Kentucky Rifle
Type: Kentucky
Maker: L. T. Lilly?
Model: N/A
Year: c. 1855
Age: C. 1855
Caliber: .30
Serial: N/A
Description: P. T. Lilly maker was originally began gunsmithing in Carmichaels, PA but left hurriedly after being discovered a Southern sympathizer.This fine Kentucky rifle has a half stock of tiger maple in an even patina and finish. Brass patch box replicates a metal powder flask, is outlined with engraving and has a silver cover with compass point engraving. The whole outlined in an engraved string band inlay of silver. An American shield, triangle, pin escutcheons, large fore-stock, eagle, cheek guard, drop and PA. tulips in a pinwheel form are all inlaid silver with engraving. The maker's name P. T. Lilly is engraved on top of the barrel.
Provenance: FL estate
Size: 36" bbl, overall 52"
Weight: 9 pounds
Condition/Bore: One small age check in the stock, two silver wires representing stems of the tulips missing. Light Rust in bore. Fine even patina. Folding site is a later addition.
History: The longrifle developed on the American frontier in south eastern Pennsylvania, in the early 1700s. It continued to be developed technically and artistically until it passed out of fashion in the 19th century. Strong pockets of longrifle use and manufacture continued in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and North Carolina well into the 20th century as a practical and efficient firearm for those rural segments of the nation. Longrifles could be made entirely by hand and hand-operated tooling, in a frontier setting.The longrifle was the product of German gunsmiths who immigrated to new settlements in south eastern Pennsylvania in the early 1700s, and later in Virginia and other territories. Tax records from these locales indicate the dates these gunsmiths were in business.Initially the weapon of choice on the frontier was the smooth bore musket, or trade gun, built in factories in England and France and shipped to the colonies for purchase. Gradually, longrifles became more popular due to their longer effective range. While the smooth bore musket had an effective range of less than 100 yards, a rifleman could hit a man-sized target at a range of 200 yards or more. The price for this accuracy was longer reloading time. While the musket could be reloaded in approximately 20 seconds, the longrifle required more time for the average hunter.In Pennsylvania, the earliest gunsmiths that can be documented are Robert Baker and Martin Meylin. Robert Baker formed a partnership with his son, Caleb and on August 15, 1719 erected a gun boring mill on Peques Creek. In the tax records of Berks County, Pennsylvania, there were several gunsmiths plying their trade along the banks of the Wyomissing Creek.Martin Mylin Gunshop was built in 1719, and it is here that the Mennonite gunsmith of Swiss-German heritage crafted some the earliest, and possibly the first, Pennsylvania Rifles. The Martin Mylin Gunshop still stands today in Willow Street, Pennsylvania, on Long Rifle Road. The Lancaster County Historical Society has an original Pennsylvania Long Rifle smithed by Meylin that was passed down within the family for seven generations before being donated to the society in the middle of the twentieth century. A document describing the history of Meylin, the Gunshop, and archeology of the shop is available online from Millersville University.Some historians have written that the role of Martin Meylin as one of the earliest gunsmiths in Lancaster is not clear. The argument is that the will of Martin Meylin, Sr. makes no mention of gunsmith items while the will of Martin Meylin, Jr. is replete with gunsmith items, and thus the reference to Meylin as a gunsmith is more properly placed on the son.There is documentation stating that the first high quality 'Kentucky rifles' were from a gunsmith named Jacob Dickert, who moved with his family from Germany to Berks County, Pennsylvania in 1740. The name 'Dickert Rifle' was considered a 'brand name' and the name 'Kentucky rifle' was not coined until much later in history (circa 1820s) and became the more broadly accepted nickname of this rifle. The reason for this is primarily because Dickert made rifles for the Continental Army and later had a contract dated 1792 to furnish rifles to the United States Army. There are internet references to a "Deckhard or Deckard Rifle", which is inaccurate, as there are no borough, township, or city tax records to support this name at that period of time and/or location.Among documented working rifle makers are Adam Haymaker, who had a thriving trade in the northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, and the Moravian gunshops at Christian's Spring in Pennsylvania and in the Salem area of North Carolina. All three areas were busy and productive centers of rifle making by the 1750s. The Great Wagon Road was a bustling frontier thoroughfare, and rifle shops traced this same route - from eastern Pennsylvania, down the Shenandoah Valley, and spilling into both the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky and the Yadkin River (Salem) area of North Carolina.The settlers of western Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina soon gained a reputation for hardy independence and rifle marksmanship as a way of life, further reinforced by the performance of riflemen in the American Revolution, especially Morgan's Riflemen, who were pivotal in both the Battle of Saratoga and the Battle of Cowpens, as well as the War of 1812. In that war, the long rifle gained its more famous nickname the Kentucky Rifle, after a popular song "The Hunters of Kentucky," about Andrew Jackson and his victory at the Battle of New Orleans.The reason for the American rifle's characteristic long barrel is a matter of adaptation to the new world by the German immigrant gunsmiths. The German gunsmiths working in America were very familiar with German rifles, which seldom had barrels longer than 30 in., and were large caliber rifles using large amounts of lead. The new world forests were vast and required hunters to carry more of their supplies with them. The smaller caliber rifles gave them more ammunition and reduced the amount of weight they needed to carry on a hunt. The longer barrel gave the black powder more time to burn, increasing the muzzle velocity and accuracy. A rule of thumb used by some gunsmiths was to make the rifle no longer than the height of a customer's chin because of the necessity of seeing the muzzle while loading. The longer barrel also allowed for finer sighting. By the 1750s it was common to see frontiersmen carrying the new and distinctive style of rifle.