring only a blow on the cartridge from the hammer to fire the
charge. The metallic case has an enlarged bead or rim at the rear end
which holds the fulminate, and also serves to seize hold of and withdraw the
case after the charge has been fired. The cartridge case is made slightly,

page_text: conical or tapering to fit a corresponding shape of the rear end of the barrel
bore, so that it may be readily and closely inserted, and more easily with-
drawn after the charge has been fired. The gate is provided with a knob or
handle, and is hinged at one side of the breech-piece, and shuts into a notch
in the breech-piece immediately behind the rear end of the barrel, so as to
close it for firing the charge. The breech-piece is hollowed behind the gate
notch to allow the free insertion of the cartridge into the end of the barrel,
and a notch is made in the top of the gate sufficient to expose a small portion
of the rim of the cartridge, and allow the face of the hammer to reach the
same to explode the charge. In order that the case of the exploded cartridge
may be caught hold of and withdrawn by the fingers, the rear end of the
barrel projects somewhat into the gate notch of the breech-piece, and this
projecting portion is bevelled, notched, or hollowed so that the rim of the
cartridge case may project at the sides sufficiently to get the fingers around
the same, and thus draw out the case. In connection with this projection of
the barrel into the gate notch of the breech-piece the front face of the gate is
countersunk or hollowed, so as to admit and inclose the projection, the bottom
of the countersink shutting down just behind the same.. Instead of the rear
end of the barrel being extended into the gate notch, and bevelled, the band
of the breech-piece may be bevelled, notched, or hollowed to allow the
cartridge case to be caught hold of and withdrawn. The rear end of the
barrel is countersunk also sufficiently to allow the bead or rim of the cartridge
case to enter just inside of the rear surface of the barrel in order to enable
the projecting lip of the barrel thus formed to protect the cartridge from the
closing gate, and thereby prevent any liability of premature explosion by the
gate striking the cartridge, and there is a notch in the barrel to allow
the hammer to strike the edge of the cartridge. The band may be counter-
sunk to perform the same office of protecting the cartridge, if preferred. The
hammer is mounted centrally in the stock, and is actuated by the main-
spring and connecting link, these pieces, together with the trigger and trigger
spring, constituting the whole lock. For the purpose of preventing the
hammer from descending on the cartridge when the gate is open, a safety
bolt is employed; it slides in the breech-piece behind the hinged end of the
gate, the position being such that its front end bears against the rear face of
the gate in whatever position the gate may be, except when fully closed, and
in the latter case the bolt may enter an aperture in the gate. The bolt is
directly connected with the hammer by means of a pin projecting from the
face thereof through a slot in the bolt, or by other equivalent means, so that
the bolt must have a certain extent of forward motion as the hammer descends.

page_text: The length and positions of the bolt are such that the hammer can only
descend in part before the bolt strikes the gate, and prevents the possibility of
the hammer reaching the cartridge while the gate is open. As soon as the
gate is closed, the aperture is brought opposite to the safety bolt, which then
may enter it, and thus allow the hammer to descend upon the cartridge. . In
addition to the safety bolt, in order to give complete security against the
possibility of premature explosion, it is necessary that the hammer, even when
held back by the safety bolt, should not be held at less than half-cock as the
gate is finally closed, otherwise the hammer would descend to the cartridge at
once. To provide against this, in all cases the face of the hammer is made
of such length in relation to the safety bolt that as long as at less than half-
cock it will extend further forward than the rear face of the gate when the
safety bolt bears against the same, thus while the hammer is in that position
of insecurity the gate cannot be closed, and the hammer must at least be
brought to half-cock before the gate can be closed. If desired, a countersink
might be made in the face of the gate to receive the end of the bolt, so that
when the gate is open, and the bolt entered into this countersink with the
hammer at less than half-cock, it would be necessary to raise the hammer at
least to half-cock, freeing the bolt before the gate could be closed to its seat.
Instead of the arrangement of the safety bolt and hammer above described,
the breech-piece may have a bevelled seat for the front edge of the hammer
when down to rest upon before its face reaches the cartridge; thus the cartridge
cannot be exploded directly by the hammer, and to effect the explosion at the
proper time a plunger is interposed, and reaches through the gate; this
plunger is in position to be struck by the descending hammer just and only
when the gate is closed. A spring pin or its equivalent holds the plunger in
place back a little from the front face of the gate, so that it cannot reach the
cartridge unless driven forward by some force. When the hammer, descends,
it strikes the plunger, and drives it forward against the cartridge with a sudden
blow, thus firing, the charge.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of March, 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 Thomas Waller, Her special license, that I, the said Thomas Waller,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Thomas Waller, 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 term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, 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," being a communication from Christopher Tyler,
Stephen Wood, Erastus Egerton Marcy, and John Wilkinson, of New York;
in the United States of America, upon the condition (amongst others) that I,
the said Thomas Waller, by an instrument. in writing under my hand and
seal, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said Inven-
tion, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause the samė
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 Thomàs Waller, 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, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed; and to the
letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):
This Invention of Improvements in. Breech-loading Fire-arms" is shewn
in detail in the accompanying Drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view
of a breech-loading rifle or musket constructed according to the improvements
which form the subject of the present Invention. In this Figure the hammer
is represented down as at the instant after firing. Fig. 2. is a plan view of the
arm, shewing the gate and hammer raised preparatory to loading; Fig. 3 is a s
perspective view, showing the gate raised and the hammer at less than half
cock.
.
.Fig. 4, Sheet II., is a side elevation of the arm, with a portion of the stock
removed in order to show the construction of the lock; Fig. 5 is a plan view
of a modified construction of the breech-piece, the gate being raised and 3
hammer at less than half cock; Fig. 6 is another plan view showing a
modified arrangement of the safety bolt; Figures 7, 8, 9, and 10 represent
respectively a rear perspective view, rear elevation, front-perspective view, and
front elevation of the gate.

