By Shelby Gallien

Photos by Jeff Jaeger

Originally published in the August 2016 Issue of Muzzle Blasts Magazine. Subscribe today to access the entire back catalog of Muzzle Blasts digitally from your home.

Despite substantial information surviving on George Washington Hatfield himself, only a handfull of his rifles were known until recently. This two part article re­examines the work of Indiana’s “Wash" Hatfield in light of two recent discoveries. In Part I we took a look at the two newest Hatfield Finds, in Part II we will take a look back at the other known Hatfield rifles to get a better understanding of the scope of his rifle building skills and his place among Indiana rifle makers.

Octagon-to-Round Barreled Rifle: 

At first glance the at­tributed Hatfield rrfle in Figures 5a and 5b appears normal in all respects, a typical Hatfield walnut ful I-stocked rifle with iron butt plate, iron guard with large rear spur, and his trademark cast pewter chevron style nose cap. However, upon closer inspection the gun has a rifled octagon-to-round barrel, an odd feature or a Tenessee-influenced rifle, or for any southern rifle for that matter. 

The only other notable deviation from a normal Hatfield rile is the shortened barrel length of 37-9/16 inches when a normal barrel would have been about 44 inches long. The untouched cast pewter nose cap verifies the barrel has never been shortened, while the rifle's barrel channel with an octagon shaped rear section and round shaped forward section verifies the rifle was originally stocked lo fit the octagon-to-round barrel. The odd barrel and cast nose cap can be seen in Figure 5c.

Since speculation is an enjoyable part of collectiug early fontier rifles, a few thoughts on why the gun was built with a shortened, octagon-to-round barrel may be appropriate. It has been suggested the barrel might be from an earlier rifle or buck & ball gun. but that doesn't appear to be the case. An older reused barrel would probably have a larger bore (the Hatfield rifle is .38 caliber), and the junction between the octagon and round sections would probably have a "wedding band" type transition, or some similar attractive detail, where the sections meet. By contrast, the Hatfield rifle has a simple "butt joint" seen in Figure 5d where the smaller round section meets the larger octagon section. The round section was hand-filed from a full octagon barrel, as indicated by the many fine file marks and slight unevenness or the round section's surface. The barrel appears to have been made shorter and octagon-to-round by Hatfield, undoubtedly at the request of his customer. The most obvious reason would be to remove length and weight from the gun for easier handling- perhaps for hunting from horseback or in the thick brush where the rifle could be swung more easily from side to side. 

The rifle is typical of several other Hatfield guns with its lack of signature. Yet it is easily attributed based on the presence of many of Hatfield’s most recognizable details. The gun may be one of Hatfield’s last iron mounted pieces, perhaps dating to the late 1840s, since the guard’s large, sweeping rear spur has become shorter than on earlier rifles, and the lock bolt washer is a smaller, later style.  

Half-Stocked Rifle:

 Most known Hatfield rifles are full­stocked, so a half-stocked rif1e is rather unusual. The rifle in Figure 6a is half-stocked in walnut in Hatfield's typical stock pattern. The butt's clean lines with strong comb and pointed toe are quickly seen, and the side facings have slight points at either end. But this later rifle has abandoned forged iron mountings .in favor of commercial brass mounts for the butt plate and guard. The gun's reverse side is seen in Figure 6b and demonstrates the continued use of Hatfield's short, low set cheekpiece with a single, heavy molding line across its lower edge; however. a later style small brass lock bolt washer is present. A German silver cheek inlay has Hatfield's initials ·'W H' punched into the metal surface. No longer are the initials stand­ alone block letters; now they are attached along a shared edge in a later style as seen in Figure 6c. A full-length view of the rifle in Figure 6d shows its graceful lines and long barrel. Commercial brass ramrod pipes, including the entry pipe, have been used on this late rifle; they are longer and thinner than Hatfield's earlier "'plumber fittings" style pipes and have conventional decorative rings filed at each end. A conventional cast pewter nose cap sits several inches past the rear ramrod pipe. The graceful half-stocked

rifle probably dates to the mid to late 1850s; it demonstrates that Hatfield did not significantly alter his stock pattern, or profile, over most of his career. 

Emmanuel Hatfield's Rifle: 

