Connecticut Guns and American History

Despite being a small state Connecticut has some pretty big history. If you were asked to name the most well known fact about Connecticut what would you say? Maybe you're the collegiate type and Yale would be the first thing that came to mind. And with good cause. Established in 1701, Yale College is America's third oldest school. Ok, what else? Perhaps it's the (disputed) title as the home of the world's first hamburger. Or, if you're a history buff, it might be the Hartford Convention of 1815 when Connecticut talked about seceding from the Union. But despite the role each of these played in Connecticut history perhaps none had quite the same impact on the outcome of American history as Connecticut's industry of manufacturing guns.

It all started during the War of 1812. The British Royal Navy was flexing its muscles by forcing American sailors into service on British ships, a practice known as empressment. Well, the United States did not take kindly to this. War was declared on Great Britain but the joke was on Washington as the Brits were all too happy for another chance to beat it's former American colonies. The British Navy immediately formed a blockade along the US coast and effectively cut off American trade from the rest of world. This severely disrupted commerce throughout the United States but indirectly planted the seeds for what would become America's manufacturing might. 

In response to this blockade, Connecticut proved to be especially resourceful as it quickly transitioned its infrastructure to that of a manufacturer, producing the goods locally that couldn't be procured internationally. Factories were built and a new workforce was created for this specialized labor. Connecticut and other New England states were separating themselves from the pack when it came to manufacturing know-how. And it was because of this ingenuity that local politicians called a meeting forever known to history as the Hartford Convention. The topic: secession from the Union. After all, why should wealthy New England share national war expenses with poorer Southern states when it could do so much better on its on? The War came to an end just in time, creating a wave of patriotic fervor. Delegates from the Hartford Convention weren't looked upon too kindly in such an atmosphere and all talk of secession was immediately dropped. And despite the blockade's effect on US trade Connecticut's economy was now on its way to becoming a manufacturing powerhouse primed for the modernizing world.

With the help of Connecticut's fast-moving rivers to generate power, iron ore for raw materials and canny Yankee ingenuity the state was quickly becoming a world-renowned manufacturing center, particularly for firearms. Yale alumnus and Connecticut native Eli Whitney is not only known for inventing the Cotton Gin but also for his gun manufacturing facility outside of New Haven. It was at Whitney's facility in 1846 that Samuel Colt, fresh off a failed business making revolvers, revived his career and produced America's most famous brand - the Colt Manufacturing Company and their famous Colt 45. 

By mid century America was wrapping up yet another war, this time with Mexico, when Samuel Colt was approached by the Texas Rangers about designing a close range revolver. Colt was thrilled at the opportunity and designed the most powerful repeating handgun in the world at that time, naming it "Walker" after Ranger Captain Samuel Walker (this is also the backstory to the Chuck Norris show 'Walker, Texas Ranger'). As the 1850's came along expansion into the "Wild West" began to soar with the discovery of gold in California. This pushed demand for guns to an all time high but would still be nothing compared to what lay just ahead. Connecticut's premier munitions manufacturers were all primed and ready for America's next war which, as many were predicting at the time, was just around the corner.

Even before the Civil War officially broke out Southern agents were roaming through New York and Connecticut in search of guns, and lots of them. They signed contract after contract for the production of rifles, pistols and other necessary military equipment, preparing for inevitable war after secession. Most of these contracts were signed before South Carolina, the first state to pull out of the Union, officially seceded. But once fighting broke out most of these manufacturers remained loyal to the Union and they rescinded these 'rebel' orders. But with money on the table, some companies couldn't resist and the orders were filled anyway. Hundreds of gun crates were loaded onto ships bound for southern ports and without an official sanction on southern exports there was little northern authorities could do to stop them.

The US government signed their first contract for firearms in May, 1861, a month after fighting broke out. Most of the nation thought the war wouldn't require full scale mobilization and so the slow response is understandable. By the outbreak of war, Colt's revolver had become very well known and he'd established his official operations in the Connecticut towns of New Haven and Hartford. Colt Manufacturing Company was awarded this first government contract for the production of 25,000 rifles for Union troops. This was indeed a small amount of rifles compared to what they would end up producing by war's end, producing some 100,000 firearms per year by 1865. 

Many other Connecticut towns boasted their own firearms manufacturing facilities as well. Norwich was considered to be "the firearms center of New England" and
throughout its history has boasted over 20 firearms and ammunition companies to this day. The well known Smith & Wesson brand originated here in 1852 when Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson designed their famous "volcanic" repeating pistol. Their first business had to be sold when it  ran into financial troubles but Smith and Wesson rebuilt their namesake brand a couple years later and manufactured repeating revolvers for Union troops. The man who bought Smith and Wesson's first business in 1852 was named Oliver Winchester, a shirt manufacturer in New Haven, but soon to be full time gun manufacturer. He created the well known Winchester Repeating Arms Company which produced what is perhaps the most recognizable rifle from the Wild West, widely used by both lawmen and bandits alike. The lawmen, of course, eventually civilized the frontier and the rifle became known as the "Gun That Won The West". 

Connecticut's gun industry boomed during the Civil War period with high demand lasting all the way into the late 19th century. With the simultaneous Westward expansion manufacturers adapted their style of guns to fit the atmosphere. The buffalo rifle, double barrel shotgun and single-action revolvers, the latter being the gun of choice by Wyatt Earp, were all produced with frontier living in mind. A large portion of the guns used in saloon brawls, shootouts, duels, and Indian fights came from Connecticut which by this time was the largest gun manufacturer in the US, earning its nickname as the "Arsenal of America." 

But for each gun manufacturing giant there were many "flash in the pan" gun makers who took advantage of Civil War demand and then fizzled out. The Norwich Arms Co. is one example which opened for business in 1862 for the primary purpose of supplying Union troops. During the 1870s in Norwich alone there existed the Bacon Arms Co., Norwich Arms Co., Norwich Pistol Co., Hood Firearms and Manhattan Arms Co., all of which were out of business by the 1880s. Towns such as Norwich, New Haven and Hartford weren't alone as many other Connecticut towns contained gun manufacturers of their own to supply the nation's vivacious demand.

To this day Connecticut has sustained it's legacy as the United States' premier manufacturer for military equipment. While regulations and the national mood have certainly changed, making the mood for less inviting for local gun markets, it has not diminished gun makers overall presence in Connecticut. With the addition helicopter and submarine manufacturing in recent times, Connecticut's role as a militarily oriented producer has gained the state both wealth and reputation, the latter of which not always being positive. Manufacturing is apart of Connecticut's history, production everything from doorbells, silk and candy to hats, pocket knives and clocks. It is through the lens of retrospection that we see the "Constitution State", highly resourceful and intuitive, and admire that entrepreneurial spirit which helped shape the outcome of American history.

References

Paterson, Gerard (2007, September 5). America’s Civil War: Arming the South With Guns From the North. URL

Richards, T. Addison. “The Norwich Arms.” In Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, edited by Henry Mills Alden, 28:450–65. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1864. URL.

New England Model Engineering Society. Guns of the Unites States Civil War. URL.

Hartford Business.com (2014, November 24). Gun Shy: Firearms makers anchored to CT. URL.

Powell, Stewart; Martin, Gary (2012, December 24). Connecticut has long, storied gun history. URL.