page_text: Fig. 11, Sheet 111., is a view in perspective or the re-arm exporting &
substitute for the safety bolt; Fig. 12 is a side elevation shewing the gate
raised and the hammer down; Fig. 13 is a central vertical section of the
same, shewing the hammer at half cock; Figs. 14 and 15, Sheet' II., are
respectively rear and front elevations of the gate, as in Figures 11, 12, and 13;
Fig. 16, a view in perspective of a modified construction and arrangement of
the gate.
In some of the views the barrel and stock are represented as
partially broken away. Like letters designate corresponding parts in all the
Figures.
The main parts of the fire-arm are the barrel A, the stock B, the gate C,
the hammer. D, and the breech-piece E. The barrel A, the stock B, and
hammer D fulfil the usual purposes of those parts in fire-arms generally. The
gate C is the moveable part, which opens to allow the cartridge to be inserted
into the breech of the barrel or chamber, and is closed again until the
discharge takes place. The breech-piece E-serves to unite the barrel and
stock, and to support the gate, hammer, and lock. There is nothing essentially
peculiar in the construction of the barrel A except the rear end a, nothing in
the stock B or in the hammer D except its face d, nor in the breech-piece E
except in the form of the band e in one modification to be described. The
cartridge G to be used with this fire-arm has a metallic case, (generally of
copper,) which by its expansion on the explosion of the charge will prevent any
leakage of gas, and which also contains the fulminating powder, thus requiring
only a blow on the cartridge from the hammer to fire the charge. The
metallic case has an enlarged bead or rim g at the rear end, which holds the
fulminating powder, and also serves to seize hold of in order to withdraw the
case, after the charge has been fired. I prefer to make the cartridge case
slightly conical or tapering to fit a corresponding shape of the rear end of the
barrel bore, as shewn in the Drawings, so that it may be readily and closely
inserted, and more easily withdrawn after the charge has been fired. The
gate C is hinged at p, Figures 4, 5, and 6 in one side of the breech piece e,
and shuts into a notch in the breech-piece immediately behind the rear end of
the barrel A, so as to close it for firing the charge. A knob c projects.from the
gate to handle it by. The breech-piece is hollowed out at q, Fig. 2, behind the
gate notch, to allow the free insertion of the cartridge into the end of the barrel.
A notch r; Figures 7, 8, 9, and 10; is made in the top of the gate sufficient to
expose a small portion of the rim of the cartridge, and allow the face of the
hammer to reach the same to explode the charge. In order that the case of
the exploded cartridge may be caught hold of and withdrawn by the fingers the
rear end a of the barrel A projects somewhat into the gate notch of the breech-

page_text: piece, and this projecting portion is bevilled, notched, hollowed, or otherwise
shaped in a corresponding manner, as in Fig. 2, so that the rim 9 of the
cartridge case may project at the sides sufficiently to get the fingers around
the same, and thus draw out the case. In connection with this projection of
the barrel into the gate notch of the breech-piece the front face of the gate is
countersunk or hollowed, as seen at sin several Figures, so as to admit and
inclose the said projection, the bottom of the countersink shutting down just
behind the same. Instead of the rear end of the barrel being extended into
the gate notch and bevilled, the band e of the breech-piece may be thus
bevilled, notched, or hollowed, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, to allow the
cartridge case to be caught hold of and withdrawn. The rear end of the
barrel is countersunk also sufficiently to allow the bead or rim g of the
cartridge case to enter just inside of the rear surface of the barrel, as seen in
Fig. 2, in order to enable the projecting lip of the barrel thus formed to
protect the cartridge from the closing gate, and thereby prevent any liability
of premature explosion by the gate striking the cartridge. But there must be
a notch f in the end.a of the barrel to allow the hammer to strike the edge of
the cartridge. The band e may be countersunk to perform the same office of
protecting the cartridge; if preferred the hammer D is mounted centrally in
the stock, and is actuated by the main spring and connecting link m, as
shewn in Figures 4 and 13. These pieces, together with the trigger n and
trigger spring o, constitute the whole lock. For the purpose of preventing the
hammer from descending on the cartridge, when the gate is open a safety
bolt h, Figures 2, 4, and 5, is employed. This bolt slides in the breech-piece
behind the hinged end of the gate, the position being such that its front end
bears against the rear face of the gate in whatever position the gate may be,
except when fully closed, and in the latter case the bolt may enter an aperture
i, (Figures 7, 8, 9, and 10,) in the gate. The bolt is directly connected with
the hammer D by means of a pin projecting from the face thereof through a
slot in the bolt, as shewn at k, Figures 4 and 5, or by other equivalent means,
so that the bolt must have a certain extent of forward motion as the hammer
descends. The length and positions of the bolt are such that the hammer can
only descend in part before the bolt strikes the gate and prevents the possibility
of the hammer reaching the cartridge while the gate is open. When the gate
is closed the aperture i is brought opposite to the safety bolt h, which then
niay enter it, and thus allow the hammer to descend upon the cartridge.
As a modification of the bolt arrangement just described, Fig. 6 represents
the bolt h as placed on the side of the hammer furthest from the hinge of the
gate, so that it would not bear on the gate when fully opened. In such a case

