This month we follow up on last months installment of the bayonet as an e-tool. We were contacted by our good friend Jeffery Hayes of the UK with additional information on the prior Patent. According to Jeff:
This US Patent is actually predated by a British Patent, which is a more detailed version of the US Patent.British Patent 'A.D. 1871, 14th January. No100.' 'Protecting Troops under Fire.'Letters Patent to William Shepard Wetmore, of New York, United States of America, at present of 123, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "Improvements in the Mode of Protecting Troops under fire, and in the tools or apparatus connected therewith, which improvements are also applicable to other purposes."Sealed the 21 March 1871, and dated the 14th January 1871.Have attached a picture of one of the original proto-types, this is shown in the US Patent as fig 56 and fig 57.
Have attached a picture of the rear of the shovel. I can't really add much about this. I bought this at an arms fair here in the Uk a number of years ago and understand it came from the Gordon Hughes collection, but it was unidentified and left all the collectors here in the Uk puzzled as to its origin. The bayonet is a British P1853 so it strongly hinted at a British connection. You actually emailed me a copy of the US Wetmoore patent a few years ago, but didn't send the second page of drawings, so I never realized they were one and the same. It was only a few months ago when I came across a reference to British Patent for the Wetmoore bayonet that I realised what it was (a real eureka moment), and was able to confirm it when I saw the missing drawings on the US patent website. I managed to obtain an original copy of the British Patent.
We would like to thank Jeff for his sharing this Patent and bayonet with us. Jeff is a very serious researcher on the trowel bayonet and it's variants. If you have any information on these elusive patterns please contact Jeff at: gigo.hayes@ntlworld.com
Click on the thumbnails for the full size drawings
If you want to see more military weapon patents look for the New US Military Bayonet CD full with known and unknown specimens. Only $19.95 postpaid in the US for 600 pages of patents.
