Benjamin Tyler Henry
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Tyler Henry was an American
gunsmith
and manufacturer. He was the inventor of the Henry rifle
, the first reliable lever-action repeating rifle
.
Henry was hired by Oliver Winchester at the New Haven Arms Company in the late 1850s to improve the design of the Volcanic repeating rifle. On October 16, 1860, he received a patent
on the Henry .44 caliber repeating rifle, which soon proved the worth of the lever-action design on the battlefields of the American Civil War
, where Henry rifles were used alongside muzzle-loading rifled musket
s such as the Springfield Model 1861
. (The first Henry rifles were not produced for army use until mid-1862.)
Benjamin Tyler Henry continued to work at the Winchester Repeating Arms Company until at least 1873.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
gunsmith
Gunsmith
A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds firearms. This occupation is different from an armorer. The armorer primarily maintains weapons and limited repairs involving parts replacement and possibly work involving accurization...
and manufacturer. He was the inventor of the Henry rifle
Henry rifle
The Henry repeating rifle was a lever-action, breech-loading, tubular magazine rifle.-History:The original Henry rifle was a .44 caliber rimfire, lever-action, breech-loading rifle designed by Benjamin Tyler Henry in the late 1850s. The Henry rifle was an improved version of the earlier Volcanic...
, the first reliable lever-action repeating rifle
Repeating rifle
A repeating rifle is a single barreled rifle containing multiple rounds of ammunition. These rounds are loaded from a magazine by means of a manual or automatic mechanism, and the action that reloads the rifle also typically recocks the firing action...
.
Henry was hired by Oliver Winchester at the New Haven Arms Company in the late 1850s to improve the design of the Volcanic repeating rifle. On October 16, 1860, he received a patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
on the Henry .44 caliber repeating rifle, which soon proved the worth of the lever-action design on the battlefields of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, where Henry rifles were used alongside muzzle-loading rifled musket
Rifled musket
The term rifled musket or rifle musket refers to a specific type of weapon made in the mid-19th century. Originally the term referred only to muskets that had been produced as a smoothbore weapon and later had their barrels rifled...
s such as the Springfield Model 1861
Springfield Model 1861
The Springfield Model 1861 was a Minié-type rifled musket shoulder arm used by the United States Army and Marine Corps during the American Civil War. Commonly referred to as the "Springfield" , it was the most widely used U.S...
. (The first Henry rifles were not produced for army use until mid-1862.)
Benjamin Tyler Henry continued to work at the Winchester Repeating Arms Company until at least 1873.