The First Truly American Firearm: The Kentucky Rifle

Exceptional, Unusual, and Documented Abias B. Smith Pennsylvania Long Rifle with Rare Belted Rifling

In the Pennsylvania countryside in the early 18th century, a uniquely American firearm was born that helped thirteen separate colonies defeat the greatest empire on Earth, form one nation, and span a continent. It is fitting that this new weapon was a conglomerate of ideas and built initially by German immigrants in the north and famously used by Anglo woodsmen in the south who became symbols of American ingenuity, self-sufficiency, and determination. In the years following the Revolutionary War until the wide spread adoption of the percussion system, the long rifle reached its pinnacle in small shops in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. Many are outstanding testaments to their skill and true pieces of Americana. It is in this period that they earned their famous nickname from the men who famously used them: the long hunters who explored the Virginia backcountry known as Kentucky. Though they are more properly known as American long rifles, prior to the War of 1812, Andrew Jackson’s astounding victory over a superior force of British soldiers at New Orleans in 1815 solidified their nickname in our national memory. The song “The Hunters of Kentucky” about the battle contained the famous lines: “But Jackson he was wide awake, and wasn’t scared at trifles, For well he knew what aim we take with our Kentucky rifles.”

Those of you who attended or followed the last RIAC Premiere Auction undoubtedly noticed the wide array of beautiful early American rifles. Many of these rifles came from the extensive Piedmont Collection. Our December Premiere contains another installment from this collection as well as rifles from other collectors. Many of these rifles were built by some of the most talented American artisans of the early republic. Their names are immediately recognizable by those who collect these pieces of art: John Armstrong, Jacob Dickert, Simon Lauck, John Moll, John Noll, John Rupp, George Schreyer, Frederick and Jacob Sell, Peter White, and many more. Each of these pieces is truly a masterpiece and several contain incredibly rare attributes.

 The Kentucky’s roots came from two other firearms in the early 18th century: the shorter, larger caliber German Jaeger rifles brought from the Old World to the New by German immigrants and the long smoothbore fowling pieces and trade guns manufactured primarily in England and Western Europe and imported in large numbers for the fur trade. Why exactly these two forms were married has continually been debated. What is clear is that fowling pieces and muskets were not well suited for taking game at considerable distances, and their larger bores meant they used a greater amount of lead and powder, which were more destructive to pelts and meat. This also meant that a hunter, be they Native or Euro-American, had to carry more weight in ammunition and had to get closer to their targets. The Kentucky not only improved on those issues, but its long, rifled barrel also offered other advantages: the extended barrel combined with blade and notch sights provided a long sighting plane which allowed hunters to more fully utilize their rifle’s potential accuracy and also had the added benefit of providing more time for the slow burning black powder to combust and thus maximized power even while firing smaller, lighter balls. An experienced rifleman could hit a man or deer sized target reliably at 200 yards or more.

By the time unrest was growing in the colonies in the latter part of the 18th century, gunsmiths were producing a firearm that was found nowhere else in the world. Once the first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord, the American woodsman and his long rifle rose to the challenge. Many fought in local militias, but the Continental Congress also approved ten rifle units during the war including Daniel Morgan’s famous riflemen. They harassed British soldiers and targeted officers from outside effective musket range to remove key leaders from the battlefield and damage enemy morale. Morgan’s men later defeated the infamous Banastre Tarleton at the Battle of the Cowpens. In 1780, the “over the mountain men bested a Loyalist militia armed with smoothbore muskets by picking them off at range at the Battle of Kings Mountain and turned the tide of the southern campaign against Lord Cornwallis. George Rogers Clark led a group of Kentucky militia and seized the isolated settlements in Illinois justifying the American’s claim to the vast swath of territory between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River. At this stage, long rifles were still fairly plain and typically had wooden patch boxes, but his younger brother William carried a Golden Age rifle during his famous exploration of the Louisiana Purchase with Meriwether Lewis and the Corps of Discovery. Thus, while the majority of American soldiers during the Revolution were armed with smoothbore long arms, small groups of riflemen used their advanced weapons and prowess to make considerable contributions to the cause.

