and law enforcement, 193
lever-action, 177
ownership of, 237
pump-action, 177
sawed-off, 227, 228
semiautomatic, 179
taxes on, 227
and Western frontier, 139–40
See also specific manufacturer
showmen
and Western frontier, 143, 143
See also specific person or show
SIG Sauer guns, 236
Simpson, Steve, 245
Sioux Indians, 90, 148–49
Sitting Bull, 149
sixteenth-seventeenth centuries
civil defense in, 20
firearms in, 1, 12–13, 28–29
gun ownership during, 73
hunting in, 24
See also specific topic
slaves: and gun ownership, 21
slide-action guns, 177
slings, 1–2, 3
Smith & Wesson guns
Indian use of, 149
loading/reloading of, 121
M1, 114–15, 120, 121
M2, 121
M3, 121
M.44-caliber “American,” 138
Smith & Wesson (Springfield, Massachusetts), 110, 118, 119, 120–21, 137, 224, 236. See also Smith & Wesson guns; Volcanic Repeating Arms Company
Smith, Horace, 114, 118. See also Smith & Wesson
Smith, John, 15, 22
Smith, Joseph, 175
Smithsonian Institution, 176, 222
smoothbore guns
double-barreled shotguns developed from, 139
muskets as, 29, 55, 59–61, 62, 69, 92, 148
of North, 93
percussion carbines as, 93
and Western expansion, 84
See also specific type of gun or model
“snaphaunce,” 22
snipers. See guerrilla warfare; marksmanship; sharpshooters; specific person
soldiers, American: British image of, 36
Somme, Battle of the (1916), 172
Soviet AK-47 (Kalashnikov), 215–17, 222–24
Soviet Union. See Russia/Soviet Union
Spain, 61
Spanish-American War, 181, 190
Spencer, Christopher, 105, 123–26, 130, 238
Spencer guns
and Civil War, 126, 127–28, 130–31
development of, 123–25
Indian use of, 149
rifles as, 123–25, 126, 127–28, 130–31
and Western frontier, 131
Spencer Repeating Rifle Company, 131
spinning propulsion, 29
sport shooting, 234–35, 246. See also hunting; shooting contests
Springfield Armory (Massachusetts)
Allin at, 131
and Berdan’s sharpshooters, 128–29
British visit to, 126
and Browning firearms, 184
as center of gun technology, 88
as centralized armory, 88–89
and conversion of muzzleloaders to breechloaders, 131
first official muskets at, 69
Garand at, 200, 202–3, 206
and Garand M1 rifles, 204
Hall’s ideas at, 94
manufacturing at, 119
as production center for American arms, 89
Ripley at, 126, 127
Smith (Horace) at, 118
Springfield guns
carbines as, 149, 185, 204
and first official muskets, 69
M1795 flintlock musket, 89
muzzleloaders as, 128
See also Springfield rifles
Springfield rifles
ammunition for, 201
and hunters, 145–46
M.70-caliber trapdoor “Lucretia Borgia,” 144
M1803 flintlock, 89
M1863 rifles, 131
M1903 bolt-action, 182, 212
and Maxim, 169
standard military, 201
and Western frontier, 131, 145–46
in World War I, 186
“stabillite,” 171
Standard rimfire pistol, 234
standing armies: and debate about right to self-defense, 74–75, 77, 78
Standish, Myles, 19, 21
steam-powered guns, 162
Steinkirk, Battle of (1692), 23
StG 44 guns, 206
Stoner, Eugene, 217–19, 222, 223–24, 238
Story, Joseph, 240
Sturm, Alexander, 234, 235
Sturm, Ruger & Co., 234–36
submachine guns, 198, 216, 226. See also tommy guns
“submarine” mine: of Colt, 102–3
Suffolk Resolves, 49–50
Sullivan Act, 226
Sullivan, Timothy D., 226
Summerall, Charles Pelot, 182–83
Sumner, William H., 240
