Christopher Miner Spencer | |
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| Born | Christopher Miner Spencer (1833-06-20)June 20, 1833 |
| Died | January 14, 1922(1922-01-14) (aged 88) |
| Occupation | Weapons designer |
| Children | Percival H. Spencer |
Christopher Miner Spencer (June 20, 1833 – January 14, 1922) was an Americaninventor, fromManchester, Connecticut, who invented theSpencer repeating rifle, one of the earliest models of lever-action rifle, asteam powered "horseless carriage", and several other inventions. He developed the firstfully automatic turret lathe,[1] which in its small- to medium-sized form is also known as a screw machine.
Spencer worked forSamuel Colt’s factory, where he learned the arms-making trade.[2]
Although the Spencer rifle had been developed as early as 1859, it was not initially used by theUnion. On August 18, 1863, Christopher Spencer walked into theWhite House carrying one of hisrifles and a supply ofcartridges. He walked past the sentries, and intoAbraham Lincoln's office. After some discussion, he returned the following afternoon, when Spencer and Lincoln were joined byEdwin Stanton,Secretary of War and other officials, and the group then proceeded to walk out on theMall. Near the site of theWashington Monument, they engaged intarget shooting.
Subsequent to that meeting, the US ordered some 13,171 rifles andcarbines, along with some 58 million rounds ofammunition. GeneralUlysses S. Grant declared Spencer rifles "the best breech-loading arms available". Total wartime production approached 100,000 rifles. Many veterans took these rifles home with them after the war and their rifles saw widespread use on the western frontier. With so many military surplus rifles available, there was little post-war demand for new rifles; and Spencer was unable to recover investments made in manufacturing machinery.Spencer Repeating Rifle Company declaring bankruptcy in 1868; and assets were acquired byOliver Winchester for $200,000 in 1869.[3]
In 1868, while at the Roper Repeating Arms Company inAmherst, Massachusetts, he worked withCharles E. Billings,[2] andSylvester H. Roper. After Roper's firearms company failed, and the following year, 1869, Billings and Spencer founded a partnership inHartford, Connecticut calledBillings & Spencer,[2] which would manufacturesewing machines, drop-forgedhand tools, andmachine tools.
Around 1882, Spencer started a new company, theSpencer Arms Company, in Windsor, Connecticut. Its most remarkable product was likely the Spencer Pump-Action Shotgun. Produced between 1882 and 1889, this was the first commercially successful slide-action (or pump-action) shotgun, theSpencer 1882. Most were manufactured in 12-gauge with 10-gauge being an uncommon variant. Once again faced with financial hardships, Spencer's company and his patents were purchased circa 1890 byFrancis Bannerman & Sons of New York who continued to manufacture his shotgun until around 1907.
The Civil War TV mini-series,The Blue and the Gray, features a reenactment of Abraham Lincoln's test of the Spencer rifle, withGregory Peck as Lincoln andDavid Rounds as Christopher Spencer.
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