CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS, AND IN THE PROJECTILES TO BE USED THEREWITH
Year: 1831

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I,
JOHN DE BURGH, MARQUIS OF CLANRICARDE, send greeting.
WHEREAS, in consequence of a communication made to me by a
certain foreigner residing abroad, I am in possession of an Invention
of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-ARMS, AND IN THE PROJECTILES TO BE
USED THEREWITH;" and whereas His present most Excellent Majesty
King William the Fourth, by His Letters Patent under the Great
Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Fifteenth day of July, in the second year of "His reigu,
did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said John de Burgh, Marquis of Clanricarde, His special licence that
I, the said John de Burgh, Marquis of Clanricarde, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John de Burgh,
Marquis of Clanricarde, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should
at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the
Town of Berwick upon Tweed, the said Invention; in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso, obliging me, the said John de Burgh,

page_text: Marquis of Clanricarde, by an instrument in writing under my hand
and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of the said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to
cause the same to be inrolled in His said Majesty's High Court of
Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference
being thereunto had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE; that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the
said John de Burgh, Marquis of Clauricarde, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention to consist, or relates to fire-arins, in a
sliding breech moving between two side plates, which side plates con-
nect it with the barrel by means of screws and trunnions formed on the
barrel; and as relates to the projectiles to be used therewith, in a cart-
ridge formed of many sections of a cylinder united to form a cylinder,
and containing a copper or other denotating cap in a cavity, formed in
arranging some of the sections of the cylinder, which are peculiarly
shaped for that purpose. And in further compliance with the said
proviso, I, the said John de Burgh, Marquis of Clanricarde, do hereby
describe the manner in which the said Invention is to be performed by
the following description thereof, reference being had to the Drawing
annexed, and to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is
to say:
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1, is a top view or plan of a pistol complete, on the said
improved plan. A, is the sliding breech; B, a thumb nob for the
thumb of the left hand to slide and raise the breech by when required
to load the pistol; C, the touchhole and nipple; D, D, two side plates,
between which the breech slides forwards and backwards when required;
E, a wedge put in at the back of the breech, when it is slid forward, to
make the breech when loaded join up close to the barrel; F, is a lever
attached to the wedge acting against a pin e, shewn better in the next
Figure, and used to force the wedge down to its place: G. H. I. and

page_text: similar letters are used to denote similar parts in all the. Figures. D,
in this Figure is one of the side plates; and F', is the lever before
described, and which it will be seen is forked at Q, and is attached to
the wedge by the screw nut T, on a shoulder cut on the end of the
wedge, which serves as the fulcrum to the lever, while the pin e, forms
the point of resistance for the two parts of the fork to act against; the
dotted lines in this Figure shew the lever F, in its elevated position.
Figure 3, shews the side plates D, D, and the barrel J, whichi in order
to form the chamber to receive the sliding breech are approximated
from the position here shewn towards cach other till the pieces K, K,
at the end of the side plates meet, when these two pieces are screwed
together, and thus form what is usually called the nut of the plug; at
the same time the holes L, L, admit the trunnions M, M, of the barrel
J, and the other end of the side plates is screwed into the barrel.
The parts shewn in this Figure being thus put together are put into the
stock in the ordinary way, and a chamber will be formed to receive the
sliding breech. Figure 4, is a separate view of the said sliding breecli,
shewn sideways; and Figure 5, is an end view of it also. When the
breech is put into the chamber, it is held there by a screw turned
through the side plate into the cavity N, in Figure 4, which is shaped
in such manner as to allow the breech to slide backwards and forwards
and to be raised by the thumb acting on the thumb nob when required,
as hereafter explained. Figure 6, represents the sliding breech in the
elevated position it assumes when raised by the thumb, as aforesaid,
and it is in this position that the charge or cartridge is put into the
breach. It should here be observed, that in order to raise the breecli
to this position the wedge E, Figure 1, at the back of it, and which
forces it up the barrel when in its place for firing, must be removed,
and this is effected in the following manner :-The pistol being poised or
held in the left hand, with the left thumb on the thumb nob, the thumb
and finger of the right hand must be applied to the end P, of the.
forked lever F, Figure 2, and raised, as shewn by the dotted lines; the
upper arm Q of the forked lever F, now acting against the pin e, and
forming a powerful lever to give the first start to the wedge, which
otherwise when fire-arm became at all foul with use, it might be
difficult to remove. The wedge being thus moved, has only to be

