The Ballard Rifle

Title: Maker/Manufacturer: Date of Manufacture: Eminent Figure: Catalog Number: Measurements:

RIFLE, MILITARY - BALLARD RIFLE .54 SN# 928

BALLARD, CHARLES H. 1862-1866 SPAR 6224 OL:114.9CM 45 1/4" BL: 76.2CM 30" 8.5 lbs.

Object Description:
BALLARD RIFLE .54 SN# 928 Manufactured by Ball & Williams, Worcester, Ma. - Ballard single-shot, lever-action, .54rf military rifle. Projecting knob under forestock used to actuate manual extractor. 3-banded with band springs underneath stock. Two-piece stock. Round blued barrel. No visible martial markings. Weapon weighs approximately 8 lbs. 5 oz. Stock towards muzzle end is gone. Band spring also missing. Little original finish left on barrel. The U.S. purchased only a few of these during the Civil War. The state of Kentucky ordered 15,000.

Markings:
Receiver: BALLARD'S PATENT/NOV. 5. 1861. Left side: MERWIN & BRAY. AGT'S N.Y./928. CATALOGUE OF THE EXHIBIT OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT AT THE CENTENNIAL EXPOSITION OF THE OHIO VALLEY AND CENTRAL STATES, AT CINCINNATI, OHIO, JULY 4 TO OCTOBER 27, 1888. "METALLIC SHELL CARTRIDGES. 25. Ballard Rifle; calibre, .54. By depressing a lever the breechblock is caused first to recede from the barrel, and then to drop downward, revolving about a shifting horizontal axis at its lower and rearmost corner. Hammer and lock concealed in the breechblock. Rim fire cartridge. The cartridge shell is extracted by means of a sliding extractor beneath the barrel, moved independently by hand by means of a finger-piece projecting beneath the tip stock. Depressing the stock leaves the hammer at half-cock. Block can be depressed when hammer is cocked. Fifteen hundred of these guns were purchased for use in the army during the Civil War." WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION, 1893, No. 153 - "Ballard rifle caliber .54. - By depressing lever the breechblock is caused first to recede from the barrel and then to drop downward, revolving about a shifting horizontal axis at its lower and rearmost corner. Hammer and lock concealed in the breechblock. Rim-fire cartridge. The cartridge shell is extracted3 by means of a sliding extractor beneath the barrel, moved independently by hand by means of a finger piece projecting beneath the tip stock. Depressing the stock leaves the hammer at half-cock. Block can not be depressed when hammer is cocked."

Notes: "The distinctive single-shot dropping-block rifles and carbines protected by a patent granted in November 1861 (33,361) to Charles Ballard of Worcester, Massachusetts, had very little significance during the Civil War. However, they were destined to be made long after many of their contemporaries had been forgotten.
The earliest Ballards, made by Ball & Williams, were enthusiastically promoted by Merwin & Bray of New York. The breech-block contained the hammer and trigger mechanism, automatically dropping the hammer to half-cock as the action opened. Originally designed to chamber rimfire ammunition, the guns made for the Federal government incorporated a supplementary caplock ignition

system patented by Joseph Merwin & Edward Bray in January 1864 (US no. 41,166).
Seemingly a backward step, the cap-lock adaptor proved to be useful when metal-case ammunition ran short. Placing a nipple in the block below the hammer nose allowed a percussion cap to be fired as the neck fell. Combustible cartridges or loose powder-and-ball could be used in emergencies, though the breech was far from gas-tight. Alternatively, a hole could be bored in the base of a spent Ballard rimfire cartridge loaded with fresh powder and a new bullet. Firing the gun in this way allowed the brass case to expand to seal the breech. In view of the sophistication of the design and the enthusiasm shown by recipients, if surviving testimonials are reliable, the meagre Federal government purchases are difficult to understand merely 35 rifles and 1509 carbines, costing $36.06 and $23.29 apiece. The rifles were apparently purchased in Florida for sharpshooters of the 34th US Colored Infantry Regiment. A contract had been signed as early in October 1862 to supply 1000 rifles and possibly also 2500 carbines, but the output of Dwight Chapin & Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut, may have been poor enough to force the arms inspectors to reject large numbers of individual guns. Six hundred rifles Perfected Ballard rifles, made by Ball & Williams of Worcester, Massachusetts, in .44, .46 or .56 rimfire, were 45in. long, had 30-inch barrels and weighed about 8.25 lb. Most had three iron barrel bands.

