Joslyn Rifle

History of the Jocelyn Rifle

The Joslin Firearms Company of Stonington, Connecticut had a love-hate relationship with the U.S. government before and during the American Civil War (1861-1865). He rose to fame as the "Joslyn Rifle", a breech-loading, percussion, single-shot weapon available in .54 and .58 calibers and eventually developed into a shortened carbine shape.

It was the first breech loader to be mass produced by the famous Springfield Armory and was used in the Civil War and the subsequent Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871).

The series debuted with the Model 1855 (properly the Model 1855), a form of weapon evaluated by the U.S. Army, resulting in a federal order of 50 types. 54 caliber. Another 500 examples were signed the following year, although 58 were eventually delivered before the Civil War, with fewer than 200.

The Joslyn rifle has a triple-barreled belt along its length and has an almost complete wooden stock. The sights are mounted on the front and rear of the gun, and the lock plate holds the hammer, breech/action and impact cap joints. The shoulder rests slope down and cut out for some ergonomic comfort.

The trigger unit rings and sits under the action as usual.

The Joslyn Carbine is inherently shorter and intended as a more convenient replacement for the full-length model. This variant has only one barrel and a shortened wooden stock to encourage a smaller profile. All other features of this weapon remain the same as its larger cousin.

When the conflict was in full swing, the government's interest in the gun was at an all-time high, and in 1862 the government ordered another 860 Joslin guns in the form of the Model 1861 Carbine, which now relied on the original combustible carton. An additional 20,000 carbines were ordered before the end of the year, with deliveries beginning in 1863. The improved 1862 model was for the .56-52 Spencer (rimfire) cartridge and earlier models did away with the impact cap joint in favor of a more modern firing pin.

The company continued to get the government interested in the type, which was then offered as a modification of the Type 1864 (this variant accounts for a significant portion of all Joslin weapons production). 5,000 pieces were ordered, more than half of them from the Springfield Armory.

Springfield also produced a model based on the Joslin Model 1865, which was essentially a Springfield Model 1863 rifled rifle with the Joslin action. These are sometimes referred to as "Springfield Joslin Rifles".

The end of the War of 1865 and subsequent arms reductions marked the end of large-scale federal procurement of the Joslyn series of guns. However, its proliferation meant that it already had some numbers in the 1870s, and about 8,200 guns (of rifle and carbine models) were in. The 50-70 Centerfire was sold to France in 1870, and they were immediately used against The war of Prussia and its allies.

The shares ended up in the hands of the Germans, then the shares ended up in the hands of the Belgians, and then to the various armed forces on the continent.

During production, approximately 4,500 Joslyn guns were privately purchased.

Specification

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Changes