This Sharps rifle was made especially for John Brown, though it bears no maker’s mark or number.
Model 1842 Harpers Ferry Rifle
Grade Range: 5-12
Resource Type(s): Artifacts, Primary Sources
Date Posted:
12/28/2010
Model 1842 Harpers Ferry percussion musket had a smoothbore barrel. After the adoption of the .58-caliber minie bullet in 1855, musket barrels were rifled.
National Standards
United States History Standards (Grades 5-12)
Era 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
2: How the industrial revolution, increasing immigration, the rapid expansion of slavery, and the westward movement changed the lives of Americans and led toward regional tensions
3: The extension, restriction, and reorganization of political democracy after 1800
4: The sources and character of cultural, religious, and social reform movements in the antebellum period