Send us your own comments about this object.

Title:	RIFLE, MILITARY -  U.S. RIFLE MODEL 1871 WARD-BURTON .50
Maker/Manufacturer:	WARD-BURTON
Date of Manufacture:	1871
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 1613
Measurements:	OL:131.4CM 51 3/4" BL: 82.5CM 32 1/2" 8.75 lbs.

Object Description:

U.S. RIFLE MODEL 1871 WARD-BURTON .50
Manufactured by Springfield Armory, Springfield, Ma. in 1871 - Standard specimen of the Model 1871 Ward-Burton, bolt-action, single-shot rifle. Cartridge loaded into the open breech; self-cocking with closing of the bolt. Receiver blackened, oil quenched casehardened. Iron furniture; bright finish. Barrel secured by two iron bands, spring fastened. 3-groove rifling. Swivels on upper band, and front of triggerguard. M1868 rear sight aligned against receiver, iron block/blade front sight which double as bayonet stud. Weapon weighs approximately 8 3/4 lbs. Approximately 1,015 rifles and 313 carbines were manufactured in 1871.

Markings:
Receiver: Eagle. U.S./SPRINGFIELD 1871 on left side.
Bolt: WARD BURTON PATENT/DEC. 20, 1859.
Bands: U.
Buttplate: US. 332 - (possibly early museum number rack number).

INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION, 1876. BREECH-LOADING MUSKETS AND RIFLES. No. 25. "Ward-Burton rifled musket; caliber, .50. Model of 1870. Issued for experimental trial in the field with the Springfield, Remington, and Sharp's arms, 1,000 of each. (See descriptive pamphlets and Ordnance Memoranda No. 15, or Report of Chief of Ordnance 1873)."

1909 Catalog #0323 - "Rifle. Breech Loading Sp'f'd Rifle. Ward Burton. Cal..50. Mod. 70."

Exhibit label: "MODEL 1871 WARD-BURTON RIFLE .50 caliber, 1871, 1327 made. This weapon was the result of an effort to develop a bolt-action military rifle."

Notes: The Model 1871 Ward-Burton was approved for field trial in 1870. It was the first bolt-action arm made at Springfield Armory. The action was developed by Bethel Burton and General William G. Ward. The bolt had an internal striker, which cocked on closing, and was locked by shallow dual-opposed interrupted thread lugs at the rear of the bolt sleeve. A separate bolt head included the extractor and ejector, and a safety switch was on the right side of the receiver ring. The barrels were .58 caliber rifled-musket barrels sleeved down to .50 caliber. The rifle took the standard U.S. socket bayonet.
Issued to several regiments, the Ward-Burton was considered dangerous because of its cocking without a visible side-hammer or cocking knob, and it also had an unusual high incidence of parts breakage. One captain wrote, "in consequence of the number of accidents occurring in using the Ward-Burton gun, the men of my company are afraid to use them,... I would prefer the Springfield to both the other arms." In another case, the bolt of a Ward-Burton fractured during firing. It went no further that the field trial stage, and was not considered by other countries.

J.M. Whipple, the agent for the Ward-Burton rifle, felt that his rifle had been slighted by the board. His contention was that arms listed ahead of his had failed on thirty percent of the shots and had failed other tests, and that the arms of each system being prepared for tests had not performed as well as his arm. To back his argument, Whipple enclosed the test record of the Ward-Burton and that of the Remington arms in his letter to General Dyer. Whipple went on to ask that the Ward-Burton be put at the top of the list and be tested by the troops, because it was cheaper to manufacture, and less liable to derangement, exploded every cartridge, and fired more rapidly than the others.

