Unsigned guns

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

When I was an apprentice carpenter to my first father-in-law he made me sign.........every hammer track I left on a stud!!!

[Ken G]

Guys, this has been a very educational thread to me.  Thanks for all the thoughts and opinions.  I had not thought about retribution during the war.  That really makes sense to me.   
Ken

[The other DWS]

I'd be interested in any documentation references to gunsmiths being especially singled out for retribution---because of being gunsmiths.

I've read primary sourced accounts people being targeted for political opinions, because they had more "stuff" to plunder (probably the most common, and a well off gunsmith/merchant might fit in here), family, religious, or ethnic reasons.  However I've not seen much about occupational targeting--other than preachers and priests in religion based violence----and of course everyone hated lawyers and government/tax officials.

I'm not saying it didn't happen, and its sounds logical from our remove and I'd like to learn more.

[mbriggs]

To take this one step further.  There is a tradition that I have both heard about and read about in my area that a gunsmith by the name of Matthew Osborne lived and worked in the Centre Meeting House Community on the Guilford and Randolph County line during the Revolutionary War Period.  (Bill Ivey and I refer to guns made in this School as the Lower Deep River style.)

Osborne supposedly made guns for many of his neighbors.  Word reached him that a number of his neighbors had joined the local patriot militia and had fought at the near by Battle of Guilford Courthouse.

Osborne became so upset by this that he went around and purchased most of his rifles back and broke the stocks so they could not be used in this manner again.

I have never seen a signed Matthew Osborne Longrifle, but there are a number of unsigned early longrifles from this School.

Michael 

[The other DWS]

Michael, Historians run into a lot of anecdotal material that has crept into local lore.  Much of our nation's 18th century history was lost, forgotten or swept under the rug until the national Centennial in 1876.  At that time all sorts of Pioneer-y stuff became fashionable and trendy.   At about the same time the wood-pulp process for paper made publishing downright cheap.  A couple of big publishing houses hit on the idea of publishing "local' or "county" histories.  they usually tapped a local dignitary with long time--preferably pioneer--family connections to do the "writing"  usually with copious help from ghost writers.  While some of the local writers were indeed skilled and talented historians most basically went around and collected the family traditions of their social peers.  there was almost NO effort made to actually search the historic document records.  (A major problem because of courthouse fires--especially in the south which also suffered from war damage).

The result of all of this is that a lot of family and local tradition/legend/myth got institutionalized by these old  commercial histories.  After all if its in a big fancy book written by old judge whats-his-name its gotta be true--right???  (I spent 5 years working as an editor for one of the better commercial local history publishing outfits--and it still works exactly the same way today--except a lot more pictures are used)

Today we do have better access to some types of preserved records that can help confirm stories or disprove them.  Check the state and federal tax and census records to see if your gunsmith existed, if so when and where.  check old newspapers in libraries and university microfilms for possible advertisements all sorts of stuff like that.  If he was a Crown supported he may have had to emigrate to Canada. there has been a lot of research done on the Tory influx, including court records and reparation claim data.  you might be able to come up with some really interesting data

[Dphariss]

To take this one step further.  There is a tradition that I have both heard about and read about in my area that a gunsmith by the name of Matthew Osborne lived and worked in the Centre Meeting House Community on the Guilford and Randolph County line during the Revolutionary War Period.  (Bill Ivey and I refer to guns made in this School as the Lower Deep River style.)

Osborne supposedly made guns for many of his neighbors.  Word reached him that a number of his neighbors had joined the local patriot militia and had fought at the near by Battle of Guilford Courthouse.

Osborne became so upset by this that he went around and purchased most of his rifles back and broke the stocks so they could not be used in this manner again.

I have never seen a signed Matthew Osborne Longrifle, but there are a number of unsigned early longrifles from this School.

Michael 

This then begs the question; "Why would anyone sell their rifle/gun, for any price, at a time like this?"
Then there was the fact that some the "patriot militia" might come around an solve all his problems for him for supporting the crown.
See Col. Hanger's quote on pg 76 of "The Frontier Rifleman" where he writes of people traveling 200 miles to kill someone from the opposite side. "He would shoot him before his own door and ride away to boast of what he had done..."
Similar things are related in "Colonial Riflemen in the American Revolution" specifically pg 53 in the chapter on the Southern Campaigns.

Dan

[The other DWS]

If I'm interpreting the "meeting house" reference correctly he was of a Quaker/Mennonitish-type community right?  Signing his guns might have been against his un-prideful principles and rather than a loyalist he would have probably been a pacifist.   As I recall it the more devout members of these sects would use/build guns for hunting but did not approve of their use for anti-human violence.

  Perhaps a sometime stated wish that his firearms had not been used against fellow men later got  2+2=22ed into a historically implausible local tradition.   I've seen this sort of thing happen way too often

[mbriggs]

You are correct.  Matthew Osborne was a Quaker and lived in a community of Quakers.  He was therefore a pacifist and ojected to the rifles he made being used in the local battle by his neighbors.

The other local legend is that a local Quaker man with the last name of Mendenhall left to go on a several day hunting trip, but actually went to fight in the battle.  When he came home with no game, he was asked why he was empty handed an responded "that the game I killed was not worth bringing home."

Michael