IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Tomlinson Bousfield, of Loughborough Park,
Brixton, in the County of Surrey, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS."-A communication from abroad by Isaac
Hartshorn, residing at Providence, in the State of Rhode Island, United
States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Tomlinson Bous-
field at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 18th February 1863.
I, GEORGE TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton, in the
County of Surrey, do hereby declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:-
The presents improvements are particularly applicable to the rifle for which
Letters Patent were granted to me on the 15th November 1855, (No. 2581),
in which the cartridge block is brought up to abut against the rear of the
barrel so that the axis of the cartridge chamber shall coincide with the axis
of the barrel. In this rifle a metallic cartridge case is employed, which remains
behind in the cartridge chamber after the gun is discharged and requires to be
removed by hand before the insertion of a fresh cartridge. As it has been

page_text: heretofore constructed, when the cartridge block was swung away from the
barrel the mouth of the cartridge chamber descended so low between the sides
of the breech as to render it inconvenient to withdraw the empty cartridge
case and insert the full one with that celerity which was at times desirable.
The first part of this Invention has for its object to facilitate the manipu-
lation of the gun in this respect, and consists in connecting the cartridge block
with the breech by means of two joints, to each of which a limited motion is
allowed, to one for the purpose of facilitating the entry of the ball into the end
of the barrel, and to the other for the purpose of elevating the mouth of the
cartridge chamber to bring it into a more accessible position. The stock is
connected with the barrel by a breech of forged iron or steel which is morticed
out to form a box or receiver in which plays the cartridge block. The sides
of the breech form the sides or inclosing walls of the receiver, which is open at
the top and at the bottom. The moveable cartridge block is secured to the
guard lever by screws and is connected with the barrel by means of a double
link, one end of which is pivotted to the forward part of the breech by one pin,
and to the cartridge block by another pin, so that the cartridge block may
turn upon either one of the two points or pins. As the advance end of the
cartridge block abuts against. the rear end of the barrel no portion of either
one of them sliding into or past the other, there is an open joint between the
two, and as it is necessary that this open joint be packed by the advance end
of the cartridge, and consequently that the ball which protrudes from the
cartridge enter a short distance into the end of the barrel, it therefore
becomes important that the direction of motion of the cartridge block at the
instant before it comes in contact with the barrel coincide as near as may be
with the axis of the latter. This is also important, though to a minor degree,
in order that the advance end of the empty cartridge case may free itself from
the barrel when the cartridge block first begins to move away from it. For
this purpose it is essential that the first motion of the cartridge block as it
leaves the barrel be around the first-mentioned pin and that it be afterwards
allowed to move around the second-mentioned pin for the purpose of elevating
its mouth and bring it into a more accessible position. To effect this is the
object of the second part of this Invention which will now be described.
A guide pin is passed through one of the sides of the breech and enters a
groove cut in the side of the cartridge block. When the cartridge block is in
place the guide pin is at one end of the groove, which is curved, and is struck
from the centre of the pin first mentioned. It will therefore be seen as the
cartridge chamber is guided by the guide pin running in the groove, that
during its first motion away from the barrel or until the guide pin reaches the

