IMPROVED MEANS FOR HOLDING AND CARRYING CARTRIDGES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Vincent Newton, of the Office for Patents,
66, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical
Draughtsman, for the Invention of "IMPROVED MEANS FOR HOLDING
AND CARRYING CARTRIDGES."-A communication from abroad by Henry
Metcalf, of Springfield, in the State of Massachusetts, United States
of America.
Sealed the 21st August 1875, and dated the 2nd March 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Vincent
Newton at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 2nd March 1875.
I, ALFRED VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery
Lane, in the County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVED MEANS
FOR HOLDING AND CARRYING CARTRIDGES," to be as follows: -
This Invention relates to an improved mode of carrying cartridges,
the object being to make them readily accessible to the soldier when in

page_text: action or when suddenly called upon to use his rifle. To this end the
cartridges are fitted into wooden blocks of a convenient size, having, say,
eight cylindrical recesses to receive as many cartridges. The depth of
the recesses will be equal to about half the length of the cartridges, and
the cartridges will be inserted therein with their rear ends uppermost.
To prevent the blocks from warping and binding on the cartridges to a
degree that will render their extraction difficult, a longitudinal saw cut
is made across the recesses in the line of their centres; and to prevent
the cartridges suffering from damp, they are, when inserted in the block,
covered over by a waterproof paper or equivalent material, which is
cemented or otherwise attached to the block.
A soldier may conveniently carry three, four, or more blocks of such
cartridges, the same being supported by hangers attached to his belt,
but it is also proposed to connect one of these blocks to the side of the
fire-arm near the lock, so that when taken by surprise he may on
catching up his weapon find himself provided with several rounds of
ammunition. To ensure the attachment of the cartridge block to the
rifle, the block is fitted on its inner face with two plates or strips of
metal which project from the opposite ends thereof. The plate attached
to the forward end of the block has its outer end made segment-shaped,
and the other plate which is fixed to the rear end of the block is
notched at its outer end. The stock of the rifle is furnished with a
catch to receive the projecting edge of the forward plate, and it is also
provided with an elastic swivel lever, a projection on which takes into
the notch of the rear plate. This lever is formed with a thumb piece
for turning it on its fulcrum, and also with a pin for snapping into
the hole or catch in the stock when the lever is moved into position
to hold the cartridge block firmly to the stock. By nipping the
paper covering ready access is obtained to the cartridges, which may
then be withdrawn from the block with facility when required for
charging the arm.
For carrying these blocks at the belt metal hangers are provided
which are formed with a loop to allow the belt to pass through, and
consist mainly of a hook-shaped piece that is intended to embrace
the block. The free end of this hook-shaped piece is provided with a
swivel catch, which when in position overlaps the block and serves to

page_text: retain it in the hanger. The pin on which this swivel catch turns
terminates in a button for receiving a button-holed strap that is attached
to the inner limb of the hanger, and is brought over the cartridge block
and secured to the button when the cartridge block is placed in the
hanger.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Vincent Newton in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 1st September 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
VINCENT NEWTON, of the Office for Patents, 66, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Mechanical Draughtsman, send greeting.
WHEREAS Hor most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Second day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, Her
special licence that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Alfred
Vincent Newton, 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 "IMPROVED MEANS FOR HOLDING AND CARRYING CARTRIDGES,"
being a communication to me from abroad by Henry Metcalf, of Spring-
field, in the State of Massachusetts, United States of America, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton,
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 imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patenţ.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, do
hereby declare the nature of the 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 Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the Drawing
hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that
is to say):
This Invention relates to an improved mode of carrying cartridges,
the object being to make them readily accessible to the soldier when in
action or when suddenly called upon to use his rifle. To this end the
cartridges are fitted into wooden blocks of a convenient size, having,
say, eight cylindrical recesses to receive as many cartridges. The depth
of the recesses will be equal to about half the length of the cartridges,
and the cartridges will be inserted therein with their rear ends upper-
most. To prevent the blocks from warping and binding on the cartridges
to a degree that will render their extraction difficult a longitudinal saw
cut is made across the recesses in the line of their centres; and to
prevent the cartridges suffering from damp they are, when inserted in
the block, covered over by waterproof paper or equivalent material,
which is cemented or otherwise attached to the block.
A soldier may conveniently carry three, four, or more blocks of such
cartridges, the same being supported by hangers attached to his belt,
but it is also proposed to connect one of these blocks to the side of the
fire-arm near the lock, so that when taken by surprise he may on
catching up his weapon find himself provided with several rounds of
ammunition. To ensure the attachment of the cartridge block to the
rifle the block is fitted on its inner face with two plates or strips of
metal which project from the opposite ends thereof. The plate attached
to the forward end of the block has its outer end made segment-shaped,
and the other plate which is fixed to the rear end of the block is notched
at its outer end. The stock of the rifle is furnished with a catch to
receive the projecting edge of the forward plate, and it is also provided
with an elastic swivel lever or projection which takes into the notch of
the rear plate. This lever is formed with a thumb piece for turning it
on its fulcrum, and also with a pin for snapping into a hole or catch in
the stock when the lever is moved into position to hold the cartridge
block firmly to the stock. By ripping the paper covering ready access

