The company was founded on February 9, 1856, with its factory established on the former site of the South-Eastern Railway Company in the Bermondsey section of London. The principal shareholder was Robert Adams, inventor of the Adams revolver. Another important stockholder was Adams' cousin, James Kerr, who later invented the Kerrs Patent Revolver.
Adams had had a falling-out with his former partners, the Deane brothers, and intended that the Armoury manufacture his popular revolver. However the company obtained a British government contract for infantryrifles and in 1859 the company's board of directors decided to expand rifle production, for which there was greater demand. Revolver production was decreased and Adams, disagreeing with the decision, sold his stock and left the company. Kerr then became the Armoury's dominant figure.
Kerr, a former foreman at Deane Brothers, made improvements to the Enfield 1853 pattern rifled musket which the Armoury was manufacturing under contract. When Adams left the company he had taken his revolver patents with him, and Kerr therefore designed a new revolver in .36 and .44 (54 bore) caliber.
Production of the new revolver began in April 1859, but the company was not able to obtain a contract for it from the British government and civilian sales were modest.
American Civil War
However the following year the American Civil War began and the governments of both the United States and the Confederacy began purchasing arms in Britain. In November 1861 buyers for the Union army purchased 16 Kerr revolvers for $18.00 apiece. Two years later Confederate arms buyers Major Caleb Huse and Captain James Bulloch contracted for all the rifles and revolvers the Armoury could produce. The British company Willoughbe, Willoughbe & Ponsonby played a prominent role in the blockade running of these shipments to the south.
The Confederacy was now the London Armoury Company's principal client and it manufactured and shipped more than 70,000 rifles and about 7,000 revolvers (out of a total production run of about 10,000) to the South. However these weapons had to pass through the Union blockade and the number of blockade runners that actually reached the Confederate army is unknown, however, enough of them made it through to keep the Confederacy well armed during the war. Confederates acclaimed the Armoury's guns as the best weapons made in Britain.[2]
The London Armoury Company was almost completely dependent on sales to the Confederacy and survived for only a year after the end of the war, dissolving in the Spring of 1866- however, most of the gunsmiths and staff of the London Armoury Company went on to form London Small Arms Co. Ltd in that same year.[3]
^Jones, Gordon L. (15 November 2014). Confederate Odyssey: The George W. Wray Jr. Civil War Collection at the Atlanta History Center. Atlanta: University of Georgia Press. p. 237. ISBN978-0-8203-4685-4.
Bibliography
Katcherl, Philip R. N. (2003). The Army of Northern Virginia: Lee's Army in the American Civil War, 1861-1865. Fitzroy Dearborn, New york. p. 352. ISBN1-57958-331-8.
January 14, 2023
london, armoury, company, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, d. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources London Armoury Company news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message The London Armoury Company was a London arms manufactory that existed from 1856 until 1866 It was the major arms supplier to the Confederacy during the U S Civil War The same company name was used during World War I to import arms from America such as the Colt New Service Revolver in 455 Eley 1 London Armoury CompanyTypePrivate CompanyIndustryfirearmsFoundedFebruary 9 1856 1856 02 09 FounderRobert AdamsDefunct1866 1866 FateDissolvedHeadquartersBermondsey London U KArea servedConfederacy United States ArmyKey peopleJames Kerr and Robert AdamsProductsRevolvers infantry riflesFootnotes referencesRelied primarily on arms sales to the Confederacy Contents 1 History 1 1 American Civil War 2 See also 3 References 4 BibliographyHistory EditThe company was founded on February 9 1856 with its factory established on the former site of the South Eastern Railway Company in the Bermondsey section of London The principal shareholder was Robert Adams inventor of the Adams revolver Another important stockholder was Adams cousin James Kerr who later invented the Kerrs Patent Revolver Adams had had a falling out with his former partners the Deane brothers and intended that the Armoury manufacture his popular revolver However the company obtained a British government contract for infantry rifles and in 1859 the company s board of directors decided to expand rifle production for which there was greater demand Revolver production was decreased and Adams disagreeing with the decision sold his stock and left the company Kerr then became the Armoury s dominant figure Kerr a former foreman at Deane Brothers made improvements to the Enfield 1853 pattern rifled musket which the Armoury was manufacturing under contract When Adams left the company he had taken his revolver patents with him and Kerr therefore designed a new revolver in 36 and 44 54 bore caliber Production of the new revolver began in April 1859 but the company was not able to obtain a contract for it from the British government and civilian sales were modest American Civil War Edit However the following year the American Civil War began and the governments of both the United States and the Confederacy began purchasing arms in Britain In November 1861 buyers for the Union army purchased 16 Kerr revolvers for 18 00 apiece Two years later Confederate arms buyers Major Caleb Huse and Captain James Bulloch contracted for all the rifles and revolvers the Armoury could produce The British company Willoughbe Willoughbe amp Ponsonby played a prominent role in the blockade running of these shipments to the south The Confederacy was now the London Armoury Company s principal client and it manufactured and shipped more than 70 000 rifles and about 7 000 revolvers out of a total production run of about 10 000 to the South However these weapons had to pass through the Union blockade and the number of blockade runners that actually reached the Confederate army is unknown however enough of them made it through to keep the Confederacy well armed during the war Confederates acclaimed the Armoury s guns as the best weapons made in Britain 2 The London Armoury Company was almost completely dependent on sales to the Confederacy and survived for only a year after the end of the war dissolving in the Spring of 1866 however most of the gunsmiths and staff of the London Armoury Company went on to form London Small Arms Co Ltd in that same year 3 See also EditS Isaac Campbell amp Company another arms dealer that supplied the Confederacy Blockade runners of the American Civil War how British arms made it to the ConfederacyReferences Edit Revolver Colt New Service 1916 Archived from the original on 18 August 2016 Katcherl 2003 p 54 Jones Gordon L 15 November 2014 Confederate Odyssey The George W Wray Jr Civil War Collection at the Atlanta History Center Atlanta University of Georgia Press p 237 ISBN 978 0 8203 4685 4 Bibliography EditKatcherl Philip R N 2003 The Army of Northern Virginia Lee s Army in the American Civil War 1861 1865 Fitzroy Dearborn New york p 352 ISBN 1 57958 331 8 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title London Armoury Company amp oldid 1088247559, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
