"Beecher's Bibles" was the name given to the

breech-loading A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition from the breech end of the barrel (i.e., from the rearward, open end of the gun's barrel), as opposed to a muzzleloader, in which the user loads the ammunition from the ( muzzle ...

Sharps rifle Sharps rifles are a series of large-bore, single-shot, falling-block, breech-loading rifles, beginning with a design by Christian Sharps in 1848 and ceasing production in 1881. They were renowned for long-range accuracy. By 1874, the rifle ...

that were supplied to and used by the

anti-slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

settlers and combatants in

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, during the

Bleeding Kansas Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas, or the Border War, was a series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri, between 1854 and 1859. It emerged from a political and ideological debate over the ...

period (1854–1860).

Background

For decades, there had been conflict between pro-slavery and anti-slavery activists in America, particularly when a territory was admitted into the Union as a new state. Would it be a free state, or a slave state? When in 1820 Missouri was admitted into the Union the controversy was settled with the

Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise (also known as the Compromise of 1820) was federal legislation of the United States that balanced the desires of northern states to prevent the expansion of slavery in the country with those of southern states to expand ...

, which said all future states south of Missouri could be admitted as slave states. During the 1854 formation of two new states, Kansas and Nebraska, Congress repealed the Missouri Compromise and initiated the

Kansas–Nebraska Act The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 () was a territorial organic act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It was drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas, passed by the 33rd United States Congress, and signed into law b ...

, saying rather the citizens within each territory could decide by popular vote. Settlers streamed into Kansas to stack the vote, many pro-slavers coming from neighboring Missouri. Violence was rife in Kansas between the two sides. It was during this conflict that Minister

Henry Ward Beecher Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the Abolitionism, abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery ...

raised funds to buy rifles for the anti-slavery "free-staters". Beecher believed that such weapons were "a greater moral urgency among

border ruffian Border ruffians were Proslavery thought, proslavery raiders who crossed into the Kansas Territory from Missouri during the mid-19th century to help ensure the territory entered the United States as a Slave states and free states, slave state. ...

s than the scriptures".

History

The name "Beecher's Bibles" is in reference to

s and

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 ligh ...

s, associated with the

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

minister and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

, of the

New England Emigrant Aid Society The New England Emigrant Aid Company (originally the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Company) was a transportation company founded in Boston, Massachusetts by activist Eli Thayer in the wake of the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which allowed the population o ...

. Beecher was an outspoken

and he raised funds from his congregation to buy Sharps Carbines for Kansas' free state (anti-slavery) settlers. The Federal and state authorities had forbidden sending arms to the territory, but that did not stop abolitionists from donating funds for firearm purchases to aid free state fighters. There were approximately 900 Sharps Carbines sent to the Kansas conflict. The Sharps Carbine Model 1853 was not a cheap or common rifle, it had a modern "high tech" design incorporating a

breech loading Breech may refer to: * Breech (firearms), the opening at the rear of a gun barrel where the cartridge is inserted in a breech-loading weapon * breech, the lower part of a pulley block * breech, the penetration of a boiler where exhaust gases leave ...

mechanism that made it particularly advantageous against the weapons of pro-slavers. W. H. Isley wrote of the rifle in 1907, saying, :"The very name 'Sharps rifle' was to become a term to sober the border ruffian and give him serious pause. This breech-loading rifle was a new invention and extremely effective in comparison, the Missourian was poorly armed, carrying either a squirrel-knife, a heavy buffalo-gun, or a clumsy army musket. This difference in armament probably explains why the free-state bands, though usually outnumbered, were invariably victorious in all open fighting.” There are a number of origin stories for the name "Beecher's Bibles". As traditionally told, it involves concealment. The carbines were shipped at the bottom of wooden crates covered in bibles. The crates were marked with "Books and Bibles", to not raise suspicion with pro-slavers. Similar stories of guns in an unlabeled box with bibles in a separate box. However, according to the journal ''

Kansas History The Kansas Historical Society is the official state historical society of Kansas. Headquartered in Topeka, it operates as "the trustee of the state" for the purpose of maintaining the state's history and operates the Kansas Museum of History, ...

'', there is nothing in the literature to support the concealment narrative. Rather, Beecher and his New York congregation sent a check for $625 to the Sharpes rifle company along with 25-bibles and a letter. Beecher requested the rifles be sent to Kansas, and to publicize the letter. Sharpes sent the rifles, and published the letter; in this way "Beecher", "Guns" and "Bibles" became associated in the public's mind. Newspaper headlines proclaimed "Bibles and Rifles for Kansas" and "Beecher Bible and Rifle Colony." Some newspapers began calling Beecher's church the " Bible and Rifle Company". According to a letter written years later by Beecher himself: :The letter that accompanied the check and the Bibles ent to the president of Sharpes Rifle companywas widely reprinted in newspapers across the country under the headline, BIBLES AND RIFLES FOR KANSAS and BIBLES AND RIFLES IN KANZAS. It was from these events that the company began to be referred to as the “Beecher Bible and Rifle Colony” and the Sharps rifle took on the nickname “Beecher’s Bible.

References

Bibliography

* {{cite book , last1=Marcot , first1=Roy , last2=Marron , first2=Edward , last3=Paxton , first3=Ron , title=Sharps Firearms: The Percussion Era 1848–1865 , date=2019 , publisher=Northwood Heritage Press Rifles Bleeding Kansas Guns of the American West Arms trafficking Abolitionism in the United States American Civil War rifles