Thayer Americana * Fine Arms & Accoutrements

Here subscribers will read the results of Prof. Thayer’s latest research in articles which have been submitted for publication in various arms and antiques journals, but which may not appear for months or years.

>> Gosport Navy Yard (PDF Doc)

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>> January 2007 - Here is a six-page article on the P1776 British rifle in the American Revolution. The "R" marks on two of them indicate that they served under Benedict Arnold and at Yorktown. More photos will follow. Then it will go to Man at Arms.

>> British Pattern 1776 Rifles (PDF Doc)

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>> January 2007 - Oliver Hazard Perry used this essential "weapon" to win the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813. Perry used it to detect the enemy fleet from Put-in Bay,and to read their intentions as well as the signals of his own fleet. Rowed from his virtually destroyed flagship Lawrence to the Niagara, Perry was able to vanquish the enemy fleet, the first such victory by the young Republic, after which he reported to his good friend General William Henry Harrison, "We have met the enemy and they are ours..." The victory cemented US claims to Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. So central was this telescope that Perry presented it to Harrison as an expression of gratitude for the 150 Kentucky riflemen Harrison had contributed to Perry's fleet. Descent to the last Harrison heir is documented in newspapers spanning two centuries

>> Perry's Telescope (PDF Doc)

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>> June 2006 - This manuscript, “US Government Made Muskets of the American Revolution, 1780-1783,” describes the earliest known surviving muskets that were made by the Continental Government of the new United States. As such, these are the earliest known US “primary martial” shoulder arms. The form and function of rampart muskets, from which some of these Continental muskets were made, is also discussed. This document is sixteen pages, with as many images. File is 1.6 MB.

>> US Government Made Muskets of the Revolution, 1780-1783 (PDF Doc)

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