IMPROVING BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edward Maynard, of the City of Washington, in the
District of Columbia and United States of America, for the Invention
of "IMPROVING BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edward Maynard at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
22nd March 1859.
S
I, EDWARD MAYNARD, of the City of Washington, in the District of
Columbia and United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVING BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," to be as
follows:-
I make the barrel of my improved arm open at the but end so that it can
be loaded at the breech by the insertion of a metallic cup or chamber contain-
ing the charge. A few inches from the but end of the barrel there is a hook
on its lower side, which catches on to a pin between two projecting cars of the
breech piece, to attach the barrel to the breech picce. Behind the hook and
very near the but of the barrel, another piece projects downward, and is received
into a slot in the breech piece; it is jointed to a curved elastic link, which
is connected with a lever attached to the under part of the breech piece, so
that when the lever is thrown forward towards the muzzle of the piece the
but of the barrel is thrown up to receive the charge, and when the lever is
drawn back into contact with the lower edge of the stock the barrel is brought
down into proper position for firing. The lever is held in place by and moves

page_text: upon a pin passing transversely through the breech piece. When this pin is
withdrawn the lever and link can be drawn through the slot in which they
work, and the barrel detached from the breech piece by being unhooked
from the pin before mentioned. The forward part of the slot in the breech
piece has an adjustable block, against which the front shoulder of the after
projection of the barrel abuts. This block is made adjustable for the purpose
of regulating the force with which the but end of the barrel is thrown back-
wards against the abutment of the breech piece. For the purpose of insuring
a perfectly tight joint between the abutment of the breech piece and the but
of the barrel, I insert a flange-bottomed metallic cup into the chamber of
the barrel, and then so adjust the position of the block in the slot as to
cause the radiating flange of said cup to be closely embraced between tho
face of the abutment of the breech piece and the annular face of the but of
the barrel, when the barrel is in position for firing. The metallic cup must
have a small aperture in the centre of its bottom to receive the priming fire,
which passes through a central perforation in the abutment of the breech piece.
The lever when drawn back forms a guard for the trigger. The cone of my
improved arm projects from and is in one picce with the closed end of a
tube which is received into a transverse aperture in the abutment of the
breech piece. An aperture in one side of this tube communicates with the
vent in the axis of the abutment of the breech piece, through which the
priming fire passes to the charge in the barrel. To facilitate the withdrawal
of the cup from the chamber of the piece, I form on opposite sides of the
but of the barrel, rearwardly tapering and slightly concave, faces of sufficient
depth at their after extremities to enable the flange of the cup to be readily
taken hold of by the thumb and finger of the user when the but of the
barrel is thrown up preparatory to loading. To prevent the drooping of the
end of the barrel in firing, which would occur were it unsupported for any
considerable portion of its length, I combine a rod with the under side of the
barrel, one end of it being received into a socket in the forward end of the
hook before alluded to, and the other end in a socket formed in a short arm
descending from the front end of the barrel. This rod is compound, being
made of a tube and rod so combined that the tube shall receive and enclose
the rod when required, or the two parts be drawn out to form a ramrod
nearly as long as the joint length of the parts. When thus drawn out they
are firmly united by a spring catch. The carriage upon which the adjustable
back sight is placed is jointed to the tang of the breech piece by means of a
cylindrical head hinged to a pair of ears rising from the tang. Grooves are
formed in the cylindrical head for the reception of a pin, which, actuated by

page_text: a spring, passes up from below for the purpose of holding the carriage firmly
either in its upright or recumbent position. When in the latter position, a
knob passes into the end of the carriage and prevents lateral vibration. The
sight plate is adjustable to a scale on the carriage. I use with this arm my
patented self-priming arrangement, and the lock is formed accordingly.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edward Maynard in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
22nd September 1859.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWARD
MAYNARD, of the City of Washington, in the District of Columbia and United
States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of March, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in tho
year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said Edward Maynard, Her special licence that I, the said Edward
Maynard, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Edward Maynard, 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 maké, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland;
the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVED BREECH-
LOADING FIRE-ARMS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Edward Maynard, 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 Edward Maynard, do hereby declare the
nature of my 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 accompanying Drawings, making a part
of this Specification.
Figure 1 is a view of the main features of my improved rifle as seen from
the right-hand side; Figure 2 a view of a portion of my rifle as seen from