Supreme Court
and Brady Act, 243
and Emerson case, 244
and Heller case, 246–47
McDonald v. City of Chicago decision of, 247
Miller ruling by, 228–29
NFA ruling of, 228–29
and Second Amendment rulings, 228–29, 238, 243, 246–47
swivel guns, 83–84
swords, 1–2, 6
Tammany Hall, 226
Taoists, Chinese, 36
target shooting, 210, 233
taxes, 227
Taylor, Zachary, 101, 104
Tennessee: gun laws in, 241
Tenth Amendment, 75, 243
terrorism, 216
Texas Rangers, 104
“30 aught 6” cartridges, 203
Thompson, John T., 185–86, 190, 191, 194, 197–98, 216, 233
Thompson, Marcellus, 192, 194, 197–98
Thornton, William, 92
.357 Magnum, 104
Tocqueville, Alexis de, 134
tomahawks, 11–12
tommy guns, 185, 189–98, 189
Tower musket, 67
Towton, Battle of (1461), 7
trade
gun, 25, 148
and Western expansion, 85
“trapdoor,” 131
traveling shows, 98–99. See also specific show
treason, 240
Tribe, Laurence, 244
Trobriand, Philippe Régis de, 137–38
trophy, target shooting, 211
Tucker, Barbara, 96
Tucker, George, 240
Turkey, 164
Tutt, Davis, 132–33, 134, 136, 138
Twain, Mark, 106, 157–58
“two-trigger” setups, 146
United States
culture of, 233, 248
first battle in history of, 43–44
first guns manufactured in, 24
as “great arsenal of democracy,” 201–2
“gun culture” in, 48, 248
role of guns in, 238–39
See also specific person or topic
United States Electric Lighting Company: Maxim at, 168
unsnapping latches, 121
Urschel, Charles, 196
Valentine’s Day Massacre (1929), 194–95
Valley Forge, Battle at, 68
Verdun, Battle at, 211
Vicille, Paul, 170
Vickers Ltd., 171
Vickers machine guns, 171
Vietnam War, 89, 204, 205, 213–14, 215–16, 220–21, 222, 223
Villani, Giovanni, 6
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (1994), 243
Virginia, 20, 48, 76
Vitelli, Camillo, 23
Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, 119, 120. See also Smith & Wesson
“Volitional Repeater” rifle, 118
Volkov, Cyril Alexander, 223
von Steuben, Friedrich Wilhelm, 63, 68
Waldron, Adelbert F., 214
Walker, Samuel, 104
“walking fire” guns, 183–84
Walsingham, Francis, 161
War Department, U.S
., 128, 131
War of 1812, 93
Ward, Artemas, 63
warfare
ancient, 1–3
atomic, 207–8
and Browning, 189, 190, 224
Colt firearms role in, 96
first use of gunpowder in, 5
gang, 193–94
historical frequency of, 2
impact of automatic weapons on, 167
incendiary substances in, 35–36
introduction of gunpowder for, 36
range, 2–4
role of rifles, 182, 207–8
and Sharps rifles, 146–47
sharpshooters role in, 214
and short-range battles, 205, 206
and shotguns, 139
studies of firearms for, 205
and weight of firearms, 190
and Western expansion, 85
See also specific war or battle
Warren, Joseph, 46, 49–50
Washington, George
and American Revolution, 34–35, 39, 40, 41, 52, 56, 57, 58, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 70
and centralized armory, 88–89
French-English wars and, 45
and Morgan, 56
and Philadelphia Convention, 71
and riflemen, 56, 57, 58, 61, 62, 63
Whiskey Rebellion and, 88
water-cooled machine guns, 183, 191
water jacket, Maxim’s, 169
Wayne, Anthony, 62
Webber, Alan, 231
Webster, Noah, 77
Weiss, Hymie, 193, 194
Welch, Richard E., 226
Wellington, Duke of, 162
Wells, Ida B., 242
Wesson, Daniel B., 114, 118. See also Smith & Wesson
