Description:
Model 1842 flintlock musket with bayonet where the flintlock was converted to percusion, which is stamped "L. POMEROY" topped with an eagle and shield. The lockplate is marked "1842 / U.S"; the buttstock is marked "R. KINALLY"; and "NWR" is carved on the stock opposite the lock. According to data file, John Sheldon (1848-1929), son of George Sheldon (1818-1916), Deerfield's historian, bought the musket (price $1.50) for Miss C. Alice Baker (1833-1909), and said that it was "to have been taken from John Brown and his followers at Harper's Ferry (1857) by the U. S. Government." Lemuel Pomeroy, Jr. (1778-1849) was the son of Lemuel Pomeroy and grandson of General Seth Pomeroy (1706-1777), a blacksmith (see 96.033) and gunsmith, working in Northampton, Massachusetts, a veteran of the French, Indian, and Revolutionary wars. Born in Northampton, Lemuel moved to Pittsfield in 1799 where he manufactured plows, sleighs,, and wagons. When the plant burnt down in 1805, he rebuilt with some provisions fo arms manufacture. By 1808, he had contracts for flintlock muskets for the Massachusetts Militia, and in 1816, received his first US Government contract for 5000 Model 1816 Army flintlock muskets. The contract specified: overall length of 57 11/16"; 42" barrel; .69 caliber; black walnut stock; browned-finished mountings; "U.S." over the year of make behind the hammer on the lockplate; and "L. POMEROY" under a spread eagle looking left in the center of the lockplate. His second contract in 1823 specified 10,000 Model 1816 flintlocks with the same specifications to be delivered at the rate of 2000 a year for 5 years. The 1835 contract was for 6000 Army flintlock musket Model 1835 to be delivered over 5 years at 1200 per year; the Model 1835 specifications had: overall length of 57 13/16"; 42" barrel; .69 caliber; brass pan with a fence; black walnut stock; bright-finished mountings; "U.S." over the year of make behind the hammer on the lockplate; and "L. POMEROY" under a spread eagle looking left in the center of the lockplate. In 1842, Pomeroy contracted for an additional 1000 1835 Models; all orders were delivered by September 1846. Pomeroy did not rebuild after when the area of his plant producing arms burned down in 1846; the output of the Government Armories at Springfield and Harpers Ferry became adequate to supply military needs, and muskets contracts to private manufacturers were curtailed. Several parts are missing: rear barrel band and release; front band release; both sights; butt plate; ramrod; and hammer screw.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+69.0303 |
