Development of Precision Manufacturing at the Springfield Armory

Image 301 of The war of the nations : portfolio in rotogravure etchings : compiled from the Mid-week pictorial (New York), 1919

Teaching Notes

Headline: Speeding Up American Production of War Munitions

Caption (lower photo): Parts of rifles being assembled at the government armory at Springfield, Mass., which has a capacity of a thousand complete rifles a day. The Springfield rifle is considered the most effective in the world.

Date: 1919

Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/resource/collgdc.gc000037/?sp=301&q=springfield+armory&r=-0.08,0.691,1.344,0.775,0

Reference note

Summary: Contains 1,398 rotogravure images with brief descriptive captions, broad organizational headings, and a table of contents; 32 maps that describe military engagements throughout the war; and a 3-page appendix that provides a chronology, statistics, treaty excerpts, and highlights of wartime events.
Contributor Names: Library of Congress
Created / Published: New York : New York Times, Co., 1919.
Subject Headings: - World War, 1914-1918--Pictorial works
- United States--New York--New York
Genre: Rotogravures--1910-1920
Notes: - At head of title: 1914-1919.
- Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress Web site; forms the bulk of the American Memory collection "Newspaper pictorials."
Digital Id: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/collgdc.gc000037

Spanish-American War prompts increased production: Image 2 of New York journal and advertiser (New York [N.Y.]), July 22, 1898

Teaching Notes

The New York journal and Advertiser (New York [N.Y.]), July 22, 1898 had many headlines related to the Spanish-American war developments in Cuba and the Philippines.

Headline: Magazine Rifles for Volunteers - Springfield Armory to Turn Out the Modern Weapons. TO HAVE NEW MACHINERY. General Flagler Orders Improvements in the Works.

Article reports on production, funding appropriations, and shipment quantities of rifles sent the previous evening.

Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/resource/sn83030180/1898-07-22/ed-1/?sp=2&q=springfield+armory&r=0.01,0.331,0.575,0.332,0

Reference note

Contributor Names: Library of Congress
Created / Published: New York [N.Y.], July 22, 1898
Subject Headings: - New York (N.Y.)--Newspapers
- New York County (N.Y.)--Newspapers
- New York (State)--New York
- New York (State)--New York County
- United States--New York--New York--New York
Genre: Newspapers
Notes: - Daily
- No. 5,251 (Apr. 2, 1897)-no. 6,933 (Nov. 10, 1901).
- Also issued on microfilm from the Library of Congress, Photoduplication Service.
- New York journal and American (New York, N.Y. : 1901) (DLC)sn 85047602 (OCoLC)12327874

Springfield Armory National Historic Site, Massachusetts

Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/item/2010589287/

Reference note

Contributor Names: United States. National Park Service.
Created / Published: [Washington, D.C.] : National Park Service, [2010]
Subject Headings: - Springfield Armory National Historic Site (Springfield, Mass.)--Maps
- United States--Massachusetts--Springfield--Springfield Armory National Historic Site
Notes: - "*GPO: 2010--357-940/80509."
- Title from panel.
- Includes location map, text, and ill. (some col.).
- Text on history of Springfield Armory and ill. (some col.) on verso.
- Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image.
Repository: Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C. 20540-4650 USA dcu
Digital Id: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3764s.ct006176

Springfield Armory National Historic Site, Massachusetts

Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/item/2007626287/

Reference note

Contributor Names: United States. National Park Service.
Created / Published: [Washington, D.C.] : National Park Service, [2007]
Subject Headings: - Springfield Armory National Historic Site (Springfield, Mass.)--Maps
- United States--Massachusetts--Springfield--Springfield Armory National Historic Site
Notes: - "*GPO: 2007--320-358/00650. Reprint 2007."
- Title from panel.
- Includes location map, index to buildings, text, and ill.
- Text and ill. on verso.
- Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image.
Repository: Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C. 20540-4650 USA dcu
Digital Id: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3764s.ct006175

The Arsenal, U.S. Armory, Springfield, Mass.

Teaching Notes

This early 20th century photo captures the main arsenal building of the Springfield Armory.

"The Armory at Springfield, Massachusetts, began as a Revolutionary War arsenal (a storage and supply depot, as opposed to an armory, where weapons are made) responsible primarily for repairing small arms, making gun carriages and musket cartridges, and storing powder and various war materials. The arsenal was the scene of a battle during Daniel Shay's rebellion in 1786."

-from the ForgeOfInnovation.org website text.

The story of the Springfield Armory, and its role in pioneering the use of gauged, machined parts that enabled precision mass production, is told on the Armory's website:

http://www.forgeofinnovation.org/index.html

Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/item/2016812481/

Reference note

Contributor Names: Detroit Publishing Co., publisher
Created / Published: [between 1910 and 1920]
Subject Headings: - Armories
- United States--Massachusetts--Springfield
Genre: Dry plate negatives
Notes: - Detroit Publishing Co. no. 073083.
- Gift; State Historical Society of Colorado; 1949.
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
Digital Id: det 4a24632 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/det.4a24632

The Water shops, U.S. Armory, Springfield, Mass.

Teaching Notes

When the armory was established in 1794, the Mill River was where it established a series of early workshops, at three different falls. In the 1850s, these facilities were reorganized into a single site, with the first of the present buildings built in 1857. Over the next four years, additional buildings augmented the capabilities of the site, giving it sufficient capacity to meet the armory's heavy manufacturing needs. The dam and canal were built to raise the level of Watershops Pond, and new turbines were installed to provide 300 horsepower for the facilities.

The Water Shops complex is now a privately owned industrial site. The main building was severely damaged on Friday June 17, 1988, when a fire destroyed part of the top floors. The building was built in two different sections: the first was built in 1858, and the second section, which paralleled Allen Street and was built in 1901, is where the fire happened. [text from Wikipedia entry on Springfield Armory Watershops]

Reference link: http://www.loc.gov/item/2016799851/

Reference note

Contributor Names: Detroit Publishing Co., copyright claimant
Detroit Publishing Co., publisher
Created / Published: c1905.
Subject Headings: - Armories
- Canals
- National parks & reserves
- United States--Massachusetts--Springfield
Genre: Dry plate negatives
Notes: - Corresponding glass transparency (with same series code) available on videodisc frame 1A-30249.
- "2191 A" on negative.
- Detroit Publishing Co. no. 018063.
- Gift; State Historical Society of Colorado; 1949.
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
Digital Id: det 4a12239 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/det.4a12239

1899-knox-automobile-springfield-ma-313x412.jpg

Teaching Notes

The Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History features the products of the Springfield Armory's legacy of precision manufacturing. In addition to the Firearms Collection with the largest collection of Smith & Wesson guns in the world, it has a definitive collection of Indian motorcycles, and a collection of early automobiles which includes an 1899 Knox, a 1901 Crestmobile, a 1925 Rolls-Royce roadster, and a 1928 Rolls-Royce roadster.