Weapons of the Expedition
When Captain Lewis visited Harpers Ferry Armory in March1803, he acquired
many arms, ammunition, and other basic supplies for the Expedition,
including 15 rifles. Many assume these weapons were the 1803 rifles
produced at Harpers Ferry, but this is not true. The Secretary of War
did not authorize the production of the 1803 rifle until May 1803. The
rifles Lewis took with him were built under Army contract in 1792 and
1794. Pennsylvania gunsmiths produced these weapons, which were .49
caliber with a 42-inch barrel. These weapons also featured a patch-box
with a push-button release. More than 300 of these rifles were stored
at Harpers Ferry when Lewis arrived in March. To prepare the weapons
for the Expedition, the barrels were shortened to between 33 and 36
inches, and swivels were added to make it possible to carry them with
a leather sling. Additionally, the Armory, which had produced the original
locks, fitted the rifles with new locks and provided both replacement
locks and spare lock parts for each rifle. The converted rifles were
similar in appearance to the M1803 rifles, and this is probably the
reason many believe the Corps of Discovery carried 1803 rifles. Others
argue that the modified 1792 and 1794 contract rifles were the prototype
of the 1803 rifles. But the fact is that is was more than six months
after Lewis had left the Harpers Ferry Armory (about the time the Lewis
and Clark were leaving Clarksville, Indiana Territory) that the Armory
completed the first M1803 rifle.