Silver Inlaid Golden Age Flintlock Long Rifle by Former Revolutionary War Rifleman Simon Lauck

Among the wide array of beautiful long rifles in our upcoming auction is a fine, silver inlaid rifle built by Simon Lauck. He and his brother Peter both fought with Morgan’s Provisional Rifle Corps and were gunsmiths in Winchester, Virginia after the war. It is a classic example of a rifle built during the Kentucky rifle’s Golden Age. Rifles from this era are favored by collectors due to the unique nature of each rifle and the variety of regional variations. Aside from a few makers who preferred to focus on perfecting the nuances of their designs like John Armstrong, most used many variations of styles taught to them while apprenticed to a master. They in turn passed on their own variations on to the next generation of apprentices. This led to what we now think of as the “schools” based roughly in Lehigh Valley, Lancaster, York, Lebanon, Chambersburg, and may other locales based on shared attributes and lineages.

Gunmakers were influenced by one another especially in specific areas but also adapted art forms from Europe. The carving and patch boxes, for instance, follow European trends in terms of rococo and baroque scrolls. Note the incredible variety in patch box designs on these rifles and all the little details in carving, inlays, and little components. While there were tremendous variations, also note the consistencies such as the fixed blade and notch sights and the beautiful, full length, curly maple stocks.

One area of variation among individual rifles is the variety of inlays. Many included patriotic motifs such as eagles and some contain important, but largely long forgotten, revolutionary era symbols. Such is the case with the rare rattlesnake designs on the Jacob Dickert and George Schreyer rifles. Like the long rifle itself, the use of the rattlesnake as a symbol of the American ethos well pre-dates the idea of a separate American nation. In fact, one of the first known uses of the symbol was in Benjamin Franklin’s famous “Join or Die” cartoon from 1754 calling upon the colonies to unite, with the support of Great Britain, to defeat the French in the Seven Years War (French and Indian War), a conflict started in part by a young British officer by the name of George Washington. Franklin’s cartoon came to represent the need for unity among the colonies in the American Revolution as well.

Rattlesnake engraving appearing on the patchbox of a scarce Jacob Dickert Lancaster flintlock long rifle

Another rattlesnake on the patchbox.  This time on a documented Golden Age flintlock by George Schreyer.
The other side of the stock features handsome raised carving.
Formerly of the Joe Kindig, Jr. Collection.

Rattlesnakes are only found in the Americas and were numerous in many parts of the colonies. Though they do not attack unprovoked, rattlesnakes defend themselves with deadly force when they need to defend themselves. This was the image the Founding Fathers wanted to present to the world in Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. Americans were not breaking from England needlessly; they were defending themselves against attacks on their lives and freedoms. Rattlesnakes also had another attribute that 18th century Americans knew well. As “American Guesser” wrote in 1775:

'Tis curious and amazing to observe how distinct and independent of each other the rattles of this animal are, and yet how firmly they are united together, so as never to be separated but by breaking them to pieces. One of those rattles singly, is incapable of producing sound, but the ringing of thirteen together, is sufficient to alarm the boldest man living.”

Though this symbol was very important in the colonial era and for the young American republic, very few rifles have been found that incorporate the design, especially as boldly as these two examples by Dickert and Schreyer. The snake patch box designs of course relate to the Gadsden Flag and First Navy Jack used during the war, and Dickert’s is also similar to the design utilized on early Virginia Manufactory rifles.