page_text: laid over towards the left wrist, still keeping hold of the lever F,
with the right thumb and finger, for the raising or first starting of
the wedge and the laying it over are all one action. The wedge
being thus removed, the breech must be slided back by the left thumb
to the place before occupied by the wedge, and raised at the same
time, also by the thumb, to the elevation shewn in Figure 6, which is
the proper position for loading the arm. The cartridge or charge being
inserted in the breach while in this elevated position, it is allowed
again to drop into the chamber below, and pushed forward again by
the left thumb till it meets the barrel, when the right thumb and finger
should be again used to the lever F, to replace the wedge, when the
lower arm r, of the fork acts in turn against the pin e, and forms a
powerful lever to force the wedge down to its place; when this is done,
and a cap has been placed on the nipple, the arm is ready to be fired.
By referring again to Figure 6, it will be seen, that the sliding breach
is furnished with an overlap W, which assists to keep it steady when
sliding, and covers the joint where the breech joins up to the barrel.
Figure 7, is an end view of the plug, shewing more clearly the action
and form of the wedge E; it will be observed that the wedge turns on
an hinge or fulcrum at V, and is here shewn in its elevated position,
but not quite thrown over to the left wrist. ✗X, is a small screw that
turns into the cavity N, Figure 4, to keep the sliding breech from
leaving its place by any sudden jump in the quick action of loading.
Figure 8, is an end view of the barrel.
Having now described those parts of the Drawing which relate to
the first part of the said Invention, I shall next proceed to describe the
cartridge or projectile to be used therewith, and to which- Figures 9,
10, 11, and 12, have reference. I form the cartridge of a long cylin-
drical piece of lead, cut into twelve pieces, by two longitudinal sections.
at right angles with each other, as shewn at Y, Z, Figure 13, and two
transverse sections as shewn at f, f, in the same Figure. These twelve
pieces being wrapped round with paper, with powder at one end to
form the cartridge, I bore a small hole in the centre of the other end
to receive a copper cap, which having inserted in the holes, I paste a
piece of thin paper over the end, to keep the cap in its place. Figure
11, shews the end with the hole bored in it; and Figure 12, the same

page_text: end after the cap has been placed in the hole with the thin paper pasted
over it. Figure 9, represents the cartridge with some of the paper and
two. of the pieces removed at one end to show the cavity in each of the
four end pieces, which when put together form the hole for the reception
of the
cap. Figure 10, represents the two pieces which have been re-
moved with a small cavity in each; and it should here be observed that
the twelve pieces may be cast separately in a mould and afterwards put
together even more easily than they can be cut out of a solid cylinder;'
and to effect this I make a mould, as shewn at Figure 14, where it will
be seen that two circles. and crosses make eight pieces exactly alike,
and the third has a small nob or plug in the middle of the cross, which
in the casting forms the hole for the cap. The mould consists of three
pieces turning on a screw pivot; one forms the bottom of the mould,
which is a plain piece of metal, the middle piece contains the circles
and cross sections and the top plate, which is also a cutter off, to cut off;
the little nick of the casting before it is removed from the mould. It
is only necessary further to state that when the fire-arm is to be loaded:
the end containing the copper cap is to be pressed down upon the nipple
hard enough to break through the paper which holds it to its place
and to fasten it on to the nipples; the sliding breech is then to be
elevated, as before described, and the cartridge introduced, and when
the arm is fired off the twelve pieces forming the cartridge will be so
scattered laterally by the flattened bell shaped end of the barrel as to
constitute a most formidable weapon of defence. Now whereas I claim
as the Invention aforesaid, first (as regards the improvements in fire-
arms), the sliding breech and side plates herein-before described; and
secondly (as regards the improvements in the projectiles to be used
therewith), the mode of composing the cartridge of various pieces of
lead with a copper cap, as herein-before described; and such Invention.
being to the best of my knowledge and belief entirely new, and never
before used within that part of His said Majesty's United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland called England, His. said Dominion of
Wales, or Town of Berwick upon Tweed, I do hereby declare this to.
be my Specification of the same, and that I do verily believe this my.
said Specification doth comply in all respects fully, and without reserve
or disguise, with, the proviso in the said herein-before in part recited

page_text: Letters Patent contained; wherefore I do hereby claim to maintain
exclusive right and privilege to the said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said John de Burgh, Marquis of Clan-
ricarde, have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day
of January, One, thousand eight hundred and thirty-two.

page_text: acknowledged the same, as appears by the certificate of the said Wil-
liam Henn on the said Specification, to which this deponent refers;
and this deponent further saith, that the name or title of honor "Clan-
ricarde" subscribed and set opposite to the seal to said Specification is
the
proper hand writing of the said Marquis of Clanricarde, and that
the name William Henn subscribed at foot of the jurat of the affidavit
of this deponent, taken before him on the Twelfth day of January
instant, and also the name William Henn subscribed at foot of the
certificate of the appearance of the said Marquis of Clanricarde, and of
his execution of said Specification before him, and to which this depo-
nent refers, is the proper name and of the handwriting of the said
William Henn, before whom said Marquis of Clanricardo did attend,
and sign, seal, and as his act and deed deliver said Specification; and
this deponent further saith, that the said William Henn is one of the
Masters of the High Court of Chancery in Ireland, and as such was
legally authorized and fully competent to receive the affidavit of this
deponent, and to administer to him the usual oath; and that the name
Richard Gabbett, subscribed as a witness to the execution of the said
Specification by the said Marquis of Clanricarde, is the proper namo
and of the hand writing of this deponent.
Sworn at Liverpool, in the County of Lan-
caster, this Thirteenth day of January 1832,
before me,
I. SWIFT,
RICHARD GABBETT.
A Master Extraordinary in Chancen