Chambering .44 or .54 cartridges, the carbines had 20-inch barrels and measured 37.25in overall. Wooden fore-ends retained by a single barrel band were standard, often with a swivel under the band; a second swivel lay beneath the butt.... Although the Ballard rifle had failed to attract much Federal ordnance interest during the Civil War, extensive use by state militiamen in Kentucky had proved it to be much more efficient than many rival single-shot breechloading designs. Originally patented by Charles Ballard in November 1861 (US no. 33,631), the rifle survived long after the war had ended - not only in the hands of Westerners, but also to gain an enviable reputation for accuracy on the target range. Part of the reason behind the lack of success was a convoluted production history. The earliest Ballards had been made by Ball & Williams of Worcester, Massachusetts, and then, in quick succession, by the Merrimack Arms & Manufacturing Company and the Brown Manufacturing Company of Newburyport, Massachusetts. When a forcible end to Brown's operations was brought by creditors in 1873, rights to the Ballard patent was acquired by Schoverling & Daly of New York. Finally, in 1875, Schoverling & Daly licensed production of Ballard to John Marlin of New Haven, Connecticut. When the Marlin Fire Arms Company was incorporated in 1881, Charles Daly of Schoverling, Daly & Gales became its first president and production of Ballard rifles continued until 1891 alongside the better known Marlin lever-action repeaters." - Walter "...While the State of Kentucky was purchasing 4,600 Ballard rifles for their state militia units, the Federal Government only obtained thirty-five Ballard rifles in .56 caliber with thirty-inch barrels. These thirty-five Ballard Patent rifles were purchased by the Government on December 21, 1863 from James M. Latta (a civil provost marshall) of Fernandina, Florida at a cost of $36.00 each. Payment in the amount of $1,260 was sent to Latta on February 1, 1864. These thirty-five rifles were delivered to Colonel James Montgomery, Commander of the 34th U.S. Colored Infantry. At this time period, Colonel Montgomery was in charge of a brigade consisting of his own 34th plus 3rd U.S.C.I. and 54th Mass. Inf. It appears that the thirty-five Ballard rifles were used by his men in their duties as sharpshooters." - McAulay "Existing records indicate that only 35 Ballard rifles were purchased by the government during fiscal year 1862-63 at $36.00 each, at the same time that a larger quantity of Ballard carbines were purchased. Additional Ballard rifles Additional Ballard rifles, however, were undoubtedly purchased by various states. As originally produced, this arm fired the .54-No. 56 rimfire cartridge. The was soon supplanted, however, by the .56-56 Spencer cartridge in both rifles and carbines.

This mechanism was based on the claims set forth in U.S. Patent 33,631, issued to Charles H. Ballard of Fall River, Massachusetts, on November 5, 1861, which covered a breechloading arm having the hammer and trigger inside a dropping block whereby one operation opened the breech and brought the hammer to the half-cock safety position simultaneously....
In 1864, the State of Kentucky ordered 15,000 Ballard arms for its militia regiments, but the number of rifles included in this order is unknown. Delivery of these is believed to have been made after the war had ended. Specimens exist which are marked 'KENTUCKY' and having browned barrels."

References: McAulay, John D. CIVIL WAR BREECH LOADING RIFLES. Andrew Mowbray Publishers Inc.

Lincoln, R.I. 1993. McAulay, John D. RIFLES OF THE U.S. ARMY: 1861-1906. Andrew Mowbray. Lincoln, R.I. 2003. Reilly, Robert. U.S. MILITARY SMALL ARMS 1816-1865. The Eagle Press. Baton Rouge, La. 1970. Walter, John. THE GUNS THAT WON THE WEST: FIREARMS ON THE AMERICAN FRONTIER, 1848-1898. Stackpole Books. Mechanicsburg, Pa. 1999. Rate Your Search