Western frontier
Army on, 148–49
and Browning family, 174–77
and Browning reputation, 176
cannons on, 84
Cody as personification of, 150
Colt firearms on, 96, 103–4, 109, 112, 138, 195
crime on, 141–42
decline of, 152
derringers on, 138–39
duels on, 132–33, 134–35
expansion on, 83–91, 174–75
and flintlock pistols, 135
folklore about, 133, 135–36
gun control on, 141, 241
homicide rates on, 140–41
hunting on, 144–45, 146
prevalence of guns on, 87, 137–38, 240–41
railroads on, 145
and Remington guns, 138, 195
and repeating rifles, 135
reputation/romanticizing of, 109, 135, 140–41, 142, 143–53, 143, 233
and revolvers, 103–4, 135
and Sharps rifles, 145, 146–47
and shotguns, 139–40
showmen on, 136
and Spencer rifles, 131
and Springfield rifles, 131, 145–46
unsavory characters in, 86–87
violence on, 132–42
and Winchester guns, 122, 138
women on, 151–52
See also specific person
Wheeler, Artemus, 98
wheellock muskets, 21–22
Whiskey Rebellion (1791), 88
Whitehill, Robert, 78
Whitehouse, Joseph, 90
Whitney, Eli, 91–92
Whitney, Eli Jr., 104
Whitworth rifles, 209
Wilder, John T., 127
Wilder Machine Gun, 165
Willow Run (Michigan): Ford plant in, 202
Wilson, James H., 130
Wilson, John Lyde, 134
Winchester, Oliver, 119–20, 121–22
Winchester Repeating Arms Company, 122, 131, 176–78, 179–80, 203, 235, 236
Winchester rifles
Indian use of, 149
lever-action, 178, 233
M70 Sniper, 213
M1866 “Yellow Boy,” 122
M1885 Single Shot, 177–78
M1886 Lever-Action, 178
M1894 repeating, 178
and sharpshooters, 213, 214
and Western frontier, 138
and World War I, 182
Wingate, George, 210, 211
Winthrop, John, 20, 21
Wister, Owen, 150
Wolfe, James, 46
Wolseley, Garnet, 170
women, 151–52, 189, 208
world affairs: role of guns in, 238–39
World War I
assault weapons in, 216–17
casualties in, 158, 172
firearms for, 182–87
and firepower, 205
and machine guns, 158, 183, 190–91
and Maxim guns, 172
and rapid-fire guns, 183, 186
rifles in, 182, 184, 186, 203
sharpshooters in, 208–9, 211, 214
trench warfare in, 190
World War II
Browning weapons in, 187
and Garand rifles, 200, 201, 202–3, 204
and Lend-Lease Act, 202
mobilization of U.S. manufacturing for, 202
role of guns in, 239
Roosevelt comments about, 201–2
and semiautomatic rifles, 203
sharpshooters in, 207, 208, 212
and short-range battles, 206
studies of weapons deployed in, 205
and tommy gun, 198
and U.S. as “great arsenal of democracy,” 201–2
Yankton Sioux Indians, 90
Yellow Hair (Cheyenne warrior), 144
York, Alvin Cullum, 186
Yorktown, Battle of, 64–65, 69, 70
Young, Brigham, 175
Young, Gustave, 110
Zaharoff, Basil, 171
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND CREDITS
“The Struggle on Concord Bridge.” Illustration from “Life of George Washington” by Washington Irving, 1857. The New York Public Library digital collection.
Prologue: “A samurai shooting an early firearm in the mid-1600s.” Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861).
Part I: “First Blow for Liberty.” Ritchie, Alexander Hay and Darley, Felix Octavius Carr. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-2727.
Chapter One: “Musketeer from Jacob van Gheyn’s Wapenhandelingen van Roers Musquetten ende Spiesen.” (1608).