"For almost a half-century, the bolt-action rifle reigned supreme in America's military small-arms arsenal. The long-lived use of the bolt-action was, by no means, unique to the United States. Almost without exception, the bolt-action military rifle was a staple in the arsenals of most industrialized nations from the late 1800s through the Second World War.
The United States first standardized bolt-action service rifle was the .30-40 Krag-Jorgensen, adopted in 1892 and put into production at the Springfield Armory two years later. The Krag was followed by the legendary Model of 1903 Springfield, which saw widespread service in both World Wars. The '03 was augmented during World War I by another bolt-action after adoption of the semi-automatic M1 GaAlthough the Krag was America's first standardized bolt-action service rifle, it was not the first bolt-action utilized by our armed forces. From the late 1870s through the late 1880s, several types of bolt-action rifles were procured for testing, evaluation and limited issue by the U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps. These arms were the Hotchkiss, Remington-Lee, Remington-Keene and Chaffee-Reece, which were chambered for the same blackpowder .45-70 Gov't cartridge used by the Model of 1873 'Trapdoor' Springfield. The Model of 1895 Winchester 6mm U.S. Navy (Lee-Navy) rifle, which featured an unusual straight-pull bolt and clip-loading capability, was adopted in 1895. It was employed during the Spanish-American War and for a couple of years afterward.
Although these early repeating bolt-action American military rifles may not be extremely well-known today, they were preceded by an even lesser-known bolt-action, the Model of 1871 Ward-Burton.
The genesis of the Ward-Burton occurred during the first few years following the conclusion of the War Between the States. After Appomattox, the U.S. Army had a large number of serviceable, but obsolete, muzzleloading rifle-muskets in its inventory. Since funds were tight in the immediate post-war period, the Ordnance Department chose to convert some of these surplus muzzleloaders into breechloaders. A conversion devised by Springfield Armory Master Armorer Erskine S. Allin was used to convert the leftover rifle-muskets. This was accomplished by milling out the top rear portion of the muzzleloader's barrel and attaching a hinged breechblock. The altered arms were dubbed 'Allin Conversions.' The Model of 1865 utilized a .58-cal. rimfire metallic cartridge and was the first of the so-called 'Trapdoor Springfields.' The Model of 1865 was superseded by the much-improved Model of 1866, which featured a simpler breech mechanism and a greatly superior cartridge, the .50-70 Gov't. The Model of 1866 was followed by another .50-70 Trapdoor Springfield, the Model 1868, which utilized a newly made receiver rather than one fabricated form surplus muzzleloaders as were the previous two Allin Conversions.
Although a quantum leap forward as compared to the ponderous muzzleloaders, the Allin-designed Trapdoor was intended to be an interim arm until an improved breechloading system could be developed. The period of 1870 to 1872 was a time of experimentation and uncertainty for the U.S. Army Ordnance Department. It was clear that the muzzleloader was woefully out-of-date and that the breechloader was the future of military rifles. It was not certain, however, exactly what would be the optimum breechloading mechanism with which to arm the U.S. military.
To this en, the Ordnance Department encouraged submission of various designs so that the most promising could be field tested and evaluated for possible adoption as an improved breechloading service rifle. Four basic breechloading mechanisms were eventually selected for limited production and evaluation. Funds were appropriated by Congress for these designs to be manufactured by the Springfield Armory for trial and field testing. All were chambered fro the standard .50-70 rifle cartridge (or its carbine equivalent), while the barrels and most of the furniture were finished in 'National Armory Bright.' These arms were:
(1.) The Model of 1870 'Trapdoor' Springfield - Springfield Armory manufactured 11,533 M1870 rifles and 341 M1870 carbines. The Model of 1870 was a slightly modified version of the Model of 1868 Trapdoor Springfield rifle.
(2.) The Model of 1870 'Rolling Block' - Springfield manufactured 1,008 rifles and 314 carbines of this design for trial by the U.S. Army. Patent rights to the Rolling Block mechanism were held by the Remington Arms Co. Shortly after production of the Model of 1870 trials arms ceased. Springfield Armory manu(3.) The Model of 1870 Springfield/Sharps - The Sharps was a popular civilian arm that had previously seen military use in the Civil War. A number of Civil War-era percussion Sharps were modified after the war to chamber the .50-70 center-fire metallic cartridge, and a fair number, mainly Model of 1867 Carbines, were already in service with the U.S. Army. Most of the 1870 trial arms utilized modified Sharps percussion receivers, but 300 newly made actions were used by Springfield Armory to assemble some of the latter trial rifles. With the exception of the basic Sharps action, Springfield produced the balance of the components. Total production of the M1870 Springfield/Sharps trial guns accounted to 1,300 rifle and 308 carbines.
(4.) The Model of 1871 Ward-Burton Bolt Action - The U.S. Springfield Armory produced 1,011 rifles and 316 carbines of the Ward-Burton pattern.
The above arms were each entirely different breechloading designs and enabled the Ordnance Department to evaluate the attributes - positive and negative - of the various mechanisms. The Trapdoor Springfield, Sharps and Rolling Block were, in varying degrees, familiar due to their prior U.S. military and civilian use. On the other hand, the bolt-action Ward-Burton was something of an unknown to the soldiers charged with its testing.
For the record, there were two 'quasi bolt-action' U.S. military arms that predated the Ward-Burton. The Greene breechloading percussion rifle, made in very limited numbers from about 1859 into the early 1860s, featured a unique underhammer action with a rudimentary bolt-operated mechanism. The Palmer carbine of the Civil War era utilized a bolt to open the chamber, but it was fired by means of a separate, side-mounted hammer. Neither were designed with what can be accurately characterized as a true bolt-action mechanism. Like virtually all subsequent modern bolt-action rifles, the Ward-Burton had the striker, ejector and extractor self-contained in the bolt body. While the norm of bolt-action designs today, this was a novel, if not radical, mechanism in the early 1870s.
