The Harpers Ferry Model 1805 was a flintlock pistol produced by Harpers Ferry Armory. Made from 1806 to 1808. The Model 1805 was the first military handgun made at a national armory. It is significant that this pistol is used today on the insignia of the U.S. Army military police. Pistol is a .58 caliber flintlock. Has a European walnut halfstock. Barrel is polished steel, German silver color. It is a very desirable pistol in the current collector's market, with a prime example bringing up to $40,000 at auction. Harper’s Ferry Arsenal has been criticized for being too inefficient, unreliable, and expensive. Harper’s Ferry Arsenal was consistently lagging behind the Springfield Arsenal in modernization or mechanization of any kind. The weapons made at Harper’s Ferry were truly hand made by individual craftsmen or teams of apprentices and experienced gunsmiths. The United States military in the early 1800’s was extremely interested in obtaining interchangeability of parts in its military firearms. The manufacturing processes in place at Harper’s Ferry during this time (subjective comparison of each gun to a “pattern piece”) inherently led to subtle differences in every gun in each model run. Before continuing it is prudent to shed some light on Harper’s Ferry firearms in general and give a little insight on some of the experiences in researching them. A very rewarding aspect of researching fine antique firearms is the exposure one has to very knowledgeable, interesting individuals. The education gained in assembling a collection can been just as enjoyable. It also has been interesting hearing some self purported “experts” commenting on (especially the early) Harper’s Ferry arms. Bearing in mind a photo of a pair of guns photographed in 1961 and referred to by Stuart Brown (The Guns of Harpers Ferry) as an original, un-modified pair of pistols, it is hard to believe the cavalier way some of these “experts” dismiss some pistols as having been modified or re-converted with just the most cursory glance. The slightest deviation in the length or shape of a top jaw screw, the presence or absence of a particular file mark on the inside edge of a hammer, or the exact shape or location of the opening (hole) in the hammer which shows the terminus of the top jaw screw can earn the immediate scorn of some dealers and collectors. It is very revealing that when these same individuals are selling firearms with the same sort of “deviations” or “imperfections”, they are stated to be either due to the fact that the arms were hand made or that whatever detail is being discussed is actually correct and the way that they all should be. It was not until 1817 that there was serious experimentation with the use of gauges for measuring the parts of the firearms made at either Harper’s Ferry or Springfield. It was not until much later that the accurate use of gauges was common at either armory. Following is an excerpt from Harpers Ferry Armory and the New Technology by Merritt Roe Smith (quoting a November, 1819 letter from Major James Dalliba) pgs 109- 110; “In order to attain this grand object of uniformity of parts, the only method which can accomplish it has been adopted at Springfield,…viz: making each part to fit a standard gauge. The master armorer has a set of patterns and gauges. The foremen of shops and branches and inspectors have each a set for the parts formed in their respective shops; and each workman has those that are required for the particular part at which he is at work. These are all made to correspond with the original set, and are tried by them occasionally, in order to discover any variations that may have taken place in using. They are made of hardened steel. The workman makes every similar part to fit the same gauge, and consequently, every similar part must be of nearly the same size and form. If this method is continued, and the closest attention paid to it by the master workman, inspectors, workman, and superintendent, the desired object will finally be obtained.” Smith goes on in his text, “Nearly four more years elapsed before similar instruments were introduced at Harpers Ferry. Consisting of eight, perhaps as many as eleven ‘go-no-go’ steel gauges, they were undoubtedly primitive by modern standards. Nonetheless, as later inspection reports indicate, their eventual adoption in 1823 marked a significant step toward the later development of closely finished interchangeable parts.” Some specific information on the subject of these Harper’s Ferry pistols can be found on page 47 of Brown’s The Guns of Harpers Ferry (referring to the two pistols pictured in his book); “The photographs of this pair show clearly the handmade, non-interchangeable character of the early Harpers Ferry arms, and variations that are attributable to hand manufacture as well as to differences in material. The photographs show variations in the butt cap extensions, in the width of the brass bands near the tail pipes, and in the distance from the bands to the tail pipes. The length and shape of the trigger guard straps differ slightly, and the locks are not interchangeable.” Surprisingly little is known about the early days of firearms production at Harper’s Ferry. Joseph Perkin died suddenly December 1st, 1806 (after only a few hundred of the M1805 pistols had been made). Perkin was replaced by James Stubblefield who continued the European method of having several separate workmen build the component parts of the firearms. Quoting from page 79 of The Guns of Harpers Ferry; “In 1807 the manufacture of rifles and pistols involved six separate branches of labor: barrel making, lock forging, lock filing, brazing, stocking,, and finishing. The completion of each limb required not only different skills, but also special tools for each operation. As artisans completed their tasks, they submitted their work to the master amrorer for inspection. He, in turn, sent the parts to another shop, where a ‘finisher’ filed and finished them, assembling the completed weapon. In other words, each stand turned over to the arsenal storekeeper represented a completed product, the work of several different hands. Yet, despite the rudimentary division of labor involved, each gun remained essentially a handcrafted product.” The long running rivalry between the Harper’s Ferry and Springfield Armories has been well documented. Harper’s Ferry received a great amount of criticism, especially prior to 1840, regarding the quality of the arms made there. Some of this criticism was politically motivated, but in fact, in some years nearly 25% of the barrels made at Harper’s Ferry failed during proof testing. Another common complaint was that the component parts of many of the firearms deviated considerably from the patterns. The reasons for the problems were varied and too complex to be dealt with here, but they included contracts being awarded to corrupt iron suppliers, rampant malaria outbreaks, and extreme worker resistance to any type of modernization of manufacture techniques. Even with all the production problems, virtually all prototype and pattern firearms for the U. S. Government were developed and manufactured at the Harper’s Ferry Arsenal prior to the Civil War. The same feelings of worker pride and independence that interfered with modernization are commendable traits of the sort of artisan needed to create new and innovative designs! For proof of Harper’s Ferry’s superiority in design, one only has to look at the M1803 Rifle and M1805 Pistol, to name just two. With all the documentation of the lack of uniformity in the dimensions and components of Harper’s Ferry arms, the comments of some of the “experts” regarding originality of some of the guns made there can be considered puzzling at best, or more aptly- reckless. One fact remains certain; Harper’s Ferry firearms, especially the M1805 pistols, remain some of the most desirable, valuable, collectible, and sought after weapons in the world!
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