Edward Maynard Edward Maynard ( Apr . 26 , 1813 to May 4 , 1891 ) was an American firearms inventor , most famous for his breechloading rifle design . History . Edward Maynard was born in Madison , New York , on April 26 , 1813 . In 1831 he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point but resigned after only a semester due to ill health and became a dentist in 1835 . Maynard continued to practice dentistry for the rest of his life , becoming one of the most prominent dentists in the United States . Practicing in Baltimore and Washington , D . C . his clientele included the country ' s political elite , including Congressmen and Presidents , and it is reported that he was offered but declined the position of Imperial Dentist to Tsar Nicholas I . In 1857 he became professor of theory and practice in Baltimore College of Dental Surgery . Maynard had two wives ; his first was Ellen ( b . 1826 , and to which all of his known children were born ) and Nellie ( b . 1845 ) . Maynard ' s son , George Willoughby Maynard , was born in Washington , D . C . on March 5 , 1843 and became a successful artist . His other children included John ( b . 1855 ) , Ellen ( b . 1858 ) , Josephine ( b . 1860 ) , Marie ( b . 1852 ) , Virginia ( b . 1854 ) , and Edna ( b . 1870 ) . In 1845 Maynard patented the first of 23 firearms - related patents he was awarded during his life . In 1888 he held the chair of Dental Theory and Practice at the National university in Washington . He died on May 4 , 1891 and was buried in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington DC . Maynard ' s Firearms Inventions . Maynard invented many dental methods and instruments , but is most famous for his firearms inventions . He achieved lucrative fame for his first patent , an 1845 priming system which cycled a small mercury fulminate charge to the nipple of a percussion cap firearm . Maynard ' s system used a magazine from which a paper roll , not unlike modern cap guns , advanced a charge over the nipple as the gun was cocked . Theoretically this accelerated a gun ' s rate of fire as the shooter could concentrate on loading and firing the gun . The system was quickly adopted by several commercial gun makers , and the United States government decided to test it . In 1845 the Maynard system was installed on 300 converted percussion muskets and trials were considered successful . Maynard turned over the patent rights to his priming system to the United States Federal Government in exchange for a royalty of $ 1 . 00 " per " weapon : a substantial sum at the time ( the cost of making an entire 1861 Springfield was $ 18 . 00 . ) In 1855 the Maynard Tape Primer System was installed on all 1855 model . 58 caliber military rifles and carbines made at Federal arsenals . However the system was complicated and often malfunctioned in wartime conditions . During the Crimean War British cavalrymen had been equipped with 2 , 000 Greene carbine s , a Maynard system firearm , and the system was found to be unreliable in the field . In 1860 U . S . ordnance officers recommended dropping the Maynard Tape Primer System , and the famous 1861 Springfield rifled muskets did not use it . In 1851 , however , Maynard had patented a more successful idea : a simple lever - operated breechloading rifle , which used a metallic cartridge his own invention . When the gun ' s lever was depressed the barrel rose , opening the breech for loading . Afterwards the lever was raised to close the gun ' s breech . Once cocked the loaded weapon could be primed by either placing a percussion cap directly on its nipple or by using Maynard ' s priming system to advance a primer to the nipple . The brass Maynard cartridge did not have an integral percussion cap ; a small hole in the middle of its base fired it when the external cap was detonated . The cartridge , which had a wide rim permitting swift extraction , was reloadable up to 100 times . This proved to be a significant feature for the Confederate troops equipped with it . Another significant feature was that the use of a metallic cartridge prevented gas escape at the breech , a serious concern for early externally - primed breechloaders . Production . The Springfield Armory manufactured a sample Maynard carbine in . 48 caliber and it was tested in May 1856 . The gun , fired at ranges from 100 to 500 yards , was considered the best breechloader tested . Subsequently the cartridge ' s powder charge was raised from 30 to 40 grains , loaded behind a 343 - grain lubricated bullet . Maynard and some financial backers founded the Maynard Arms Company in 1857 , contracting the Massachusetts Arms Company to manufacture the new gun for civilian and military use . Maynards were offered in . 35 and . 50 caliber , and could be purchased with interchangeable smoothbore shotgun barrels . A second army test resulted in a military contract for 400 . 50 caliber Maynard carbines , with the original long - range aperture tang sight replaced with a barrel mounted open sight . The Revenue Cutter Service ( later the United States Coast Guard ) and United States Navy ordered smaller numbers . The Maynard was highly praised in frontier service , but only four U . S . regiments appear to have been armed with the First Model Maynard during the American Civil War . Between 1861 and 1863 only the 1st ( later 4th ) U . S . , 9th Pennsylvania , and 1st Wisconsin Cavalry received the gun . This may have been because the Massachusetts Arms Company ' s factory burned down in January 1861 . Rebuilt by 1863 the factory began producing 20 , 000 of the simpler Second Model Maynard carbines for the U . S . government but deliveries did not begin until June 1864 , continuing through May 1865 . As a result few of the Second Model Maynards saw service , although some reached the 9th and 11th Indiana regiments and the 11th Tennessee Cavalry . Some Southern states , however , had purchased Maynards for their state militias in late 1860 and early 1861 . About 3000 Maynards were in Southern hands during the war , mostly in Florida , Georgia , and Mississippi units . The First Model Maynard was listed as an official firearm in Confederate ordnance manuals . The Maynard had a good reputation for long range accuracy and Confederate sharpshooter s made extensive use of it , especially during the Siege of Charleston . Maynard cartridges were easily manufactured in the Confederacy , in contrast to the complex internally primed rimfire cartridges of captured Spencer and Henry rifle s . The Maynard was easily adaptable to these newer cartridges and it was one of the few patent breechloaders to survive the Civil War . It continued in production as a highly regarded centerfire target and hunting rifle until 1890 .