The Ward-Burton was invented and patented by two Americans, Gen. W.G. Ward and Bethel Burton. The Ward-Burton rifle was a single-shot design that featured a bolt with two sets of threads on either side of the body that locked into corresponding threads machined into the inside of the receiver. The stubby bolt handle rotated downward to lock the action and rotated upward to disengage.
When the bolt was drawn to the rear, the empty cartridge case was automatically ejected, and the rifle was ready for a fresh cartridge to be inserted. It was cocked when the bolt was pushed forward. There was a small, spring-loaded bolt lock on the right rear of the receiver that functioned as a safety.
The Model of 1871 Ward-Burton was in production at Springfield Armory in 1871 and 1872. The receiver was casehardened, and the left side was marked: 'WARD BURTON PATENT. DEC. 20, 1859, FEB. 21. 1871' with a 'spread eagle' over 'U.S. SPRINGFIELD 1871.' They were not serially numbered. The barrel and most of the furniture were furnished in 'National Armory Bright,' as were the other trial arms of the period. The Ward-Burton rifle had a 32 1/8 barrel secured to the full-length stock by two barrel bands and was fitted with a folding-leaf rear sight. It had the same type of cleaning rod as the Model of 1868 Trapdoor Springfield rifle. The Ward-Burton rifle was issued with the Model of 1855 socket bayonet and also used the same type of leatThe Model of 1871 Ward-Burton carbine had a 22" barrel secured by a single barrel band to an appropriately shortened stock. It was fitted with a ring-and-bar attachment on the left side of the stock similar to the other Springfield Armory carbines of the era. The stocks of both the Ward-Burton rifle and carbine were typically marked with two different inspection stamps, 'ESA' (Erskine S. Allin) and 'JWK' (John W. Keene). Ward-Burton rifles and carbines were stamped 'US' on their buttplate tangs. With the obvious exception of the bolt-action mechanism, the Ward-Burton shared many of the same features as the Model of 1870 Trapdoor Springfield.
The Model of 1871 Ward-Burton rifles and carbines were issued to a number of U.S. Army units for field testing, along with the other .50-70 breechloading trial designs. The U.S. Army's 13th Infantry was one of the units that tested Ward-Burton rifles. While made in very limited numbers, Ward-Burton carbines saw a surprising amount of use by several Army units, including the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th U.S. Cavalry companies. Most of these cavalry units were also concurrently issued Model of 1870 Trapdoor Springfield, Model of 1870 Rolling Block and Model of 1870 Sharps trial carbines.
While nominally trial arms, some of the Ward-Burton - especially the carbines - saw at least a modification of combat use. Ward-Burton carbines are known to have seen service during the Yellowstone Expedition, and they were issued to cavalry units stationed in Nebraska, Texas, Colorado and Kansas.
The various trial arms, including the Ward-Burton, were subjected to grueling and rigorous use. In the majority of the subsequent test reports, the Ward-Burton did not fare well in the estimation of the reporting officers. For example, an officer of the 6th U.S. Cavalry succinctly stated that the Ward-Burton carbine was '…unfit for cavalry service….' The Ward-Burton rifle did not perform any better than the carbine. As an illustration, an officer of the 13th Infantry opined that the Ward-Burton rifle had caused too many accidents, and '…the men are afraid of it….' Another officer of the same unit initially found favor with the arm in his early reports in the summer of 1872, but by the winter of the same year, his opinion had totally changed. He proclaimed the Ward-Burton rifle as '…a dangerous and inferior musket.' Ultimately, not one of the 95 final reports of field testing recommended the Ward-Burton for adoption.
There were several reasons for the near universal dislike of the Ward-Burton. Undoubtedly, the unusual (for its day) bolt-action was distrusted by many of its users. Unlike the Trapdoor Springfield, Sharps and Rolling Blocks, all of which had large outside hammers that could be readily observed, it was difficult to ascertain whether the Ward-Burton's action was cocked and/or loaded. A number of accidents occurred because troops unfamiliar with the design flaws contributed to the Ward-Burton problems, including a screw that could sheer off during recoil. Improper heat treatment of the bolt also caused some failures, which led to further distrust.
As the results of the field trials were reviewed and evaluated, it became apparent that the Ward-Burton was not suitable for continued production or widespread issue, and it was dropped from further consideration. Ward and Burton developed a repeating rifle, magazine-fed version, but the design didn't even get into the trial stage due, in large measure, to the negative reputation of the Model of 1871 rifle and carbine.
The Model of 1870 Trapdoor Springfield was eventually selected as the best trial breechloader. A slightly modified version, the Model of 1873 chambered for the new .45-70 Gov't cartridge, became the Army's standardized shoulder arm. The .45-70 Trapdoor remained in production until shortly after adoption of the Krag in 1892.
Despite its shortcomings in the field trials and subsequent rejection by the Army, the Model of 1871 Ward-Burton rifle and carbine are popular wiWhile often overlooked alongside its better-known contemporaries, such as the Trapdoor Springfields, Rolling Blocks and Sharps, the Ward-Burton represents a significant milestone in the evolution of U.S. military arms. Whatever flaws it may have possessed, the Ward-Burton has the distinction of being the first U.S. military bolt-action rifle, and as such, is one of the more interesting and historically significant, firearms of the Indian War era." - Bruce Canfield, American Rifleman, January, 2006.
"This rifle combined a turning-bolt action derived from patents granted to Bethel Burton in 1859-68 with an 1871-patent extractor/ejector system credited to William Ward. One of its best features was the retraction of the firing pin into the bolt as the breech opened.
Some units issued with trials rifles were enthusiastic, owing to efficient extraction and ejection, but the novelty soon palled and the Allin-type system was preferred." - Walter

