IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND CARTRIDGES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Isaac Morris Milbank, of Greenfield Hill, in
the State of Connecticut, United States of America, for the Invention
of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND CARTRIDGES."
Sealed the 5th October 1868, and dated the 13th August 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Isaac Morris Milbank
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 13th August 1868.
1, ISAAC MORRIS MILBANK, of Greenfield Hill, in the State of
Connecticut, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
AND CARTRIDGES," to be as follows:-
The
I employ a sliding hammer in rear of the barrel acted upon by a
spring, and this is held back when cocked by a sear having a hooked
end placed between the hammer and the trigger. The hammer and
spring can be taken out at the rear by the removal of a block.
trigger is locked by a block set on a spring to pass in behind the trigger,
and a projecting piece from the spring serves to remove this block
and allow the piece to be fired as the projection is forced in when the
gun stock is grasped. The foregoing primary novel devices are combined
D71

page_text: with either a sliding breech block or a swinging breech block carrying a
punch to be struck by the hammer and driven forward to explode the
cartridge. The hammer in the swinging breech block is forced back
by the said punch which is acted upon by a lever and gear teeth as
the parts are moved to open the breech. In the sliding breech block
the hammer is cocked as the block is drawn back. The sliding breech
block is made of two parts secured together and a turning bolt going
through the breech block transversely takes the recoil as the piece is
fired, this bolt is acted upon by a lever, and the firing punch before
named goes through the bolt. There is an india-rubber cushion between
the end plate of the gun and the stock to relieve the shoulder of
concussion. The cartridge is made with a metal cup-shaped base within
the rear end of the flanged metal shell receiving in a cavity the
fulminate. The ball is made smaller around the middle part to receive
a wrapping of wood, paper, or similar material to keep the barrel from
becoming injured or dirty. The metal cartridge shell is drawn out of
the barrel by a swinging claw applied at the forward end of the breech
block, the same acting as the breech is opened.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Isaac Morris Milbank in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 11th February 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ISAAC
MORRIS MILBANK, of Greenfield Hill, in the State of Connecticut,
United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Thirteenth day of August, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said Isaac Morris Milbank, Her special licence
that I, the said Isaac Morris Millbank, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Isaac Morris Milbank, 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

page_text: Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS AND CARTRIDGES, upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Isaac Morris Milbank, 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, aud 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 Isaac Morris Milbank, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be performed, 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):-
Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of the breech portion of my
fire-arm; Fig. 2 is a plan of the same; Fig. 3 represents the end
of the hammer; Fig. 4 is a cross section at the line x, x; Fig. 5 is a
vertical longitudinal section of my said fire-arm with the breech pin in
a slightly modified form; Fig. 6 is an elevation of the same; Fig. 7
is a cross section at the line , y, Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is an end view of
the breech pin; Fig. 9 is a plan of the breech pin detached; and
Fig. 10 is a section of the yielding end piece of the stock;
Figs. 11, 12, & 13 represent my cartridge in larger size. Similar marks
of reference denote the same parts.
This Invention relates to a sliding spring haminer placed behind the
breech block, and held when cocked by a hooked sear located between
the said hammer and the trigger; also to a means of locking the trigger
to prevent an accidental discharge, and to the cocking of the hammer
by the movement of the breech pin.
In the Drawing a represents the rear portion of the barrel screwed
within or otherwise attached to the breech tube e, that is let into the
wooden stock b, and secured by straps and screws of usual character.
In one side of the breech tube e is a mortice or opening to give access
to the rear end of the barrel for introducing or withdrawing the cartridge,
and in this is placed the breech block f. In Figs. 1, 2, and 4, the
breech block is shown of a character to swing upon the hinge g.
In Figs. 5 to 9 inclusive the breech block is of a character to slide
endwise; in both instances the haminer and its action correspond.
The hammer is provided with a shank around which is the helical

page_text: spring within the breech tube e, abuting at the rear end against the
movable block m that fits the said tube e, and is held in place by the
pin 3, but said block m can be removed by lifting up the end so as to
withdraw the pin 3, and then the spring k, hammer h, and shank h¹ can
be removed for cleaning when required, the tail of the haminer shank
passing through the block m indicates externally whether the hammer
is cocked or not. When the hammer h is slidden back and the spring k
compressed it is held in place by the end 5 of the seer n taking the
notch 6 in the hammer. The seer is on a fulcrum 4 and has a
spring n¹; and d is the trigger that discharges the hammer by acting
upon the seer n.
In order to keep the trigger from being accidentally moved I employ
the block set upon a spring t¹ and provided with a projection that
passes outside the small of the stock in the rear of the guard c. When
the stock is grasped the projection is pressed in, which moves up
the block t and allows the trigger to be pulled back, but when the
block is in position as shown in Figs. 1 and 5 the trigger is securely
locked thereby. The hammer h passes through an abutment i, Figs. 1
and 2, against which the breech swings.
Within the block f is a sliding punch to explode the cartridge,
and in the side of this punch are teeth acted upon by the rack s
of the lever, see dotted lines Fig. 2, so that ou opening the swinging
breech the lever 2 is turned to force back the pin and hammer h
and cock said hammer, and when the breech is closed the inclined
end thereof presses back the slightly projecting end of h, and that
springing back into the hole in the breech block (for the punch ¹)
holds said breech block in place.
The sliding block, Figs. 5 to 9, is made of two parts, a pipe portion f¹
ruuning back of the mortice in the side of the breech tube e and a
block introduced after the tube f¹ is inserted. The two parts are
united by the screw 8 and by the tube f slipping upon a projection
of the block as shown or in any other suitable manner, this prevents
the breech block falling out as the breech block f, f", is longer than
the mortice in the breech tube e, at the same time freedom of move-
meut is allowed.
The recoil of the explosion is taken upon the bolt that runs trans-
versely through the breech block f into a cavity or mortice in the breech
tube e, and to actuate this I employ a lever by which to give said