Desirable Silver Inlaid Flintlock Kentucky Long Rifle Signed by Golden Age Master Craftsman Frederick Sell
of the Littletown School with Raised Carved Stock

                The Frederick Sell rifle is another good example of the paradox of both unity in overall design through the use of consistent motifs and basic configurations and yet the individuality of the combination of carving and engraving on each rifle. Sell was considered by influential Kentucky rifle scholar Joe Kindig, Jr. as “one of the great masters of Kentucky rifle making” and was part of one of the most influential gunsmithing families during the Golden Age. His greatness comes from the fact that he developed his tremendous skill set while working underneath at least three earlier accomplished masters: George Eister, John Lechner, and Adam Ernst. His presumed father, Jacob Sell, was among the most talented makers of the prior generation, and Frederick’s brother who was also named Jacob (often referred to as Jacob the Younger) was also a gifted maker in his own right.  Sell adopted the best aspects of the designs of each of the men under whom he worked. Thus, he created his own style and his own variations while keeping his designs tied to the past and reflected the American ideal of balancing community with individualism.

Jacob Sell the Elder Signed Early Golden Age Flintlock Long Rifle with Silver Inlaid Stock

Peter White is also a great example of someone that was part of a family line of gunmakers that pre-dates the United States and continued well after our independence was secured by victory in the War of 1812. He is the son of either Nicholas or John White who were both gunsmiths during the fight for independence, and at least one of his sons continued to build rifles after his death in 1834. One of the interesting aspects of White’s rifle is that the lock appears to have been built by him. Most gunmakers used locks imported from Europe or produced by dedicated lockmakers in the cities. This rifle is also noticeably slender relative to others of the style and era.

By the time of White’s death, the long rifle and the flintlock system had peaked and were beginning to be replaced by shorter, larger bore rifles. The percussion system and the spread of industry also helped shift firearms production away from individually built masterpieces. The Hawken brothers’ “Plains” or “Mountain” rifle style relatively quickly became the preferred design as the frontier pushed ever further past the Mississippi. Nonetheless, the long rifle persisted, and its legacy continued to influence American firearms for generations. In fact, long rifles have been in essentially continuous production by American gunmakers from the early 18th century into the present day. One look at the Contemporary Long Rifle Association is all it takes to attest the fact that the art of building the first truly American firearm by hand is still alive and will be for generations to come.

Desirable Peter White Golden Age Flintlock Long Rifle with Raised Carved Wood

This discussion has hardly scratched the surface of all of the beautiful rifles in our upcoming auction. For more information see AmericanLongrifles.org, KentuckyRifleAssociation.org, KentuckyRifleFoundation.org, or the many detailed books including Joe Kindig, Jr.’s classic Thoughts on The Kentucky Rifle in It’s Golden Age and Merrill Lindsay’s The Kentucky Rifle both of which contain pictures and discussions of several of the rifles in the upcoming auction. Do not miss your opportunity to see these rifles first hand and please join us for our Premiere Firearms Auction December 4th, 5th, and 6th.

-Written by Seth Isaacson

The Piedmont Collection of World Class Kentucky Rifles

They go by many names:  Kentucky rifles, American longrifles, Pennsylvania rifles, and so on, but they all reference a single style of muzzleloader that instantly evokes images of a young American nation - and rightly so.  Those distinct long and rifled barrels are a unique American twist on a design that is linked directly to this country's origins.  Capt. John Dillin said it best in his 1924 book, The Kentucky Rifle,

"From a flat bar of soft iron, hand forged into a gun barrel; laboriously bored and rifled with crude tools; fitted with a stock hewn from a maple tree in the neighboring forest; and supplied with a lock hammered to shape on the anvil; an unknown smith, in a shop long since silent, fashioned a rifle which changed the whole course of world history; made possible the settlement of a continent; and ultimately freed our country of foreign domination. Light in weight; graceful in line; economical in consumption of powder and lead; fatally precise; distinctly American; it sprang into immediate popularity; and for a hundred years was a model often slightly varied but never radically changed."