It is believed the Ward-Burton rifles were issued to the 3rd and 5th Infantries stationed in Kansas.

DISPOSITION OF OTHER M1871 WARD-BURTON RIFLES THAT WERE IN MUSEUM COLLECTION:
Army #0149 - M1871 WB - Transferred to Chief of Military History on 4/24/57. This weapon was exhibited at The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition in Philadelphia in 1926. Army #0408 - M1871 WB - Transferred to Aberdeen on 10 April 1956.

References:
Ball, Robert W.D. SPRINGFIELD ARMORY: SHOULDER WEAPONS 1795-1968. Antique Trader Book. Norfolk, Va. 1997.
Dorsey, Stephen R. GUNS OF THE WESTERN INDIAN FRONTIER. Collector's Library. Eugene, Oregon. 1995.
Flayderman, Norm. FLAYDERMAN'S GUIDE TO ANTIQUE AMERICAN FIREARMS ...AND THEIR VALUES. 6th Ed. DBI Books, Inc. Northbrook, Il. 1994.
Madaus, H. Michael. THE WARNER COLLECTOR'S GUIDE TO AMERICAN LONGARMS. Warner Books. N.Y., N.Y. 1981.
Walter, John. RIFLES OF THE WORLD. 2nd. Ed. Krause Publications. Iola, Wi. 1998.
Webster, Donald B. MILITARY BOLT ACTION RIFLES. 1841-1918. Museum Restoration Service. Toronto, Canada. 1993.
Wolfe, Richard Irving. ARMS AND INNOVATION: THE U.S. ARMY AND THE REPEATING RIFLE 1865-1900. University Microfilm Systems. Ann Arbor, Mi. 1987.