page_text: bolt a quarter tura, and an inclined groove into which the end of the
screw 8 enters gives the bolt an end movement as it is rotated.
In order to start the breech block f so that it may be slid back
with ease I provide a projection 11 that takes against a stud 10 as
the lever is turned to disengage the parts. A latch may be provided
as at w to spring up after the lever ' has been turned and thereby hold
the same, and an offset 12 upon the tube e, against which one side of the
projection 11 comes in contact, also aids in sustaining the breech block
against the force of the explosion.
The firing pin ¹ is made in two parts, as seen in Fig. 5, one of which
is within the bolt v, and the other part in the block f. The hammer
when it is discharged acts endwise upon these pins i¹, and the blow is
communicated to the cartridge to explode the fulminate. The hammer
is cocked by drawing the breech back to the position shown in Fig. 6
by dotted lines after the lever v¹ has been turned to disengage the breech
block.
At the forward end of the breech block f I provide yielding push
pins 13, see Fig. S, these are made of small slotted rods, into which a
strip of india-rubber is introduced, and then the pin is forced into the
hole at the end of the breech pin. The rubber projecting slightly holds
the pin into place, and allows the pin to yield endwise slightly. The
object of these push pius is to force the cartridge forward so that its
flange will set firmly against the rear end of the barrel, and hence when
the blow of the hammer is given the action will be reliable iu exploding
the fulminate instead of first having to move the cartridge forward to its
place.
The cartridge I employ is made with a sheet metal case 14 having
a flange around its rear end, as seen in Fig. 5, and the ball 20 is
inserted in the forward end of the case. A cup-shaped metallic base 15
is inserted within the case, and firmly held in position by soldering or
by similar means, so that there will only be a small cavity 10 for the
fulminate with an opening for the flash to pass into the powder; this
base strengthens the cartridge case, and by fastening in the base as
aforesaid there is no opportunity for fine grains of fulminate to pass in
between the surfaces of the metal, where they are likely to explode by
a fall or slight blow, and the powder in the cavity 16 can only be exploded
by a hammer or punch.

page_text: The ball 20 is made smaller around the middle portion of its
cylindrical surface, as seen in Fig. 5, and I introduce a wrapping of
paper, cloth, wood, veneer, or similar material at this part for keeping
the ball tight, and preventing the lead adhering to the inside of the
barrel, and this wrapping passing into the sheet metal of the cartridge
case causes the ball to remain properly in place before firing, and the
case holds the wrapping on. I make the rear end of the stock of a
metal plate 17 outside the india-rubber or elastic cushion 18, and fit the
parts so that the plate can slide as the rubber is compressed by the force
of the blow, thus relieving the party using the same from considerable
concussion. The swinging claw to extract the cartridge case, which is
shown in the Specification of my Patent dated June 5, 1867, may be
applied with the swinging breech, shown in Fig. 2, or with the sliding
breechf, Figs. 5, 6, and 9.
The base 15 of the cartridge may be made thicker and perforated, as
seen in Figs. 1, 11, 12, and 13, and the priming be introduced in the
tube 16. The rear end of this primer is made concave, so that an annular
recess is formed for receiving the fulminate, and the round-ended
hammer strikes the primer, causing the blow to be partially diagonal,
and in the direction indicated by the diverging lines. This primer is
nuch more reliable than those with flat ends with the fulminate in the
flange of the base.
In Fig. 12 a cylindrical primer is shown, and in Fig. 13 a conical
one is represented, the action of the hammer being outwardly upon
the fulminate contained in the recess to compress and explode the
same.
What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is,―
First. The hammer h, h,' and spring k in combination with the hook-
ended seer n and trigger d, for the purposes and as set forth,
Second. The movable block m in combination with the hammer h, h¹,
and spring k, as specified.
Third. The block t and projection u in combination with the trigger d
to bold the trigger from being accidentally discharged, as set forth.
Fourth. The firing pin ¹ in combination with the breech block and
hammer, substantially as set forth.

page_text: Fifth. Forming the sliding breech block of two pieces f, f¹, united
after they are introduced successively into the breech tube for the
purposes set forth.
Sixth. The bolt in combination with the breech block fand lever v',
substantially as and for the purposes specified.
Seventh. Forming the metallic cartridge case with a flanged base,
within which the metallic base is secured, so that the fulminate passes
into the cavity of the said base, as set forth.
Eighth. The ball formed smaller around the middle portion of its
cylindrical surface, and receiving a wrapping of paper, wood, or other
material in combination with the sheet-metal cartridge case, as
specified.
Ninth. The projection 11 on the lever in combination with the
breech block f and stud 10, substantially as and for the purposes set
forth.
Tenth. The india-rubber cushion 18 introduced between the plate 17
and stock b, as and for the purposes specified.
Eleventh. The priming tube 16 formed with a concave base, and for the
purposes set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Isaac Morris Milbank, have
hereunto set my hand and seal this Twenty-sixth day of Decem-
ber, A.D. One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
5
0
Witnesses,
CHA. H. SMITH,
121, Nassau St.,
New York.
GEO. D. WALKER,
121, Nassau St.,
New York.
1. M. MILBANK. (L.B.)