page_text: a spring stop j may be made to rise before the bolt as the gate is lifted away.
from it, and it is again pushed down as the gate descends to replace it. In
this way the same result is arrived at by equivalent means. In addition to
the safety bolt h, in order to give complete security against the possibility of
premature explosion, it is necessary that the hammer, even when held back by.
the safety bolt, should not be held at less than half cock as the gate is finally
closed, otherwise the hammer would descend to the cartridge at once. To
provide against this, in all cases the face a of the hammer is made of such
length, in relation to the safety bolt h, that as long as the lock is at less than
half cock the bolt will extend further forward than the rear face of the gate
when the safety bolt bears against the same as indicated in Figures 3, 4, 5,
and 6. Thus, while the hammer is in that position of insecurity, the gate
cannot be closed, and the hammer must at least be brought to half cock before
the gate can be closed. If desired, a countersink may be made in the face of
the gate to receive the end of the bolt h, so that when the gate is open and the
bolt enters into this countersink with the hammer at less than half cock, it
would be necessary to raise the hammer at least to half cock, thereby forcing
the bolt before the gate could be closed to its seat.
.!
Instead of the arrangement of the safety bolt and hammer above described,
I sometinies employ the following construction and arrangement of parts:-
The breech-piece E, Figures 12 and 13, has a 'bévilled seat v for the front
edge a of the hammer to rest upon when down before its face reaches the
cartridge; thus the cartridge cannot be exploded directly by the hammer, and to
effect the explosion at the proper time a plunger t, Fig. 13, is'interposed in its
way; this plunger t is situated in and reaches through the gate from rear to front
face, as shewn in Figure 13, and in the detached views Figures 14 and 15; this
plunger t is in position to be struck by the descending hammer just and only
when the gate is closed. A spring pin u (Fig. 13), holds the plunger t-in place
back a little from the front face of the gate, so that it cannot reach the
cartridge unless driven forward by some force. When the hammer descends,
it strikes the plunger t and drives it forward against the cartridge with a sudden
blow, thus firing the charge. It will be seen that the hammer if it descends
can neither touch the plunger nor the plunger the cartridge until the gate is so
far closed as to insure safety. In this way the plunger t and bevilled seat v
fulfil the office of the safety bolt h above described. With this arrangement
of hammer and gate for the purpose of allowing the hammer to remain down
and ride with safety there, a countersink w, Fig. 14, is made in the rear face
of the gate a little way from the plunger in such position that by raising the
gate slightly from its closed position the face of the hammer will enter it and

page_text: remain there with perfect security, and when the fire-arm is to be used the
hammer is cocked and the gate wholly closed. The gate C instead of swinging
in a vertical plane may swing horizontally' as indicated by the form shown in
Fig. 16. In this arrangement the rounded bearing for the safety bolt to rest
against, and the aperture i for it to enter as the gate closes, are applied as
represented. Any other equivalent arrangement of the gate may be employed
without departing from the present Invention.
Having now described this Invention of "Improvements in Breech-loading
Fire-arms, and having explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, I would observe. in conclusion, that what I claim as new and desire to
secure by Letters Patent is, the adaptation to the breech-piece of a rifle or
other fire-arm of the moveable gate C.
I also claim bevilling or notching the rear end of the barrel, so that the rim
of the cartridge case may be caught hold of and drawn out by the fingers with
facility..
I further claim countersinking the rear end of the barrel for the purpose of
sinking the rim of the cartridge case beneath the surface thereof, and thereby
securing the cartridge from explosion when closing the gate.
I further claim countersinking the front face of the gate, so as to admit and
enclose the rear projecting end of the barrel for the purpose specified.
I also claim the safety bolt. h for the purpose of preventing the hammer
from descending while the gate is open, and also the aperture i in combination
therewith to allow the hammer to descend when the gate is entirely closed.
I also claim the construction and arrangement of the hammer in combination
with the safety bolt, so that the face of the hammer shall project further
forward than the rear face of the gate so long as 'less than at half cock, in
order to prevent the closing of the gate when the hammer is not raised at least
to half cock, as herein specified.
I
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Waller, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Seventeenth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.