The Wilson Patent Breech Loading Rifle is one of the rarest and most sophisticated of the small arms imported by the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Thomas Wilson was an English engineer and inventor who registered no less than twenty-five British firearms patents between 1855 and 1868. However, Wilson appears only briefly in English directories as a “Gunmaker,” during the years 1861 and 1862. While pursuing that trade he was located at 45 Church Street in Birmingham. As a result, it is believed that most rifles manufactured using his patented designs were produced by other Birmingham gunmakers under license from Wilson. A similar licensing system was used to allow other makers to produce Adams’ patent revolvers and Webley’s patent “wedge frame” revolvers during same period. However, Wilson’s limited time as a manufacturer of firearms belies his significant influence on firearms design and development. His patented designs were utilized by many English gunmakers, and while firearms of his own actual manufacture are extremely scarce, the use of many of his designs was common during the mid-19th century.
British patent number 1318 of 1859 covered Wilson’s Breech Loading Rifle. The patent described a percussion ignition, breech-loading rifle that was ingeniously simple and extremely sturdy. A simple “bolt” was located at the breech end of the barrel and secured by a transverse wedge, similar to an extremely oversized Colt pistol wedge. To load the gun, the wedge was drawn outward, away from the lock plate. When pulled out sufficiently, the wedge freed the simple bolt to be drawn backwards and exposed the chamber for loading. The bolt had a pivoting, fish tail shaped, checkered piece at its rear that gave the operator a firm grasping area for opening the bolt and a large target to slam the bolt closed when using the palm of his hand.
A combustible cartridge was inserted in the chamber and the bolt slammed home to seat the cartridge. A greased felt wad in the bottom of the cartridge insured the chamber sealed completely and did not leak gas when the cartridge was fired. The locking wedge was then pushed back into the bolt, securing it and locking the action tightly. At this point the hammer could be placed on half cock, and a percussion cap placed upon the cone (nipple). The rifle was then fired like any traditional percussion ignition rifle.
The placement and design of the wedge insured safety, as the hammer had to be in the fired position for the wedge to be moved. When the wedge was withdrawn, or was not completely seated into the bolt, the hammer could not be moved at all and was blocked in the fired position. This eliminated any potential for an accidental discharge while loading the rifle, or firing the gun without having the bolt completely in battery.
Wilson produced the arms in two calibers, 28 Bore (.551) and 56 Bore (.451), and in three patterns: rifle musket (39 inch barrel), rifle (33 inch barrel) and carbine (21 inch barrel). All variants were rifled with 5-grooves, which made one complete turn in the length of the barrel of the .551 caliber arms (regardless of the actual barrel length) or 1 turn in 21 inches for the .451 caliber guns. The guns were offered with either iron or brass mountings; the cost averaged between £8 and £10 each, depending on mountings and barrel lengths. The brass mounted guns were slightly less expensive than iron mounted ones.
As with any major firearms innovation of the era, the goal of Wilson’s invention was to obtain military contracts that could be very profitable due to the volume of sales involved. In fact, initial press regarding his breechloading rifle suggested that his design was superior to both major contemporary English competitors; the Westley Richards and Terry’s patent breechloaders. It was also implied that the mechanism’s simplicity might enable the British Ordnance Department to easily convert their existing stores of Pattern 1853 muzzleloading rifle muskets into breechloaders. In an attempt to secure those potentially lucrative British Ordnance Department contracts, Wilson submitted one of his percussion breech loading rifles to the Ordnance Select Committee for testing. As noted in their Aug. 1, 1860, report, they found the mechanism ingenious and reported upon it positively, but found the accuracy of the arms left much to be desired.
The problem was the ammunition. As the beech was sealed with a greased felt wad in the bottom of each cartridge, the wad remained in the bore after the cartridge was fired. This meant that the next cartridge fired left the bore with the former cartridge’s wad stuck to the nose of the bullet. This resulted in erratic accuracy, as the wad often interfered with bullet as it left the muzzle, causing it to heel and yaw, having a detrimental effect upon the aerodynamic design of the projectile. It is worth noting that the American Greene Patent Rifle had the same shortcoming in its ammunition design, a fact that effectively prevented the general adoption of a breechloading percussion rifle in America. The British Ordnance Committee was, however, so impressed with the mechanical part of the design that they requested Wilson alter two P1853 Enfield rifle muskets and one Whitworth rifle to his system for further trials.
The P1853s were fired for accuracy at 300, 500, and 800 yards prior to alteration, so their accuracy after the alteration could be compared to their original muzzleloading configuration. Again, the same problem reared its ugly head, and the March 26, 1861 report from the committee noted that the wild and capricious shooting of the converted Enfield is mainly owing to the action of this wad on the apex of the bullet, immediately on the latter leaving the barrel. The committee further noted that the accuracy of the Whitworth was less impaired, and they attributed this fact to the smaller caliber, faster rate of twist of the rifling, and the longer bearing length of the bullet. These results may be why Wilson only offered his arms in calibers smaller than the typical British 25 Bore (.577) musket caliber of the period.
