Christopher Spencer receives a patent for his magazine-fed, lever action rifle

Christopher M. Spencer was a Manchester, Connecticut inventor who had learned the arms trade at the Colt Factory in Hartford.  He received patent number 27393 for his magazine-fed, lever-action rifle that used metal rim-fire cartridges. The military did not adopted the new weapon until 1863 but once adopted, its use, especially with Union cavalry units, clearly demonstrated in battle its revolutionary qualities.  (By John Osborne)