page_text: the left-hand side; Figure 3 a top view of the breech piece and some of the
other parts of the rifle, which are. either combined with or are contiguous to
the breech piece; Figure 4; a view of the under side of the breech piece and
'some of the parts which are combined therewith; Figure 5 a section in the
line x, x, of Fig. 3'; Figure 6 a section in the line y, y, of Fig. 3, and
the remaining Drawings represent in plans and sections various parts of the
rifle in detail. Similar letters indicate like parts in each Drawing.
The form of the breech picco A and the manner of combining the same
with the barrel B of my improved rifle is clearly represented in the Drawings.
Two ears project from the side of the extremity of the projecting front portion
of the breech piece, which ears are perforated for the reception of the fulcrum
pin f. A few inches from the but end of the barrel a book e descends from
the under surface thereof, which opens rearwardly, and is of such a width
that it fits accurately between the aforesaid cars of the projecting front portion
of the breech piece, whilst the spaco between the straight inner surface of said
hook and the opposite parallel surface of the barrel is of such a width that it
will receive the fulcrum pin f, and closely embrace opposite sides of the same,
as shown in Figure 5.
The combination of the breech piece A; the barrel B, and the actuating
lever D, with each other, is clearly represented in Fig. 5,-and may be described
as follows:-At its fulcrum end the actuating lever D has two parallel
projections, which are doubly perforated, as shown in Fig. 8. The fulcrum
end of said lever is received into the slot' p' in the projecting front portion.of
the breech piece, and is securely jointed to the sides of said slot by the pin. W,
which passes through the perforations nearest to the end of the lever: One
end of a curved link C is received into the space between the ears c', c', which
descend from the under side of the but of the barrel, and is jointed to the said
ears by a pin of suitable size and material; the other end of the said curved
link passes into the space between the parallel parts of the double fulcrum
end.of.the lever D, and is jointed thereto by means of a pin, which passes
through the aperturès near the inner extremities of the said portions of the
head of the lever. A shoulder & descends from the under side of the barrel
between the front ends of the ears c, c, which shoulder, when the barrel is
thrown into the position shown in Fig. 5, bears against an adjustable block b,
which is fitted into a groove in the inner surface of the projecting front portion
of the breech piece immediately in front of the slot p', and in such a manner
that the but end of the barrel can be brought against the face of the abutment
of the breech piece with any desired degree of tightness; the aforesaid adjustable
bearing block bis prevented.from being thrown out of its place by the screw c,

page_text: which passes inwardly through an aperture in the aforesaid portion of the
breech piece, which aperture is enough larger than the shank and head of said
screw to allow the said block to be moved towards the front or rear to any
necessary extent. The beveled front end of the block.6 fits accurately against
the beveled head of the adjusting screw a, whose screw shank passes out-
wardly through a screw aperture in the aforesaid portion of the breech piece,
and there presents a rounded and finished appearance; which may be nicked.
for-the purpose. of enabling the said screw to be turned from the outer side
of the breech piece. By turning this screw (a) in the proper direction, it
will readily be perceived that the face of the but of the barrel can be brought.
up against the abutment of the. breech piece with a sufficient degree of force
to form a close joint between the two, the hook e being of such a length as
to allow the requisite and necessary longitudinal movement of the barrel upon.
the fulcrum pin f; but for the purpose of insuring a perfectly tight joint;
between the abutment of the breech piece and the but of the barrel -I insert,
a flange-bottomed metallic cup into the chamber of the barrel, and then so
adjust the position of the block 6 as to cause the radiating flange of said cup
to be closely embraced between the face of the abutment of the breech piece
and the annular face of the but of the barrel when the barrel is brought to
the position shown in Fig. 5. The aforesaid metallic cup v may be connected.
to the perforated head of the fulcrum screw f by means of a chain or strap, as,
shown in Fig. 8, to be used with loose ammunition; or any desired number of
flange-bottomed metallic cups of the proper size may be charged with powder
and any suitable form of projectile, and carried upon the field by the soldier or
sportsman in a pocket or pouch for ready and rapid firing. Each of the aforesaid.
metallic cups must have a small aperture formed in the centre of its bottom
to receive the priming fire, which passes through the central perforation in the
abutment of the breech piece; and I have ascertained by practical experience
that filling the apertures in the bottoms of the aforesaid metallic cups with a
greasy composition renders them when charged perfectly waterproof, and does
not in the slightest degree impede the entrance of the priming fire.
I give the actuating lever D such a shape that when the barrel is in the
position for firing the said lever will form a guard for the trigger. The link C
must be slightly elastic, and should be made of the toughest and strongest
metal. The shape of the link is such that the pivots which serve to combine
it with the barrel and with the actuating lever will be in such positions with
relation to the pivot pin w that when the said parts are in the position for
firing the piece a line projected through the centre of the pin which connects
the link to the barrel, and also through the centre of the pin W, will be

