“I have succeeded in establishing methods for fabricating arms exactly alike, and with economy."
John H. Hall
Prior to the invention of the breech-loader, firearms had been loaded from the end of the barrel (muzzle- loaders), an operation that took considerable time to complete. The first breech-loading rifle to see action in combat was developed by Major Patrick Ferguson and was actually a breech-loading version of a flintlock rifle. Despite being superior to conventional flintlocks in terms of rate of fire, the weapon was notorious for breaking and did not achieve widespread use.
The rifle of John H. Hall (1781-1841), the M1819, was a single-shot, breech-loader; the powder and ball were still loaded separately, but instead of being inserted into the end of the long barrel and rammed into the chamber using a rod, the rifle "broke" in the middle and the ball and powder could be loaded directly into a shortened chamber, before the barrel was clicked back into place for firing. This procedure radically shortened the time it took to reload, compared to muzzle-loaders, making the M1819 considerably more efficient. Hall received an order for 1,000 breech-loading rifles from the U.S. military.
Hall also patented devices that were employed in the construction of the M1819, including machines for drilling and straight cutting. In this way, Hall's rifle helped pioneer techniques and devices that would later become commonplace in mass production.
