POTD: Trial and Error – The U.S. Springfield Joslyn Breech Loading Rifle
Sam.S 07.31.23
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have the Joslyn rifle. we have covered his revolver but what about his infamous rifle? Gunmaker Benjamin Franklin Joslyn clashed constantly with the U.S. government, even after the Civil War ended. In the 1850s, he designed a breech-loading carbine that the Army ordered a small number of but quickly lost interest. The Navy ordered several hundred in 1858 but production problems limited deliveries to only a couple hundred by 1861. Good old Ben then modified the design to use a rimfire cartridge. The Ordnance Department ordered hundreds delivered in 1862, mainly to Ohio units. In 1862 the company received an order for thousands of carbines but only about half were provided by war’s end. In 1865 two new carbine designs were submitted and received an order for thousands. The Armory made about three thousand before the war ended. After the war, the government canceled all remaining contracts, claiming Joslyn’s rifles failed to meet specifications. Litigation dragged on for years. In 1871 thousands of carbines and rifles were sold to France for the Franco-Prussian War. Many were seized by Germany, sold to Belgium, and converted to shotguns for Africa. Joslyn’s legacy was more about his fights with the government than his guns.
Lot 265: U.S. Springfield Joslynn Breech Loading Rifle with Bayonet. (n.d.-k). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved July 30, 2023, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/77/265/us-springfield-joslyn-breech-loading-rifle-with-bayonet.