page_text: tangential with the front side of the pin which connects the link to the
lever D. This arrangement causes the greatest amount of leverage to be
exerted upon the barrel just before the actuating lever is brought home to
its closed position shown in Fig. 5, and therefore the link C exerts a con-
siderable degree of retaining force upon the lever D after it has reached its
closed. position. The lever is protected against lateral strains when it is in
its closed position, and is also held more securely in said position, by a short
pin which descends from the under strap F, and enters an aperture in the
portion of the lever which bears against said strap, as shown in Fig. 5. The
under strap F projects rearwardly from its connection with the under side of
the body of the breech piece, and is secured to the under side of the stock.
The lever D can easily be thrown into the open position shown in Fig. 2, and
when in that position the but of the barrel is elevated a sufficient distance
above the abutment of the breech piece to entirely uncover the opening to the
chamber of the bore for the withdrawal or reception of the metallic cup v.
The pin w, which combines the extremity of the lever D with the breech
piece, carries a right angular arm 6' upon its front end, which serves the
purpose of confining the cover M of the magazine in its closed position, as
shown in Fig. 1, whilst it also enables the said pin to be readily taken hold
of for the purpose of partially withdrawing the same when it is desired to
detach the barrel from the breech piece. The pin w is retained in its position
within the breech piece. by the overlapping head of the screw a¹, whose shank
is received into a suitable aperture in the breech piece; but by turning the
pin w into the, position represented by Fig. 18, a groove in a portion of
the length of one side of the same receives a portion of the projecting head
of the retaining screw a', and thereby allows the said pin to be drawn out far
enough, and only far enough, to detach it from its hold upon the lever D, and
as soon as this has been done the barrel can be readily detached from the
breech piece by unhooking it from the pin f, and then drawing the lever D up
through the slot p' in the projecting front end of the breech piece. The
cone of my improved rifle projects from and is in one piece with the closed
end of the tube s', which tube is received into a transverse aperture in the
abutment of the breech piece, and passes nearly through the same, when the
screw threads in the open end of said tube receive the shank of the nick-
headed tightening screw t, which is inserted into the opposite end of the
aforesaid transverse aperture in the abutment of the breech piece. The head
of the tightening screw t of the cone is sufficiently countersunk into the
left-hand side of the abutment of the breech piece to make a handsome
finish. An aperture in one side of the tube s' communicates with the vent

