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The
Henry Rifle The Henry Rifle was the first in line for what was to become the rifles of the American Frontier. Originally developed by the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, in Norwich, Connecticut. Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson made significant refinements to the Jenkins rifle. To get the fledgling company some working capitol Smith and Wesson persuaded, among others, Oliver Winchester to invest in the company. The Volcanic Arms Repeater lacked one crucial element – a good, reliable cartridge. The bullet the Volcanic Repeater was originally designed to shoot was a very weak rocket ball (a lead bullet with a hollowed out base containing powder and priming compound) that ultimately led to the downfall of the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company. The gun just wasn’t powerful enough to interest anyone. Oliver Winchester, who was a businessman involved in the textile industry, believe the rifle had a lot of potential if the appropriate ammunition could be developed. Acting on his faith in the gun, Winchester bought out the other shareholders of the failed company, and the patents to the gun (This move by Winchester ultimately caused Smith and Wesson to become handgun producers and Winchester to produce rifles and carbines). Winchester hired B. Tyler Henry, a machinist from the Volcanic Repeating Arms, to work out the problem with the ammunition. Henry came up with a .44 cal, 216-grain lead bullet seated on 25-grains of black powder in a rimfire cartridge. While this cartridge was by no means a powerhouse, it was adequate, and the Henry Rifle was born. Winchester’s new company, The New Haven Arms Company, started promoting the Henry in 1862 to military leaders of the Union Army. New technology was not readily accepted, and out of fear of reliability, cost, and wasted ammunition, the Henry was never really adopted into military use by the Union Army. Winchester did manage to win a few small contracts for about 1,100 rifles, but his real success was with small militia units and individual soldiers. It is estimated that between these groups about 13,000 Henry Rifles were used, in the Civil War. The Henry received great reviews during its day, but was not without problems. Most of the complaints centered on the guns tubular magazine. The magazine was unprotected and easily bent. A bent magazine could result in loading and feeding problems. These were big concerns for those who needed a repeating rifle. The second complaint was loading. Because loading took place at the muzzle end of the gun, the Henry was difficult to load on horseback, or in combat situations that did not allow for a lot of movement. While it is true these were real problems of the Henry – they were not impossible to prevent or overcome, and considering the muzzleloaders and breechloaders of the time – the Henry offered a significant advantage in firepower. Winchester was a businessman, and listened to his customers. Winchester fixed these problems and the Henry rifle soon evolved into the Winchester Lever Action Rifle. Without a doubt, the Winchester lever action was the rifle of the American frontier after the Civil War, and will be known has the rifle that won the west.
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