These eloquent guns earned their name from the location of their manufacture.  Most "Kentucky" rifles were actually created somewhere in the foothills or mountains of the Appalachian mountains by European immigrants who had settled there.  These rifles exemplify the hard work, gumption, and dogged persistence shown by those early pioneers.  Truly a "one stop shop," there was no division of labor.  Each gunsmith was responsible for every stage of manufacture: barrel, lock, action, stock, and any artistic embellishments he wished to add.  It required a gunsmith to also be a blacksmith, carpenter, engineer, and sometimes a silversmith, carver, and engraver.  It was hard work done entirely with hand tools, but the fruits of the labor were sweet.  At the finish, a man would have a tool that was indispensable on the frontier.  Much like today, it could be used to provide food as well as protection, two vitally essential functions.

The Kentucky rifles featured in Rock Island Auction Company's September Premiere Firearms Auction represent the finest ever made.  Produced during the "Golden Age" of Kentucky rifles, some of the most well-known and skilled gunsmiths are represented in the sale courtesy of the expansive and impressive Piedmont Collection of World Class Kentucky Rifles.   Such a grouping is the result of decades of collecting, focusing on the very finest, high condition pieces that exude the beauty of a bygone era.  Here are some of the top arms of this collection.

Lot 204: Extraordinary John Armstrong Golden Age Percussion Long Rifle with Raised Relief Carved Stock

Estimate: $65,000 - $95,000

John Armstrong was a gunsmith located in Emmitsburg, Maryland whose smithing career spanned circa 1808 - 1841 (though some say he started as early as 1793).  His works can be found in many of the most respected books written on Kentucky rifles and he is generally considered to be one of the very best of the era.  His pieces often draw comparisons to Swiss watches and Rolls Royce automobiles - classics that defy time.  We could only find one previous rifle built by Armstrong using percussion ignition, though there are rumored to be as many as four originally created as percussion arms.  In either case, this example remains supremely rare.  The rifle was undoubtedly produced in his later years of manufacture and features inlaid brass plate, beautiful wood carving, twelve silver inlays, engraving, and checkered sections of the stock.

Lot 207: Documented Award Winning Peter Neihart Golden Age Flintlock Pennsylvania Rifle and Matching Contemporary Miniature with Award Plaque

Estimate: $20,000 - $35,000

This flintlock Kentucky rifle made by Peter Neihart has enjoyed quite a bit of attention in its lifetime.  Featured in several noteable books, this significant piece has a stunning, full-length curly maple stock, brass wire inlays, carved embellishments, an attractive patchbox, silver inlays, engraving, and other brass accents.  It won the Kentucky Rifle Association's "Best of Show" in 1969 and is accompanied by a contemporary miniature of itself!

The gun's significance in Kentucky rifles is also notable, as detailed by George Shumway in his book Rifles of Colonial America, Vol. I.

"A lot is known about Neihart from the research of Ronald G. Gabel... This rifle serves as a transition piece linking the Germanic style of rifle made at Christian Spring with the classic curved-butt Lehigh Valley rifles of the Federal Period and beyond... The two-piece engraved brass patch-box on this rifle, with the lid bearing the date 1787, has a finial of fleur-de-lis pattern. This is the earliest dated use of this pattern that we can be certain of..."

Lot 1140: Extremely Rare John Armstrong Golden Age Flintlock Long Rifle with Raised Relief Carved Stock

We're fortunate enough to have a second John Armstrong piece in this auction, but, unlike the first, this is a flintlock.  Note the design similarities between this and the first rifle shown in this article.  Armstrong rarely varied in his design, but this suited the perfectionist manufacturer and allowed him to hone his craft to a fine art.  His consistency and benchmark quality spawned numerous imitators and provided inspiration to even more.

Part of that perfection lies in the locks.  When most makers were purchasing their locks, saving them both time and money, Armstrong was crafting his from hand.  Albert Sullivan phrases the importance of these locks as such,

"Incidentally, there is a feeling, a very sensible one, in the Kentucky rifle fraternity that the absence of the original lock in a Kentucky rifle is not too important. This is because the lock was almost never made by the gunsmith and so did not represent his handiwork. Also, locks were expendable they wore out and they were replaced, so they seldom related to the gunsmith who made the rifle. But this does not hold with Armstrong. Because he made and signed his own locks, and because they were so special and were so appropriate to his guns..."

