IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING GUNS OR CANNON
Year: 1854

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Ellsworth Osborn, of the Town of Milton,
in the County of Ulster, and State of New York, in the United States
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Ellsworth Osborn
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
23rd June 1854.
I, WILLIAM ELLSWORTHI OSBORN, of the Town of Milton, in the County
of Ulster, and State of New York, United States of America, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING
GUNS OR CANNON" to be as follows:-
The rear or breech of the gun or cannon is formed with a mortice or slot,
or slot opening to the bore of the gun, and slightly wider than the said bore,
and in the faces of said mortice opposite to each other are grooves, com-
mencing at the top of the mortice and passing down in a curved form to the
line of the centre of the bore, at which point the lower ends of said mortices
are rounded, to form journals for a breech piece to turn on. The front side of
this mortice is curved from the centre of said round at the lower ends of the
grooves aforesaid, and into the mortice thus formed I insert a breech piece with
a shaft or trunnions, taking the grooves in the faces of the mortice; and the
edge of said breech piece is formed to fit up tight against the rear of the bore
of the gun, and is slightly eccentric from the centre of the trunnions, on which
it trurns, when said trunnions reach the bottoms of the grooves aforesaid; and
the same acts like a wedge when said breech piece is rotated by a lever
attached to or formed with the same, and closes the joint at the rear of the
bore perfectly tight.

page_text: In order to remove said breech piece and open the bore of the gun or
cannon to receive the cartridge, I first lift on the lever attached to said breech
piece, which gives the same a partial rotation on its trunnions, and releases the
surfaces in contact at the rear of the bore, in consequence of the slightly
eccentric shape of said breech piece; and a farther rotation of the same brings
a spring catch or hinge piece on the upper side of said breech piece on to the
top of the cannon near the edge of the mortice, which thus forms a fulcrum, on
which the breech is elevated bodily, the trunnions sliding up in the grooves in
the faces of said mortice, leaving the bore open to receive the cartridge in any
convenient manner, and on depressing said lever the breech piece returns
down to its place and is wedged tight, as before noted. The explosion of the
charge is effected by means of a hammer, the tumbler of which is on a centre
pin on the lower side of the gun; hence the weight of said hammer causes it
to discend, in which position it is to receive on the end thereof a wafer of
detonating powder; and the lower rear part of the breech piece is provided
with a nipple and touch hole, passing through said breech piece, against
which nipple said detonating wafer is exploded, by a sudden pull on a cord
or strap attached to the tumbler of said hammer, which throws said hammer
up with a blow against the nipple.
My claims hereon are to the eccentric or cam-shaped breech piece, set in a
mortice at the rear or breech of the gun, and fitted with centres or trunnions
in grooves in the faces of said mortice, whereby the explosion is taken on
said trunnions on the line of the bore; and the joint between the gun and
breech at the rear of the bore is compressed perfectly tight by the operation
of the eccentric or cam-shaped breech when turned on its trunnions by a
lever or other suitable means. I also claim elevating said breech piece, by
rotating the same in the reverse direction, as specified; and also I claim the
arrangement of the hammer and nipple to fire the piece.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed by
the said William Ellsworth Osborn in the Great Seal Patent Office on s
the 22nd December 1854.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ELLSWORTH OSBORN, of the Town of Milton, in the County of Ulster, and State
of New York, in the United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-third day of June, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four, in the eighteenth year of Her reign,

page_text: did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
William Ellsworth Oshorn, Her special license that I, the said William Ells-
worth Osborn, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said William Ellsworth Osborn, 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 Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING GUNS OR CANNON," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said William Ellsworth Osborn, by an in-
strument in writing under my hand and seal, 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 William Ellsworth Osborn, 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 Drawing hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say):-
My improvements consist in certain means for opening and closing the bore
or calibre of the gun at the breech, in such a manner that a perfectly tight
joint can be obtained, and that by the most simple and efficient means, which
are equally applicable to all sizes and descriptions of fire-arms, although the
said improvements are only shown as applied to a cannon in the annexed
Drawing, wherein Fig. 1 is a plan of the said cannon, and Fig. 2 is a vertical
section of the same. The like marks of reference denote the same parts in
both Figs.
•
a is the gun, shewn herein as provided with trunnions b, b, as usual; c is
the bore or calibre of the gun; a is a mortice or opening made in the breech
of the gun, and of a width slightly greater than the bore of the gun; the sides
of which mortice facing each other are flat and equidistant from each other,
and the side of the said mortice next the bore of the gun is made in the
curved form shewn in Fig. 2. In the faces of this mortice a deep square
grooves 3, 3, are formed, facing each other, and curved in the form shewn in
Fig. 2, as they pass down the faces of the said mortice.
Into the mortice thus formed I insert a breech piece d, of a thickness to
move freely in the said mortice when rotated or turned on its trunnions 1, 1,
which fit into the grooves 3,.3; the said grooves 3, 3, being rounded at their