page_text: is obtained to the cartridges, which may then be withdrawn from the
block with facility when required for charging the arm.
For carrying these blocks at the belt metal hangers or carriers are
provided, which are formed with a loop to allow the belt to pass through,
and consist mainly of a hook-shaped piece that is intended to embrace
the block. The free end of this hook-shaped piece is provided with a
catch which when in position overlaps the block and serves to retain it
in the hanger or carrier. The catch is provided with a button for
receiving a button-holed strap that is attached to the inner limb of the
hanger, and is brought over the cartridge block and secured to the
button when the cartridge block is placed in the hanger.
Having now described in general terms the character of the improve-
ments I will proceed to explain in detail their nature, reference being
had to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
Fig. 1 represents a side view of part of a gun illustrating the Inven-
tion as applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the same at the
line 1, 2, of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the cartridge block
designed to be used or attached to the gun.
Fig. 4 is a back view and Fig. 5 front view of the block filled with
cartridges and covered with a waterproof material.
In the Drawings B represents that portion of the gun to which the
block is secured. The stock is provided with a strap A, which preferably
is let into the wood of the stock, and when so attached the forward end
of the strap extends in a little distance under the band C, and the
forward end of the strap A is provided with a protuberance a having an
under cut recess or cavity a¹ therein. The rear end of the strap is
secured firmly to the stock either by extending it beneath the lock plate
a little, or by a screw, or in any convenient manner, and it is provided
with a lever e which is so pivotted to the strap as to turn freely thereon.
The forward end of this lever is so formed that when moved into a
horizontal position it will bear against the rear end of the cartridge
block, and the lever is cut away at i to give it a little spring or elasticity,
and may be enlarged at the end to form a thumb piece b. This part of
the lever is also provided with a pin f on the inside to snap into a small
hole or indentation in the strap, the object of which is to keep the lever
securely in place.

page_text: Fig. 4 represents the cartridge block provided at one end with a metallic
plate I made of a circular form at n to fit into the circular recess a
in the part a, and the block is provided at the other end with a plate J
having a cavity or recess h into which the front end of the lever e enters
when the lever is placed in a horizontal position to hold the block secure.
To secure the block in place upon the gun it is only necessary to force
down the end b of the lever into a vertical position, as shewn in dotted
lines in Fig. 1. The block is then secured by inserting the circular
part n of the plate I into the recess a¹ with the block close to the side of
the gun, and then pressing down the rear end of the block so that the
recess will come just in front of the forward end of the lever e. The
latter is then swung up into place, the pin f swinging into the small
cavity made to receive it; this movement forces the front end of the
lever e into the recess h of the plate J at the rear end of the block. It
is evident that the part a with the cavity a¹ therein may be made separate
from the strap, and may be secured to the gun by a screw or other
convenient means, and it may be made of any convenient form to
support the end of the cartridge block, and a small part of the strap A
at the rear end or a small plate of sufficient size to be attached to the
gun with the lever e pivotted thereto may be used without departing
from the Invention.
It may be remarked that the plates J and I will have no tendency to
spring (when the block is full) at the recoil of the gun, but remain rigid
and firm retaining the block in its position.
A longitudinal slit o is made along the top of the block, which slit
may most conveniently be made with a saw. This slit prevents the
wood from binding the cartridges too tightly when the block becomes
wet from exposure, and the wood each side of the slit forms a spring so
that the cartridges may be withdrawn from the holes in the block quite
easily whether the block be wet or dry. Without this slit if the block
became wet it would swell to such a degree that the cartridges could
not be withdrawn from the block. It also allows the cartridges to be
loosened in the block if necessary by wrenching them sideways.
Fig. 6 is a front view of the hanger or carrier employed for suspending
the cartridge block from the soldier's belt; and Fig. 7 is a side view of
the same. The carrier or hanger is made of suitable elastic material,

page_text: sheet steel being preferable. This carrier is arranged to either partly or
entirely clasp the belt and to slide freely thereon. The part A' which
is bent upward is provided with a projection a which extends inward
over the block when the latter is within the carrier sufficiently to prevent
the block from becoming accidentally detached from the carrier, and the
part A is also provided with a thumb piece c by which to press the
part A' outward on removing the block, and also carries a button to
secure the strap E over the block.
:
Fig. 8 shews in side view and Fig. 9 in section a hanger constructed
in a manner slightly differing from that just described.
By this arrangement of accoutrements the following advantages
accrue―The bulky character of the cartridge box ordinarily used which
is always a cause of more or less constraint and hinderance in the move-
ments of the soldier is entirely dispensed with, while the same or even a
greater number of cartridges may be carried with more case and less
feeling of incumbrance than can be carried in the ordinary box, and
after the cartridges have all been used and the empty blocks thrown
away there is no weight to carry and the soldier is more free and ready
for rapid marching.
Having now set forth the nature of the Invention of "Improved
Means for Holding and Carrying Cartridges," as communicated to me
by my foreign correspondent, and explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under the above in part
recited Letters Patent I claim,—
First. The combination with a gun of a projection to support one
end of the cartridge block, and the pivotted lever e to bear against
and grasp the opposite end of the cartridge block, substantially as
described.
Second. In combination with a cartridge block provided with plates
as at J and I a pivotted lever e and a projection, both said lever and
projection being made upon or attached to the gun and arranged to
hold the block in a secure position upon the gun, substantially as
described.
Third. The application to a cartridge block provided with holes to
receive the cartridges of a slit or saw cut o extending along the top of

page_text: forth.
Lastly. The carrier or hanger arranged upon the belt A to clasp and
hold a cartridge block, the same being provided with a flange or pro-
jection a to prevent the block from becoming detached from the carrier,
substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Vincent Newton, havo
hereunto set my hand and seal, the
day of August,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five