To read more of Sullivan's article is to understand the reverence and respect that is held by collectors for these iconic and classic firearms by Armstrong.

Lot 1145: Documented Adam Ernst Golden Age Flintlock Pennsylvania Rifle with Raised Relief Carved Stock and Brass Lock Plate

One of the aforementioned artisans who took inspiration from Armstrong's designs is clearly Adam Ernst, a top gunsmith in his own right.  A quick look at the patchbox, cheeckpiece, engraving, and buttstock carving reveals more than just a slight influence from the era's preeminent maker.  What stands out as unusual on this rifle is its brass lock plate when most were made from browned or case hardened iron.

These magnificent guns represent only a fraction of the more than one dozen spectacular Kentucky rifles appearing in this auction courtesy of The Piedmont Collection.  The brief descriptions given here only scratch the surface of the deep, rich histories of both the arms and their makers.  It cannot be overstated that Kentucky rifles played a role in shaping this great nation.  Initially a tool of "rugged individualism," well before Herbert Hoover coined the phrase, these rifles' superior range and accuracy provided a distinct combat advantage in numerous conflicts such as the Seven Years War, the War of 1812, Texas' War for Independence from Mexico, and the American Revolution.

Please view our extraordinary selection of this historically significant rifles from some of the era's top gunsmiths.  Collectors' respect for these early artisans is not misplaced!  Ponder for a moment that often one man was responsible for specializing in a number of areas in the manufacturing process.  To do at such a high and renowned level, even recognized hundreds of years later, is something that can be recognized by anyone who appreciates a superior level of quality and dedication to task.



-Written by Joel R. Kolander







SOURCES:

http://www.emmitsburg.net/archive_list/articles/places/business/armstrong_rifles.htm

Bigger Is Better

Never let anyone tell you that bigger isn't better.  Especially if that person is a Pennsylvania gunsmith or a 15th century German bladesmith.  They knew better and made the weapons to prove it.  The following items are oddities that I couldn't help but spot as I browsed the items to be auctioned in our Premiere Auction being held April 19-21st, 2013.  They are absolutely massive in scale and sure to be a focal point of any collection.

Click on the gun for more high resolution photos!

There was a time in American history when a single man could craft an entire rifle.  The trade of manufacturing longrifles, as they are more accurately known, was popularized early on by German immigrants who had been gunsmiths in their homelands.  The German gunsmiths were initially centralized in south-eastern Pennsylvania, but eventually the trade thrived in many states including Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and of course, Kentucky.  This craft boomed in the years between the early 18th and 19th centuries.  As the industrial revolution roared forward, the need for such gunsmiths waned and the trade was nearly lost until a renewed interest around the time of America's sesquicentennial.

According to the documentation included with this rifle, gunsmiths often would boast about the distance their creations could shoot.  Apparently, accuracy took a back seat in the performance department.  Well, one Pennsylvania gunsmith had heard enough of everyone's braggadocio and decided to put an end to the debates once and for all by creating a gun that no one would dare challenge.  During the long and cabin fever-inducing winter, this gunsmith created a longrifle he coined the "Over the Mountain Gun."  The letter that comes with it is a bit confusing in its explanation of the name so I'll elaborate.  Pennsylvania is smack dab in the middle of two mountain ranges: the Alleghenies and the Appalachians.  If you saw a "nearby" peak, and it would typically take you a day of traveling on foot to climb over said mountain, then this gun would shoot over that mountain.  Why they don't call it the "Day's Travel Gun" or the "Mountain Jumper" is beyond me, but then again I'm not a 19th century Pennsylvanian gunsmith.  The papers also state that "you load the powder and ball and a handfull of rock salt to preserve the game until you get there."