page_text: in the axis of the abutment of the breech piece, as shown in Fig. 5. It will
therefore be perceived that the said improved cone can be tightened in its
position or can be loosened and removed and another inserted in its place by
the aid of a common screwdriver. To facilitate the removal of the flange-
bottomed metallic cup from the chamber of the rifle I form on opposite sides
of the but of the barrel, rearwardly tapering and slightly concavo, faces r', r',
of sufficient depth at their after extremities to enable the flange of the cup to
be readily taken hold of by the thumb and finger of the user when the barrel
is thrown into the position shown in Fig. 2.
Within the portion of the breech piece that is covered by the plate La
recess is formed for the reception of the circur-shaped body of the hammer E.
The hammer is combined with the mainspring n by means of the link r, and
the requisito recesses in the body of the hammer, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.
The sear spring o and the mainspring n are both combined with the under
strap F by means of the screw p, and from that point the said springs pass
forwards to the hammer and to the trigger through a suitable notch in the
stock and an aperture in the breech piece. The aforesaid plate L is secured
in its position upon the breech piece by the pins 7 and m, as shown in the
Drawings, the former pin also serving as the pivot of the hammer. A per-
foration in the left-hand side of the breech piece, which opens into the
delivering throat of the primer magazine, receives the shank of the bur-headed
pin i, upon whose inner extremity the ratchet wheel h and the feeding wheel
9 are placed, and securely combined therewith by means of a screw, as shown
in Fig. 7. The pall j, which communicates motion from the lower portion of
the body of the hammer to the ratchet wheel h, is jointed to the said portion
of the hammer, and is always kept in a working position by means of a guiding
projection near the outer extremity of said pall and by a spring which projects
from its upper side, and bears against a projection from the body of the
hammer, all as shown in Fig. 6.
Should I leave nearly the entire length of the barrel of my rifle unsupported
and unstiffened, it will readily be understood by persons who are scientifically
familiar with such subjects that there would be a visibly imperceptible drooping
of the unsupported front portion of the barrel at the instant of firing, which
would be amply sufficient to vary the direction of the projectile thrown
therefrom from its true course. To obviate this defect I combine a rod G, H,
with the under side of the barrel of my rifle in the manner represented in the
Drawings; to wit, one end of said rod is received into a socket formed in the
front side of the hook e, and the other end of said rod is received into a socket
formed in the short arm J, which descends from the front end of the barrel.

page_text: bc
By means of a spring actuated pin I, working in a socket in one end of the
said rod, it can be readily and securely inserted within its holders beneath
the barrel of the rifle, and it can also be withdrawn therefrom whenever
it may be necessary to use the rod as a ramrod or a cleaning rod. But
for the purpose of giving additional length to the said rod, whenever it may
desired to use it for the purpose of cleaning the interior of the barrel, I shall
generally construct it by combining a rod G with a tube H in such a manner
that the former may be enclosed within the latter, or be drawn out to the
length represented in Fig. 14, and then self-catch and retain itself in said
elongated position until it is desired to close it up again and replace it in its
holders beneath the barrel of the rifle. A feather e'; near the inner end of the
tube H, fits into a groove in the rod G, which groove extends from the outer
end of said rod nearly to the inner end of the same, and therefore it will be
perceived that the extension of said rod and tube will be arrested at the instant
the feather. e' reaches the inner end of the groove in the rod, and at the
instant that the extension of the rod and tube is arrested, the catch at the
extremity of the clastic extension of the rod G will spring into a slit in the
tube H, and thereby retain the said rod and tube in their extended position as
long as may be desired, when by forcing the said spring catch inwards the rod
and tube may be easily closed, the one upon the other, as shown in Fig. 5.
In holding the rifle in the position for firing, the hand or other rest for the
barrel thereof will naturally bear against the rod G, H, and consequently this
will cause the front end of said rod to afford at all times the same support to
the front end of said barrel, regardless of the particular position of the rod that
may-chance to rest in the hand of the user or on any fixed support.
For the purpose of preventing the abrasion of the mouth of the chamber
during the operation of cleaning out the barrel of my improved rifle, I sball
insert therein, preliminary to said operation, a protecting tube P, as represented
in Fig. 15. The carriage N, with which is combined the adjustable back
sight of my improved rifle, is combined with the tang R of the breech piece in
tho manner represented in Fig. 5, viz., the cylindrically shaped head of said
carriage is received between and is jointed to a pair of cars which rise from
the tang R. Two grooves or any other suitably shaped recesses are formed in
the periphery of the head of the carriage N, in the positions shown in Fig. 5;
and immediately beneath the head of N a pin h' passes up through an aperture
in the tang R from the extremity of the spring i, whose opposite end is secured
to the under side of R, and which vibrates in a recess of suitable shape formed
in the stock. The shape of the upper end of the pin h² bears such a relation
to the shape of the grooves or recesses in the head of the carriage N, that

