Figure 6. — Rifle torch, 1880. 

 (Smithsonian photo 46685-A.) 



Figure 7. — Platform torch, 1861 

 (Smithsonian photo 49457-A.) 



RIFLE TORCH, 1 860 AND 1 880 Figure 6 



USJ\i'M 15386 (Unexcelled Fireworks accession) 



This very interesting torch of the 1860 vintage is 

 made as a replica of the Civil War musket and similar 

 to that claimed to have iseen used by the "Wide 

 Awakes" of I860.' It is composed almost completely 

 of wood with metal fittings. The muskets were very 

 lightweight and if the common swivel-type torch was 

 affixed to the barrel, the torch had a tendency to 

 become top-heavy. Thus, the torch proved clumsy 

 for the manual of arms; also, when tilted at various 

 angles, the reserve burning fluid would spill and the 

 flame would be adversely affected. Manv collectors 



' J. Doyle DeWitt, America Goes to the Polls (Hartford, 

 Connecticut: The Travelers Insurance Companies. August 

 1960). 



believe the torch illustrated in figure 6 to be of the 

 1860 period; however, the writer feels that the earlier 

 ones did have the swivel-type torch bowl such as the 

 one found illustrated in the cited reference in footnote 

 1, rather than the stationary tube type illustrated in 

 figure 6. The end of the barrel of the illustrated 

 torch seems to suggest a later date, for a torch of this 

 type was not actually patented until 1880.^ Made 

 primarily of wood and metal, this torch is 54 inches 

 long including the wick. The stock, made of wood 

 and forming part of the barrel, measures 40}^ inches. 

 The muzzle of the barrel is made of tin. The trigger 

 guard and the imitation percussion lock are both made 

 of metal; the percussion lock was of the type used in 

 military weapons from 1855-1863. 



- .See figure 27 on page 27 of this study for the patent 

 of G. D. .Smith on the rifle torch. 



20 



BULLETIN 24 1: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