This gun is almost 10 feet(!) in total length, with the barrel itself measuring just short of 8 1/2 feet.  There is some nice brass furniture on the piece, which is a nice reminder that frontier gunsmiths of that era often required that they possess the talents of many tradesmen: wood workers, silversmiths, furniture makers, blacksmiths, whitesmiths, metal founders, and engravers.  Also, get a good look at the beautiful striations that appear on every inch of the stock!  This is likely thanks to the curly maple or "flame maple" often used in making guns of this style.

Auction Description

Lot #3286, Documented E.J. Sewell Pennsylvania Kentucky "Over the Mountain" Flintlock Rifle from the Famous Stagecoach Museum
"This impressive Kentucky rifle was once part of the Stagecoach Museum collection and is pictured in the book THE STAGECOACH MUSEUM GUN COLLECTION on page 55. The rifle is numbered 133 in the book with a caption reading, "Perhaps the longest 'Kentucky' shoulder gun known. Made by Pennsylvania gunsmith, who got tired of hearing how far his competitors gun would shoot, so time hanging heavy in the winter, fashioned this "Over the Mountain Gun". An Ozzie and Marie Klavestad autographed copy of the Stagecoach Museum collections book and an original brass Stagecoach Museum inventory tag are included with the rifle. The included 1978 dated notarized letter with Stagecoach Museum letter head states that the rifle was referred to as the "Over the Mountain Gun… because it would take you a day to climb the heights and a gun of this proportions would most certainly shoot right over the mountain". The rifle has an 8 foot, 5 1/2 inch barrel and is nearly 10 feet in overall length. The rifled barrel has a 45 inch long octagon section at the front with the remainder of the barrel being round and is equipped with fixed brass sights. The top of the barrel is marked "E.J. SEWELL" behind the rear sight. The rifle has brass furniture including a patch box on the right side of the buttstock. The shadow cheekpiece on the left side of the buttstock has a brass star inlay. The rifle also has a brass tipped ramrod. The famous Stagecoach Museum of Shakopee, Minnesota, housed a collection of firearms spanning 400 years of history and was a life long project of Ozzie and Marie Klavestad. The museum was a popular tourist attraction and the most famous firearms in the collection included guns owned by Billy the Kid and Annie Oakley. The museum closed in 1996."

For those wondering just how huge this rifle is, here is one of our photographers, Sarah, standing next to it in our warehouse area.

Anybody have shooting sticks?

Our next super-sized item is a large Germanic sword.  The zweihänder (two-handed) sword, represented the final stage of the "bigger is better" during 15th century and into the end of the 16th century.  The term zweihänder is a modern term and the more historically accurate term for these swords is doppelhänder.  Being carried more like polearms than swords, they were almost certainly slung over a shoulder instead of carried in a scabbard or sheath.  They were used against the popular pike formations of the time and there are accounts of these massive swords cutting the heads off of the pikes of their opponents!  Their size ranged anywhere from 4.5 ft. - 5.9  ft. and typically weighed in at 5 - 8 lbs.  Anything larger was considered for ceremonial use only, these were often called "'bearing-swords' or 'parade-swords' (Paratschwert), weighing up to 10 or even 15 pounds and which were intended only for carrying in ceremonial processions and parades" (Clements). For those who don't feel like reading the auction description below, our sword is approximately 58% longer and 300% heavier than even the largest swords listed, weighing in at 26 pounds and measuring 7.75 feet!  This is an absolute behemoth of a weapon!

Auction Description

Lot #3341, Zweihander Style Processional Sword
"Measuring 93 inches overall, with a 68 1/2 inch wavy blade, fitted with a pair of upturned 13 inch wide parrying hooks, and a stitched black leather ricasso cover. The hilt is equipped with a set of 8 inch wide upturned guard arms, a 24 inch spiked crossguard with double guard rings on each side, turned hardwood grip with brass tacked leather cover and a round quillion. Overall the weapon weighs 26 pounds."

Look at the edge on this thing!  It's mean!

Sword as held by my 6'1" tall self.

-written by Joel Kolander


SOURCES:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_rifle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zweih%C3%A4nder

Clements, J., http://www.thearma.org/essays/2HGS.html