Wilson never completely gave up on obtaining British Ordnance contracts, as he submitted six altered P1853 Enfields for the Ordnance Board’s breechloading rifle trials in 1864. Although his design again received high scores, the lack of accuracy due to the ammunition design resulted in the Snider system being adopted for altering British military arms from muzzleloading to breechloading. Interestingly, Wilson held patents that in his words “anticipated” the Snider system, and he sued the War Office for £5,000, but agreed to a settlement payment of only £500, which suggests that the War Office certainly felt that his claim had at least some merit.
With the rejection of his design by the Ordnance Select Committee in early 1861, Wilson pursued sales with the newly formed Confederate States. It is not clear exactly how many Wilson breechloading rifles were obtained by the Confederacy, and to date only seven Wilson “short rifles” are known to exist in the United States. Three are iron mounted, 56 Bore (.451) rifles and have an “A” prefix before their serial numbers. The serial numbers include A12 (Springfield Armory Collection), A29 (ex- George Wray Collection, now at the Atlanta History Center), and the highest known serial number A84 (private collection). These three surviving examples suggest that this series of rifles may have only been 100 units. Interestingly, A84 is additionally marked “CSN” and has provenance to the CSS Shenandoah. These guns are dated 1860 and have been arbitrarily termed “early” Wilson rifles by researchers.
A single, 1861 dated 28 Bore (.551) caliber rifle is known. It is a brass mounted rifle and has the serial number 221, without a prefix. It has been arbitrarily termed a “transitional” Wilson, although it is likely a concurrent production rifle with other .451 caliber rifles, simply in a different caliber. This rifle appears to have been produced by Wilson himself, and bears a (CROWN) / TW mark on the breech, signifying Thomas Wilson. The final Reverse of Transitional Wilson Rifle with “Fish Tail” lever in the up position to provide a gripped surface for opening, or extra leverage for closing.
Transitional Wilson Rifle #221 showing the (CROWN)/TW trademark of Thomas Wilson, the Wilson’s Patent mark, and the open breech with wedge withdrawn.
three rifles known are also brass mounted and dated 1863 on their locks. They have been arbitrarily designated “late” rifles. Two of these guns are 56 Bore (.451) and one is 28 Bore (.551). These “late” rifles have serial numbers that begin with “2A,” suggesting another production run from the original “A” series, and have serial numbers in the 50XX range. These numbers far exceed the total output of Wilson breech loading rifles (both by himself and other makers), which is believed to be a few hundred at most, including a small order of carbines for Tasmania placed in 1864.
The serial numbering system may have been allocated in blocks, much like Adams revolvers, with certain makers receiving certain blocks of numbers to work within. This made tracking patent royalties easier. As Wilson himself only produced a very limited number of guns over a time frame of less than two years, this would easily explain the odd 50XX serial numbers. The prefix system may refer to the type of arm, with “A” series guns being iron mounted, and “2A” guns being brass mounted, although this does not account for the “no prefix” example made by Wilson.
Of the extant examples, dates on all 1860 rifles are stamped on the lock, as are the 1863 dated guns, while the single .551 rifle dated 1861 has an engraved lock plate date. All the rifles are marked T WILSON’S / PATENT on the top of the bolt and have standard Birmingham commercial proofs. The arms all follow the basic design of the British Pattern 1856 and Pattern 1858 rifles, with the exception of the breechloading mechanism. The rifles have 33 inch barrels with rear sights graduated to 1,100 yards. Sling swivels are located on the upper barrel band and either on the rear of the triggerguard tang or in the toe of the stock of the first two patterns of rifles, and on the front of the triggerguard of the late pattern.
The rifles have lugs on the right side of the barrel to accept a bayonet. It has long been disputed whether the rifles took an English Pattern 1859 Navy Cutlass bayonet, or a conventional Pattern 1856 Short Rifle saber bayonet. The muzzle ring of the cutlass bayonet is sized to fit the thicker P1858 Naval Rifle, so it is too big for the muzzle of the Wilson rifles. However, the previously mentioned rifle A84 is accompanied by a Pattern 1859 cutlass bayonet numbered A84 and has had its muzzle ring bushed to fit the smaller rifle barrel. The British were known to have bushed older P1853 socket bayonets for use with the later production Martini Henry rifles, so this is not unheard of. However, my personal experimentation known Wilson rifles confirms that these arms accepted the standard P1856 saber bayonet. The early and late pattern arms have lugs without a lead that could have accepted either the cutlass style or standard saber style pommel, while the “transitional” rifle has a keyed lug, designed to accept only a Pattern 1856 Type I saber bayonet.
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Tim Prince is a full-time dealer in fine & collectible military arms from the Colonial Period through WWII. He operates College Hill Arsenal, a web-based antique arms retail site.
A long time collector & researcher, Tim has been a contributing author to two major book projects about Civil War era arms including The English Connection and a new book on southern retailer marked and Confederate used shotguns. Tim is also a featured Arms & Militaria appraiser on the PBS Series Antiques Roadshow.