the lock still interests me. Merritt Roe Smith, in Harpers Ferry and the New Technology states:
One of the most serious displays of hostility toward new arrivals occurred when Nahum W. Patch, a lock filer, came to Harpers Ferry from Springfield in 1822. After a few months' employment the New Englander was temporarily designated by Stubblefield as an inspector of lock mechanisms at the Musket Factory. He must have performed his job well because the superintendent made the appointment permanent in August 1823. Soon afterward lock filers began to complain to Armistead Beckham "that the inspection was too close and their price too low to do the work" as well as Patch wanted it done. The master armorer attempted to appease these workmen by raising the piece rate on finished locks from twenty-one to twenty-five cents. At the same time he told Patch "to have the work done well, and not to receive bad work." Except for some heated verbal exchanges between Patch and several older craft-trained artisans, the uneasy truce lasted until April 20, 1825, when, amid the cheers of his co-workers, an irate filer named Henry Stipes assaulted the inspector for having rejected some of his work. Although Patch lost a tooth in the fray, his pride seemed to be hurt more than anything else. Consequently when Stubblefield summarily dismissed both men without a hearing, the discredited New Englander went to Washington to seek redress at the Ordnance Department.
page 159, I believe
