Here are several details that help identify original Washington Hatfield rifles:
1. Cheekpiece - Stock architecture remained much the same over Hatfield's working years. The most consistent detail on ALL Hatfield rifles is the cheekpiece. All known Hatfield rifles have virtually the same cheekpiece, from his early work to his late work. Cheek is relative short, sits rather low on the butt compared to other rifles, and has a single bold molding line across the bottom edge.
2. Chevron Nose Cap - This is the best known Hatfield "trademark" on full-stocked, iron mounted rifles. His standard cast pewter cap design had three chevrons slanting downward as they ran forward. The chevrons anchored on a slightly narrower strip running along the top edges of the barrel, and on a third strip that served as center line at the bottom. A key detail was the several triangular "teeth" that extended rearward off the back edge of the chevron nose cap, perhaps three or four on either side. The pattern remained consistent up until he began making half-stocked rifles, at which time he began casting more conventional solid pewter nose caps to go with his increased use of commerical brass mountings.
3. Side plate [or lock bolt washer]: Hatfield used a modified style of the inverted "T" Tennessee lock bolt plate. He tapered both ends of the "T" downward into points, at times with a slight dip on either side of the lock bolt. His early lock bolt plates were wider, and they narrowed as time passed. He eventually went to his late style washer where the two arms were mere pointed bumps, almost making the lock bolt washer look like a low bell shape. Early rifles most often had iron lock bolt washers, but later rifles used brass more often. Note: There are two known rifles with more elaborate iron side plates shaped like an arrow pointing forward with a swirled tail, but these only appear on on family-related rifles so far as we know today and are extremely rare.
4. Side facings - had slight hint of a point at the ends, but not pronounced. Most important detail was the rear side facing, which ran straight out after dipping around the lock bolt, without any small step in it as was/is often seen on other makers' rifles.
5. Rear Pipe - Hatfield at times used a TN style rear pipe, and at other times a more conventional rear pipe. When he used a TN style rear pipe, it consisted of a pipe without flange/tail butted against a flat face where rod entered grip area. At times [not always] he would reinforce the thin forestock wood just behind/below the rear pipe by adding a single band of sheet brass about 1/3 to 1/2 the width of the rear pipe. The reinforcement ran about a third of the way up each side of the forestock. No known original Hatfield rifle has wider bands, or a second band behind the first, or any type of engraving on the reinforcing band.
Hatfield's later rifles, probably mid-to-late 1850s and later, went to commerical brass mountings including guard and rear pipe, and a conventional cast pewter nose cap. These later guns can vary more than his early work, but his basic stock architecture remained the same - lean with straight comb and toe lines in a triangular butt style. His butt curvature became a somewhat deeper cresent shape, but he seemed to avoid the extreme pointed toes and extended heels of some later makers. But his standard Hatfield-style cheekpiece remained the same, and was his most consistent "marker" detail.
This brief identification guide doesn't mean we've seen everything, or know everything, with regard to Hatfield rifles. But it does mean that of the positively identified Hatfield rifles, these specific details are present, and should be looked for when trying to identify or attribute a new rifle to Washington Hatfield. Shelby Gallien
