A life long friend (Patriot) sent me an article (see below) about the very first time an automatic weapon was used by the United States Army. It was the Colt 1895 Automatic Gun. There were many versions. (US Marines were the first to actually use the Colt 1895 at Guantanamo Bay Cuba, 1898.)
This particular article is about those chambered in 7x57mm Mauser.
Amazing story about an all volunteer force comprised of men from the “polo fields of Harvard, Princeton, and Yale; Cowboys, Bronco Busters, Sheriffs, and Indians”.
As I read, my mind began to wander, as it too often does. I stopped reading and did some quick research and it’s something to ponder:
Colt Firearms, Hartford, CT USA
Ithaca Gun Company, Ithaca, NY USA
Winchester Arms, New Haven, CT USA
Smith & Wesson, Springfield, MA USA
Ruger, Southport, CT USA
Mossberg, North Haven, CT USA
Savage Arms, Westfield, MA
Thompson Center Arms, Rochester, NH USA
Stoeger Arms, New York, NY USA (Originally)
Henry Repeating Arms, Bayonne, NJ USA
Sharps Rifle Company, Bridgeport, CT USA
Springfield Armory, Springfield, MA USA
Stevens Arms, Chicopee Falls, MA USA
These are some of the oldest, most famous, and pioneering manufacturers in the World’s history. Most are located within 150 miles or so of one another, except for the Ithaca boys and girls. I find that interesting. Anyway.
Back to the Colt 1895 Automatic Gun. A last minute gift to the Rough Riders, from a wealthy donor were a pair of modern tripod mounted, gas-operated machine guns.
(George and Isabella Tiffany hailing from Rhode Island.)
There we have it. Deeply entwined in our American Cultural Identity. Famously Progressive minded Theodore Roosevelt, from Oyster Bay Long Island. A gun toting, assassination surviving, Republican splinter group leader; using his political and societal clout to fully outfit and arm, including the first automatic weapons, manufactured in his home state of New York; For his personal 19th Century Blackwater group to invade Cuba.
It is a strongly contrasting image of the modern New York politicians, like Mario Cuomo, Michael Bloomberg, a New York squatting Clinton Family, Anthony “Show My” Weiner and Chuck Schumer. Somehow, I have a hard time believing these buffoons could lead or muster a charge up a treadmill, much less San Juan Hill.
Although, in all fairness, Joe Biden just might be crazy enough to show up with his shotgun.
Links:
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/cd6686ea#/cd6686ea/127
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1895_Colt-Browning_machine_gun