page_text: upper end of the curved groove, the motion of the chamber can only be around
the point or pin first mentioned; when the guide pin has reached the point,
the shoulders upon the pin first mentioned come in contact with each other,
and the motion around this joint is stopped. As the motion of the guard lever
is continued, the guide pin enters the branch groove in the cartridge block,
which is curved from the centre of the pin secondly mentioned; it can there-
fore only turn round on this point, by which the mouth of the cartridge
chamber is elevated as required. The cartridge block is arrested in this
position by the shoulders. In a similar manner, when the cartridge block is
returned to its firing position, the guide pin moving in the groove causes the
first motion to be around the joint secondly mentioned, and then as the guide
pin runs in the groove the chamber moves around the point or pin first men-
tioned as a centre. The cartridge case is made of some metal that shall be
sufficiently soft or yielding to allow it to expand slightly at the instant of the
discharge, to pack the joint between the moveable cartridge chamber and the
barrel. The cartridge is so adapted to the cartridge chamber that when
placed therein and the cartridge block is brought up into place, it shall fit
snugly in the chainber and force the breech pin back; the nipple is then
in position to receive the blow of the hammer, the fire from the cap thereon
passing by the passage and entering a small hole in the rear of the cartridge.
The moveable breech pin is allowed a slight motion in and out of the
cartridge chamber for the following purpose:-It has already been stated that
the breech pin is forced back by the cartridge when the cartridge block is
brought into its firing position; on the discharge of the piece the conical car-
tridge case is forced still more tightly into its conical chamber, and in order to
loosen it so that it may be readily taken out by hand, the breech pin is forced
forward as the chamber is withdrawn from the barrel in the following manner:
-The rear ends of the cartridge block and breech pin are curved, having the
point or pin first mentioned as a centre, they are then cut away to permit them
to pass the end of the trigger strap which projects into the path of the car-
tridge block and breech pin. On the withdrawal of the cartridge block for
the purpose of removing the empty cartridge case, the projection does not come
in contact with the cartridge block, nor with the breech pin until a part strikes
it, when the breech pin is forced in, and the empty cartridge case which is
thereby loosed may then be withdrawn by hand. In order to retain the breech
pin in position to prevent the cartridge case from becoming again fast in the
chamber after it has been loosened by the projection, and also that it may
be readily removed for the purpose of cleansing it without the necessity of
using a screwdriver or other tools, I employ a spring bolt. The bolt works in

page_text: a cylindrical hole in the rear portion of the cartridge block, and has attached
to it a head. To its lower end is secured a collar, against which rests one end
of a spring, the opposite end of which rests against a collar that is confined
within the cylindrical hole in the cartridge block by a screw passed in from the
outside the bolt head, bears against a recess in the rear end of the breech pin,
and holds it in position. When the cartridge is in the gun the breech chamber
is thrown back, the spring yielding for the purpose. When it is desired to
withdraw the breech pin it is simply necessary to raise the head of the spring
bolt out of the recess in the breech pin into which it fits and to turn it away,
when the breech pin may be instantly withdrawn. For the purpose of holding
the cartridge block immoveable at the time the gun is discharged, the following
device is employed-A latch pivotted to the guard lever is forced into position
by a spring; this latch engages with a catch secured to the stock, and by this
means the cartridge block is held immoveable until it is unlocked by hand;
this is effected by the thumb at the instant when the guard is grasped to swing
down the cartridge block, the pressure of the thumb first releasing the latch,
and the continued pressure carrying down the guard lever. The cartridge
block, guard lever, and double link are secured to the gun by means of a bolt
or pin, as before mentioned, upon which the double link turns; this bolt or
pin has a lip which fits into a corresponding recess in the breech, and is
retained in this position by a spring pin, which fits in a hole and is forced up
in advance of an arm on the bolt or pin by a spring. When it is required.to
remove the cartridge block for the purpose of cleansing or repairs, it is simply
necessary to depress the spring pin, when the arm may be swung so as to clear
the lip of its recess and allow the bolt or pin first mentioned to be withdrawn,
by which the double link is disconnected from the breech. For the purpose
of preventing the corrosion which might take place between the breech pin
and the cartridge block in which it slides, which would cause the pin to adhere
to the block and prevent the two from working freely upon each other, a
thimble or bushing of some unoxidizable metal or hard alloy is inserted in the
rear of the cartridge chamber, and is kept in place by screws. The propor-
tions which have been found to answer best for this alloy are as follows:-
60 parts by weight of copper, 20 parts of nickel, 20 parts of zinc. This alloy
resists the explosive force and the heat, and is not itself materially injured by
oxidation.
The cartridge case which I employ is stamped and spun up of brass, or of some
metal that is sufficiently soft or yielding to permit it to pack the joint between
the barrel and the chamber by the expansion of its mouth. A short distance
back of its mouth there is an enlargement which fills the enlargement in the

