The Gun That Won The West

Any of us who have studied the history of the United States is probably familiar with the title of this column, The Gun That Won the West. Of course, you will likely recall that a movie was made in 1955. No, it didn’t have John Wayne as its star, and the real star of the movie was not a person, but a gun, the Springfield Model 1865 Rifle.

That history is nice, but not completely accurate, as I am about to prove. It was another gun altogether that truly “won the West” for our country. It wasn’t made by Springfield, nor Colt, or any other American gun manufacturer, and it didn’t even use bullets and black powder to fire its deadly hail.

The gun I’m referring to was made in Italy around 1790. It was the Girandoni Air Rifle, and it was used by the Austrians against Napoleon in its first battles. The Girandoni found its way to the newly formed United States and was first used by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1803 to explore the new territory known as the Louisiana Purchase.

I recently watched a video presentation produced by the National Firearms Museum that told the history of the Girandoni air rifle as it related to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The Senior Curator, Phil Schreier, explained how the gun worked and he showed a model of the gun. I downloaded the video from YouTube, so you can watch it too if you’re interested. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pqFyKh-rUI

One of the questions that has always baffled me—and apparently it also been asked by historians—is how did the party of 38 men and one woman (Sacagawea) traverse thousands of miles of Indian territory without ever being attacked and massacred by the overwhelming numbers of hostile natives?

The answer lies in the fact that every single time that the exploration party encountered native tribes, they provided gifts and then Meriwether Lewis would demonstrate the Girandoni Air Rifle for the tribe. The fact that the rifle could fire 22 rounds in less than 30 seconds with extreme accuracy must have really impressed (and scared) the natives.

Now, here’s the wrinkle that makes this gun so historical. Lewis and Clark only had one such rifle with them! Of course they never divulged that secret to the Indians. Better to let them think that the firepower of the few white men was far more than the huge difference in numbers possessed by the tribes.

According to Mr. Schreier, the journals of the expedition contain no less than thirty-nine references to the Girandoni demonstrations, and it was probably this alone that provided safe passage for the expedition all the way to the Pacific Ocean with no conflict at all.

It is my opinion that, had Lewis and Clark not used that Girandoni Air Rifle as a means to demonstrate their superior firepower, we might not have had a “West” to win. True, the Springfield Rifles and those pioneers who carried them did their part, but it was that single gun that opened the territory to exploration and settlement.

Mr. Schreier also refers to the Indians as being armed, but I have read some of the history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and I contend that the natives were armed mostly with primitive weapons. True, they had superior numbers of warriors, and bows and arrows, knives and lances were not to be scoffed at. But those were the main weapons, although some of the braves had obtained guns from earlier trappers and traders. It was only after the pioneers started their migration to the western lands that the tribes became well equipped with firearms.

Imagine how anxious the tribes would have been to obtain some of those Girandoni Air rifles! It was the first “repeater” they had ever seen. The chiefs certainly must have believed that the entire band of explorers was armed with those formidable weapons. There were many tense confrontations, but they always ended with no hostilities and the chiefs backing down.

There is one other point that Mr. Schreier makes in the video that our present day leaders seem to have forgotten. The Girandoni Air Rifle demonstrations brought peace through strength. None of those 46 caliber balls ever had to be used in anger. Lewis's parlor trick was enough to ward off any thoughts of war by the tribal chiefs.

If you really care enough to read about the expedition without having to pore over the thirteen journals and one million words penned by Lewis, you can get a great version from the book by Stephen Ambrose, Undaunted Courage. It is available at Amazon or can likely be borrowed from your local library.

If you are more interested in a visual/oral demonstration and history of the Girandoni Air Rifle and its subsequent more modern versions, you can stay on YouTube and find all manner of videos detailing the mechanics of the gun. It is quite a piece of weaponry.