Chapter Two: “Samoset comes ‘boldly’ into Plymouth settlement.” Woodcut designed by A. R. Waud and engraved by J. P. Davis, 1876. From the book A Popular History of the United States by Bryant, William Cullen and Gay, Sydney Howard (Scribner Company).
“Mayflower Gun.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.
“Kentucky Rifle.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.
Chapter Three: “The Method of Refining Salt-Petre” by Paul Revere, 1774. Courtesy of American Antiquarian Society.
Chapter Four: “The Battle of Lexington” by Luigi Delnoce, 1882. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
Chapter Five: “Maryland Rifleman, 1775–1776.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections.
Chapter Six: “The Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton,” January 3, 1777. Yale University Art Gallery, Trumbull Collection, (1832.6.1).
“Brown Bess.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.
“Charleville lock.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.
Chapter Seven: “George Washington presiding over the Philadelphia Convention.” Howard Chandler Christy, 1939. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USA7-34630.
Part II: “Daniel Boone Escorting Settlers through the Cumberland Gap.” George Caleb Bingham, The Bridgeman Art Library, Object 29102.
Chapter Eight: “Daniel Boone” by Alonzo Chappel, 1862. National Portrait Gallery of Eminent Americans, Vol I, (Steel Engraving).
“Springfield 1795 flintlock musket.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.
Chapter Ni
ne: “Steel Engraving of Samuel Colt with a Colt 1851 Navy Revolver,” 1855. Based on a lost daguerreotype by Philipp Graff (1814–1851) taken between 1847 and 1851.
“Colt Model 1860 Army Percussion Revolver.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.
“Colt Second Model Dragoon Revolver.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.
Chapter Ten: “Claude Étienne Minié.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude-Étienne_Minié.
“Smith & Wesson Model 1.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.
Chapter Eleven: “Frank Leslie’s scenes and portraits of the Civil War,” by Frank Leslie, 1894. The Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Chapter Twelve: “Wild Bill Hickok.” Heritage Auctions.
“Remington New Model Army Percussion Revolver.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.
Chapter Thirteen: “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Historical Sketches and Programme,” 1896, Missouri History Museum.
“Sharps Rifle.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.
Part III: “Recruits, 18th Penn. N.G., Pittsburgh.” Bain News Service, 1915. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ggbain-22112.
Chapter Fourteen: “Battery Gun by Richard Jordan Gatling,” 1865. National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the Patent and Trademark Office.
Chapter Fifteen: “Sir Hiram Maxim.” Bain News Service, 1915. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ggbain-23307.
Chapter Sixteen: John M. Browning’s son Lt. Val Browning with the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, 1918.” Army Heritage and Education Center.
“Winchester Model 1886 Lever-Action Rifle.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.
Chapter Seventeen: “Amusements—Games and Rides—Woman shooting tommy gun.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1935–1945.
Chapter Eighteen: “You Can’t Afford to Miss Either! Buy Bonds Every Payday,” 1944. United States Department of the Treasury.
Chapter Nineteen: “A U.S. Army sniper team from Jalalabad Provincial Reconstruction Team,” U.S. Department of Defense, 2006.
“U.S.M.C. Winchester M70 Sniper Rifle.” Courtesy of National Rifle Association Museums.
Chapter Twenty: “A U.S. Army M.P. inspects a Chinese AK-47 recovered in Vietnam,” 1968. United States Army Heritage and Education Center.
Chapter Twenty-One: “Two men and three women of the Home Defense Unit with guns,” 1935–1945. The New York Public Library Digital Collections.
Conclusion: “Come and Take It.” Flag raised by Texas settlers at the Battle of Gonzales in October 1835. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Texas Flag Come and Take It.svg.
Notes: “The New Hampshire Sharp-Shooters,” 1861.The New York Public Library Digital Collections.
Glossary: “Rod and gun from Canadian Forestry Association,” 1898. University of Toronto.
Selected Bibliography: “Lewis and Clark Expedition 150th anniversary issue, designed by Charles R. Chickering.”