page_text: lower ends to form boxes, in which the said.trunnions or shaft 1, 1, can turn,
and in this position the said trunnions are on the line, or nearly so, of the bore
or calibre of the gun. The forward curved edge of this breech piece d is an
are of a circle, struck from a point below the centres of the trunnions 1, so
that the said breech piece becomes an excentric or cam, which, as the said
breech piece is rotated on its trunnions, by means of any suitable lever e
(either formed with or attached to the said breech piece,) compresses on to
and jams perfectly tight against the curved edge of the said mortice, covering
up and effectually closing the bore or calibre of the gun, and preventing the
escape of any fire from the explosion; at the same time the ultimate resistance
to the said explosion is taken on the trunnions 1, 1, on the line, or nearly so,
of the bore of the gun, so that there is not the least tendency for the ex
plosion to move the breech; and, as will be seen in Fig. 2, the trunnions. them-
selves take a large bearing surface, in consequence of the peculiar form of the
grooves 3, 3, and the parts moving on the trunnions have. a turning motion
that is not obstructed by any soilage; and in accordance with the excentricity
of the forward edge of the breech piece from the centres of the trunnions 1, 1,
so will be the power with which the breech piece can be forced against the
rear end of the bore; for, if the centre from which the said, curved forward
edge of the breech piece is struck nearly coincides with the centre of the
trunnions 1, 1, the leverage e will cause the breech to be rotated while the sur-
faces are forced together; but if the said centre be farther removed below the
.centre of the trunnions, the levere can be moved but little after the surfaces
come in contact; consequently they will not be forced together so closely.
In order to remove the breech piece d, I lift on the lever e, throwing, the
same towards the position denoted by dotted lines in Fig. 2, which first dis-
engages the curved surface from its contact with the rear of the bore of the
gun, by rotating the said breech on its trunnions; and when the lever. e comes
nearly vertical, a cam or projection 4, attached to the breech piece, takes the
top of the gun near the edge of the mortice and forms a fulcrum, on which
the breech is lifted bodily, by the farther motion of the lever e; the trunnions
1, 1, sliding up in the grooves 3, 3, until the
clear to receive any cartridge placed in from
the breech and lever assuming the position
and on again throwing down the lever, the breech is dropped into place and
rotated, till the excentric or cam forms a tight joint; and it will be evident
that even if an explosion should take place before the breech is down to its
place, the same could not blow the breech piece out, the trunnions being nearly
on the line of the bore.
bore or calibre of the gun is left
the rear in any suitable manner,
shewn by dotted lines in Fig. 2;

page_text: The piece may be fired by any suitable means adapted to the size and
character of the arm; but with cannon I prefer to use the hammer, shewn in
Fig. 2.
5 is a pin, receiving the tumbler of the hammer f, between flanches
depending from the under side of the cannon (or breech piece, if desired), so
that the said hammer, when not otherwise acted on, hangs down in the
position shewn by dotted lines in Fig. 2, in consequence of the weight of
the hammer; but when the strap or chain 6 is pulled on suddenly, the end of
the said hammer is thrown up, with a blow against a cone or nipple 2, ex-
ploding any cap or wafer placed on the end of the haminer, as it hung down
or on the nipple 2, exploding the cartridge in the gun, the said nipple 2
communicating the flash through a hole in the breech piece to centre of
the cartridge, or nearly so. By this arrangement it will be seen that the
hammer cocks itself, and is in a position conveniently to receive a cap.
First, I claim the excentric or cam-shaped piece d, set on trunnions 1, 1,
so that the operation of rotating the said breech piece on its trunnions by
a lever or any suitable means, compresses the curved surface of the said
breech piece against the rear of the bore or calibe of the gun, as specified.
Second, I claim removing the said breech piece from the line of the
bore or calibre of the said gun, by rotating the said breech in the reverse
direction, causing the cam or projection 4, or its equivalent, to act as a fuleruin.
on which the said breech is lifted by the one operation of rotating the breech,
the trunnions sliding up in the grooves 3, 3, as specified.
Third, I claim the construction and arrangement of the hammer f and
nipple 2, whereby the hammer is cocked by its own weight, for the purposes
and as specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Ellsworth Osborn, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of October, A.D.
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.
Witnesses,
LEMUEL W. SERRELL,
289, Broadway, New York.
THOMAS G. HAROLD,
20, Bergen St., Brooklyn.
W* E. OSBORN. (L.S.)