page_text: advance end of the cartridge chamber, and in the rear of the bore of the barrel,
at its rear end there is a small hole for the entrance of the fire from the cap,
which is closed by wax or in some other suitable manner, and the powder is
introduced; a wad is placed on the powder, and the ball having been well
tallowed is then inserted, and the case is closed around it by pressure applied
by any suitably formed press or swage.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Tomlinson Bousfield in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 15th August 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
TOMLINSON BOUSFIELD, of Loughborough Park, Brixton, in the County of
Surry, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eighteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Tomlinson Bousfield, Her special license that I, the said George
Tomlinson Bousfield, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, 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," a communication to me from
abroad by Isaac Hartshorn, a person resident at Providence, in the State
of Rhode Island, United States of America, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, my exécutors or adminis-
trators, 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 calender months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, 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

page_text: following statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
Fig. 1 is a plan of a rifle with my improvements attached; Fig. 2, a side
elevation of the same, one of the sides of the breech which form the box or
receiver, in which the movable cartridge block is operated, being removed to
show this block and the parts immediately connected therewith. The bore
of the barrel and the cartridge, as well as the breech pin and the passage
through it from the nipple to the cartridge chamber are represented in this
Figure in broken lines.
Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section through the
centre of the cartridge block and barrel; Fig. 4, a vertical section upon the
line x, x, of Fig. 1, passing through the cartridge block and breech pin and
the spring bolt which holds the latter in place; this section is taken with the
parts in the position which they occupy when the cartridge is in its chamber,
by which the breech pin is thrown back against the action of its spring bolt.
The position of this section is indicated by the line a³, x, of Fig. 5. Fig. 5,
a rear view of the cartridge block and breech pin; Fig. 6, a transverse section
on the line y, y, of Fig. 1, the locality of the section being also indicated upon
Fig. 2 by the line y', y'; Fig. 7 is the removable bolt or pin which secures
the link C to the forward part of the breech, and forms the joint a; Fig. 8 is
a view of the link C detached; Fig, 9, a view of the metallic cartridge
case; Fig. 10, a section through the cartridge; Fig. 11, elevation of the
bolt r enlarged.
The present improvements are particularly applicable to the rifle for which
Letters Patent of the Government of Great Britain were granted to George
Tomlinson Bousfield on the 15th November 1855, (No. 2581,) in which the
cartridge block is brought up to abut against the rear of the barrel, so that the
axis of the cartridge chamber shall coincide with the axis of the barrel. In
this rifle a metallic cartridge case is employed, which remains behind in the
cartridge chamber after the gun is discharged, and requires to be removed by
band before the insertion of a fresh cartridge. As it has been heretofore
constructed, when the cartridge block was swung away from the barrel, the
mouth of the cartridge chamber descended so low between the sides of the
breech as to render it inconvenient to withdraw the empty cartridge case, and
insert the full one with that celerity which was at times desirable.
The first part of this Invention has for its object to facilitate the manipu-
lation of the gun in this respect, and consists in connecting the cartridge block
with the breech by means of two joints, to each of which a limited motion is
allowed, to one for the purpose of facilitating the entry of the ball into the
end of the barrel, and to the other for the purpose of elevating the mouth of