page_text: when the said pin is pressed into said grooves or recesses it will act so near to
the sides of the same as to prevent any vibratory play of said carriage when it
is in the depressed position shown in Fig. 5, and also when it is in the
elevated position shown in Fig. 1. To prevent any lateral strain from being
exerted upon the carriage N of the back sight when it is in its closed position,
a knob o', projecting from the tang R, passes snugly into the outer portion of
the slot in said carriage, as represented in Figs. 3 and 4. Plates l'andare
placed on opposite faces of the parallel sides of the carriage N, which plates
have inwardly projecting guiding projections, and they are so arranged that a
single set screw n¹ will hold the said plates in any desired elevation upon the
carriage. The graduated scales upon the sides of the back sight carriage
enable the desired position of the plates ", j, to be readily obtained. The
sight plate is secured to the plates ;, by means of the set screw m³, and
as this set screw passes through a transverse slot in the sight plate, the
position of said sight plate can be laterally adjusted to any desired position.
Having thus fully described my improved breech-loading rifle, what I claim
therein as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,―
First, the combination of the rifle barrel with the breech piece by means of
the hook c, the pivot pin f, the link C, the lever D, the pivot pin 'w, and the
pins which serve to secure the said link in its working position in said com-
bination, all substantially in the manner herein set forth.
Second, I also claim giving a slight degree of elasticity to the link C, but
this I only claim when the said link has a curved shape, and is combined with
the rifle barrel and with the lever D, substantially in the manner herein set
forth.
Third, I also claim giving opposite faces r', r', of the but of the rifle barrel
such a shape that a flange-bottomed metallic cup v can be easily taken hold of
and removed from the chamber of said barrel by the thumb and finger of the
free hand of the user when the barrel is thrown into the proper position,
substantially as herein set forth.
Fourth, I also claim combining the adjustable bearing block with the
projecting front portion of the breech piece by means of the laterally movable
screw c, when the said block is arranged with relation to the beveled
head of the set screw a and the shoulder d on the under side of the but of
the barrel, substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth.
Fifth, I also claim the arm 6' on the front end of the pivot pin w, when
such a length and shape is given to the said arm that it can be used to secure
the cover M of the primer magazine in its closed position, substantially as
herein set forth.

page_text: Sixth, I also claim retaining the pivot pin w in its position within the
breech piece by means of the overlapping head of the screw a', but this I only
claim when a longitudinal groove is formed in one side of a portion of the
length of said pin, which is so located that when the pin is turned to the
position shown in Fig. 13 (or any other previously determined position), it 5
be drawn out far enough, and only far enough, to detach the said pin
from its hold upon the lever D, and thereby allow the barrel to be detached
from the breech piece, substantially as herein set forth.
may
Seventh, I also claim the union of the cones with the closed end of a tube
s' whose open end has a screw thread formed within it, by which I am enabled 1
to securely combine the said cone with the abutment of the breech piece by
means of a transverse perforation in said abutment and a nick-headed screw
inserted into the left-hand end of said perforation, and working into the open
end of said tubular cone seat, substantially as herein set forth.
Eighth, I also claim the producing of a tight joint between the but of the 1
rifle barrel and the abutment of the breech piece by the use of a flange-
bottomed metallic cup, substantially as herein set forth; and this I claim as my
Invention in all cases where a flange-bottom metallic cup may be employed
in a breech-loading fire-arm.
Ninth, I also claim the combination of the rod G, H, with the barrel of my 2
improved breech-loading rifle, substantially as herein set forth..
Tenth, I also claim the manner of combining the rod G with the tube II,
substantially as herein set forth.
Eleventh, I also claim the manner of self-catching and retaining the carriage
of the back sight in its own elevated position, and also in its depressed position 2
upon the tang of the breech piece, substantially as represented in the accom-
panying Drawings and herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edward Maynard, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of September, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine.
9
Witnesses,
J. QUINCY ADAMS.
J. H. H. DOTY.
EDWARD MAYNARD. (L.s.)