Edward Maynard
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Edward Maynard (April 26, 1813 – May 4, 1891) was an American firearms inventor, most famous for his breechloading rifle design.


History

Edward Maynard was born in
Madison, New York Madison is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 3,008 at the 2010 census. The Town of Madison contains a village also named Madison. The town is near the eastern border of the county. History Settlement be ...
, on April 26, 1813. In 1831 he entered the
United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
at
West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
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 Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
and Washington, D.C., his clientele included the country's political elite, including
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
men 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 The University of Maryland School of Dentistry is the dental school of the University System of Maryland. It was founded as an independent institution, the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, in 1840 and was the birthplace of the Doctor of Denta ...
. Maynard had two wives; his first was Sophia Ellen Doty (born 1826, and to which all of his known children were born) and Nellie Long (born 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 (born 1855), Ellen (born 1858), Josephine (born 1860), Marie (born 1852), Virginia (born 1854), and Edna (born 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 in Washington on May 4, 1891, and was buried in the
Congressional Cemetery The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street, SE, in Washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American "cemetery of national m ...
.


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 The percussion cap or percussion primer, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. This crucial invention gave rise t ...
firearm. His 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; this was intended to accelerate the 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 The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
British cavalrymen had been equipped with 2,000 Greene
carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighter ...
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 A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition (cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle). Modern firearms are generally breec ...
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 was of particular advantage to the Confederacy, as the cartridges could be manufactured without the sophisticated equipment that the south generally lacked. 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 The Springfield Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield located in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, was the primary center for the manufacture of United States military firearms from 1777 until ...
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 his financial backers founded the Maynard Arms Company in 1857, contracting the
Massachusetts Arms Company The Massachusetts Arms Company, of Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts was a manufacturer of firearms and firearm-related products from about 1849 into the early 20th century. The Massachusetts Arms Company was incorporated March 5, 1850 and was founde ...
to manufacture the new gun for civilian and military use. The guns, known as 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 four hundred .50 caliber Maynard carbines, with the original long-range aperture
tang sight A tang sight is the rear sight of a pair of iron sights used to aim or align a rifle so the bullet fired will hit the target. The sight is attached to the tang: a steel plate extending toward the butt from a rifle receiver for attachment of the re ...
replaced with a barrel mounted open sight. The Revenue Cutter Service (later the
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
) and
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
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 The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. 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 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 Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
, and
Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
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 A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with "marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" i ...
s made extensive use of it, especially during the
Siege of Charleston The siege of Charleston was a major engagement and major British victory in the American Revolutionary War, fought in the environs of Charles Town (today Charleston), the capital of South Carolina, between March 29 and May 12, 1780. The Britis ...
. Maynard cartridges were easily manufactured in the Confederacy, in contrast to the complex internally primed rimfire cartridges of captured Spencer and Henry rifles. 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.


See also

*
Rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...
*
Shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...


References

*


External links


Edward MAYNARD tape-primer system US Patent no. 4,208 - 1845
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maynard, Edward Firearm designers Defunct firearms manufacturers American dentists 19th-century American inventors 1813 births 1891 deaths American Civil War industrialists People of Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War American dentistry academics People from Madison, New York 19th-century dentists