page_text: the cartridge chamber to bring it into a more accessible position. The stock R
is connected with the barrel U by a breech of forged iron or steel, which is
morticed out to form a box or receiver, in which plays the cartridge block A.
The sides G of the breech form the sides or inclosing walls of the receiver,
which is open at the top and at the bottom. The moveable cartridge block is
secured to the guard lever B by screws h (Fig. 3), and is connected with the
barrel by means of a double link C (Fig. 8), one end of which is pivoted to
the forward part of the breech by one pin a, and the other to the cartridge
block by another pin 6, so that the cartridge block may turn upon either one
of the two points or pins a or b. As the advance end of the cartridge block
abuts against the rear end of the barrel, no portion of either one of them
sliding into or past the other, there is an open joint between the two, and as
it is necessary that this open joint be packed by the advance end of the
cartridge, and consequently that the ball which protrudes from the cartridge
enters a short distance into the end of the barrel, it therefore becomes
important that the direction of motion of the cartridge block at the instant
before it comes incontact with the barrel coincide as near as may be with the
axis of the latter. This is also important, though to a minor degree, in order
that the advance end of the empty cartridge case may free itself from the barrel
when the cartridge block first begins to move away from it. For this purpose
it is essential that the first motion of the cartridge block, as it leaves the
barrel, be around the first-mentioned pin a, and that it be afterwards allowed
to move around the secondly-mentioned pin 6, for the purpose of elevating its
mouth, and bringing it into a more accessible position.
To effect this is the object of the second part of this Invention, which will
now be described. A guide pin c (Figs. 1, 2, and 6,) is passed through one of
the sides G of the breech, and enters a groove i cut in the side of the cartridge
block A. When the cartridge block is in place (Figs. 1 and 2) the guide pin
is at the point 2 in the groove, which from 2 to 3 is curved, and is struck from
the point a as a centre. It will therefore be seen as the cartridge chamber is
guided by the guide pin c running in the groove that during its first motion
away from the barrel or until the guide pin reaches the point 3 in the groove,
the motion of the chamber can only be around the point a. When the guide
pin c has reached the point 3, the shoulders 5 and 6 upon the joint a come in
contact with each other (as seen in Fig. 3) and the motion around this joint
is stopped. As the motion of the guard lever B is continued in the direction
of its arrow (Fig. 2) the guide pin centers the branch 3 to 4 of the groove in
the cartridge block, which is curved from the point 6 as a center, and for the
balance of its motion it can therefore only turn round on the point 6, by which

page_text: the mouth of the cartridge chamber P is elevated (Fig. 3) as required. The
cartridge block is arrested in the position represented in Fig. 3 by the shoulders
7 and 8 (Figs. 2 and 4.)
In a similar manner when the cartridge block is returned to its firing posi-
tion the guide pin moving from 4 to 3 in the groove causes the first motion to
be around the joint b, and then as the guide pin runs in the groove 3 to 2 the
chamber moves around the point a. The cartridge case is made of some
metal that shall be sufficiently soft or yielding to allow it to expand slightly at
the instant of the discharge to pack the joint between the movable cartridge
chamber and the barrel. The cartridge is so adapted to the cartridge chamber
P, that when placed therein and the cartridge block is brought up into its firing
position, it shall fit snugly in the chamber, and force the breech pin F back as
seen in Figs. 1, 2, and 4, the nipple d is then in position to receive the blow
of the hammer, the fire from the cap thereon passing by the passage shown in
dotted lines in Fig. 2 to the cone d²; and entering a small hole in the rear of
the cartridge. The movable breech pin Fis allowed a slight motion in and out
of the cartridge chamber for the following purpose:-It has already been stated
that the breech pin is forced back by the cartridge when the cartridge block is
brought into its firing position; on the discharge of the piece the conical
cartridge case (L, Fig. 9) is forced still more tightly into its conical chamber
(P, Fig. 3), and in order to loosen it, so that it may be readily taken out by
hand, the breech pin is forced forward as the cartridge block is withdrawn
from the barrel in the following manner:-The rear ends of the cartridge
block and breech pin are curved (Fig. 2), having the point a as a centre; they
are then cut away as seen at f, Fig. 5, and as indicated in dotted lines at f²
(Fig. 2), to permit them to pass the end g of the trigger strap 92, which pro-
jects into the path of the cartridge block and breech pin, as seen in Fig. 3.
On the withdrawal of the cartridge block for the purpose of removing the
empty cartridge case, the projection g does not come in contact with the car-
tridge block nor with the breech pin, until the part m (Fig. 5) strikes it when
the breech pin is forced in, and the empty cartridge case, which is thereby
loosened, may then be withdrawn by hand.
In order to retain the breech pin in the position shown in Fig. 3 to prevent
the cartridge case from becoming again fast in the chamber, after it has been
loosened by the projection g, and also that it may be readily removed for the
purpose of cleansing it, without the necessity of using a screwdriver or other
tools, I employ a peculiarly arranged spring bolt r, seen in section in Fig. 4.
The bolt works in a cylindrical hole in the rear portion of the cartridge block
A, and has attached to it a head o. To its lower end is secured a collar n,

page_text: against which rests one end of a spring p, the opposite end of which bears
against a collar w, that is confined within the cylindrical hole in the cartridge
block A
a screw z passed in from the outside; when the bolt head o is in the
position represented in Figs. 4 and 5, it bears against the breech pin, and
holds it in the position represented in Fig. 3. Fig. 4 is drawn with the car-
tridge in the gun, consequently the breech pin is thrown back; the spring p
yeilding for the purpose.
When it is desired to withdraw the breech pin for the purpose of cleansing,
it is simply necessary to raise the head o out of of the recess in the breech pin,
into which it fits, and to turn it into the position represented in red (Fig. 5)
when the breech pin may be instantly withdrawn.
For the purpose of holding the cartridge block immovable at the time
the gun is discharged, the following device is employed: - A latch H;
pivoted to the lever B is forced into the position seen in the Drawings by a
spring I; this latch engages with a catch K secured to the stock, and by this
means the cartridge block is held immovable until it is unlocked by hand; this
is effected by the thumb at the instant when the guard is grasped to swing
down the cartridge block, the pressure of the thumb first releasing the latch,
and the continued pressure carrying down the guard lever. The cartridge
block A, guard lever B, and double link C are secured to the
e-gun by means'
of a bolt a, upon which the link C turns; this bolt has a lip k, which fits into
a corresponding recess in the breech, as seen dotted in Fig. 2, and is retained
in the position represented in this Figure by a spring: pin s (Fig. 2); which
fits in the holes (Fig. 3), and is forced up in advance of the arm T by a
spring. When it is required to remove the cartridge block for the purpose of
cleansing or repairing it, it is simply necessary to depress the spring pin 8,
when the arm T may be swung into the position represented in red in Fig. 2,
which clears the lip k of its recess, and allows the bolt a to be withdrawn, by
which the double link C is disconnected from the breech. For the purpose of
preventing the corrosion which might take place between the breech pin and
the cartridge block in which it slides, which would cause the pin to adhere to
the block and prevent the two from working freely upon each other, a thimble
or bushing of some unoxidizable metal or hard alloy is inserted in the rear
of the cartridge chamber, and is kept in place by screws, one of which is seen
at e, Fig. 4. The proportions which have been found to answer best for this
alloy are as follows:-60 parts by weight of copper, 20 parts of nickel, 20
parts of zinc. This alloy resists the explosive force and the heat, and is not
itself materially injured by oxidation.
The cartridge case which I employ is stamped and spun up of brass, or

page_text: of some metal that is sufficiently soft or yielding to permit it to pack the
joint between the barrel and the cartridge block by the expansion of its mouth.
A short distance back of its mouth there is an enlargement t, which fills the
enlargement in the advance end of the cartridge chamber P, and in the rear
of the bore of the barrel at its rear end there is a small hole v for the entrance
of the fire from the cap, which is closed by wax or in some other suitable
manner, and the powder is introduced, as seen in Fig. 10. A wad is placed
on the powder, and the ball having been well tallowed is then inserted, and the
case is closed around it by pressure applied by any suitably formed press or
swage.
Having now set forth the nature of this Invention, and explained the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that under
the above recited Letters Patent I claim,-
First, the two joints a and b for connecting the cartridge block with the
barrel for the purpose of elevating the mouth of the cartridge chamber, as
described.
Second, the bolt r and the parts immediately connected therewith, operating
as set forth.
Third, the groove i and pin c, operating as set forth, to govern the motions
of the cartridge block.
Fourth, the pin a with its lip k and spring pin s, operating substantially as
described.
Fifth, the bushing h³, operating as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Tomlinson Bousfield, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of July, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
T
L
GEO. T. BOUSFIELD. (L.S.)