Arguably the most historically important frontier rifle in Indiana is the "Emmanuel Hatfield" rifle, first owned by Washington Hatfield's older brother, Emmanuel, and used extensively on the early Indiana frontier. Emmanuel was a market hunter by trade, supplying meat and hides to early settlers of Greene County who were unable to adequately supply themselves. Emmanuel's hunting statistics with the rifle were staggering: Dur­ing his first winter of 1831-1832 he killed 200 deer and 27 bear, and over his first twelve years in Indiana he killed 978 deer. The well-documented rifle was made by Washington Hatfield; despite being unsigned it displays many unmistakable Hatfield character­istics. Figure 7a shows the long barreled rifle and the remarkable condition it has survived in. A silver barrel inlay is lightly engraved, "Emmanuel Hatfield." The engraving does not appear to be in Washington's hand, but perhaps by Emmanuel himself to identify the gun in case of loss in the wilderness or on long hunts. The gun is a classic Hatfield rifle, long barreled and full-stocked in walnut, but with a uniquely shaped brass guard. Figure 7b shows the reverse side of the rifle with its typical Hatfield low set cheekpiece with single molding line. The cheek inlay has the initials and date ''J W 1818" which is not fully understood. A plausible explanation is that Emmanuel had a large bore Tennessee hunting rifle before the family moved to Indiana. and before Washington had become a gunsmith. Later in Indiana the heavily used rifle had become excessively worn or damaged and Washington restocked/rebuilt the gun into a Hatfield rifle complete with cast chevron nose cap. The original gunsmith's initials may have been on the barrel, probably badly worn, in the area where Emmanuel's name-plate now appears. The gunsmith was probably known to tbe Hatfields back in Tennessee, so Washington preserved his initials by plac­ing them on the cheek inlay out of The history of the Emmanuel Hatfield rifle is too extensive to cover in this article, but the rifle itself serves as a rare example of a documented fontier gun that saw many years of service during the early settlement days or Indiana.

Summary:

Washington Hatfield is one or Indiana's best known early gun­smiths, but his work is rarely seen. The limited number ofsurviving (or known) rifles has led to an incomplete understanding of his abilities as a gunsmith. For years he has been known as a frontier gunsmith who made good quality rifles of limited artistic merit. His rifles generally followed the same pattern with walnut full-stocks, long barrels, good architecture, and well-made iron primary furniture (guards and butt plates). He inter-mixed the hand-forged iron mountings with brass or copper ramrod pipes and his now-famous cast pewter chevron nose cap. Yet despite his good quality work, he seemed to avoid most types of decoration or unnecessary embellishment. He was accomplished respect for the earlier gunsmith whose band-made barrel continued to provide many more years of good service. Two details support the rifle's "rebuilt" explanation. First. the rifle’s excellent condition and original finish appear too unblemished to have experienced years of heavy market hunting. Second, the lock bolt washer is a smaller, later Hatfield style that suggests au 1840s date. figure 7c shows a full-length view of the rifle, a true frontier survivor, with its long barrel, interesting guard, and many Hatfield details including his trademark "plumber fitting" ramrod pipes and cast pewter chevron nose cap. Yet despite his good quality work, he seemed to avoid most types of decoration or unnecessary embellishment. He was accomplished in making solid rfles, but not in decorating them. The last three rifles discussed in this article all fall into this category, yet each adds a new twist to Hatfield's known work. One rifle has a rare octagon-to­round barrel, almost unlheard of among Tennessee influenced guns, yet very functional if less weight were desired in a gun. A rarely seen half-stocked tifle shows how Hatfield retained his basic design well into his later years, and despite an undying preference for making full-stocked guns, be made a rew half-stocked pieces upon demand.

The last illustrated rifle is a large bore, long ban·eled fontier gun that withstood the rigors of sustained use for many years, thus attesting to the ruggedness and basic quality of a Hatfield rifle.

Two recently discovered Hatfield rifles have surprised research­ers wilh their elevated levels of artistic embellishment, making il evident that Hatfield was capable of producing more highly deco­rated rifles than previously thought The two fine rifles were both stocked in good curly maple and had extensive inlay work along the entire length of their stocks. The German silver inlays were gener­ally small, geometrically shaped, and lacked engraving, but they created a much more interesting and attractive gun. One rifle had a capbox: to date it is the only known Hatfield rifle with any kind of a front butt compartment. Apparently Hatfield never nilly learned to engrave his metal mounts, and even restricted his incised molding lines to a short, single line on the lower edge of his cheekpieces. Yet the new rifles show an ability to enhance his work with thoughtful, well-spaced and well installed inlays; they expose a side of the man thal was previously unknown. We now know Washington Hatfield was a more artistically skilled gunsmith than previously thought. So let the hunt begin for his next great rifle - perhaps it will show even greater decorative skills than what is now attributed to him.

Photo Credits:

The author is indebted to fellow Hoosier Mr. Jeff Jaeger for shar­ing his knowledge and fine images of several Hatfield rifles to support this article. ln addition, thanks to Rock Island Auction photographer Mr. Rick Burkeybile for providing the excel lent photographs oftbe first highly decorated Hatfield rifle illustrated in the article.

Request for Help:

The author continues to research Washington Hatfield and the rifles he made. Anyone with knowledge of Hatfield, or who knows of a Hatfield rifle that can be photographed, is encouraged to contact him at sgallien@comcast.net

Suggested Reading:

Shelby Gallien, "Washington Hatfield, Indiana's Gunsmithing Legend - Part l," Muzzle Blasts magazine, Vol. 65, No. l, Sep­tember 2003, National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association, Friendship, IN, pp. 4-9.

Sbelby Gallien, "Washington Hatfield, Indiana's Gunsmithing Legend - Part 2," Muzzle Blasts magazine, Vol. 65, No. 2, Sep­tember 2003, National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association, Friendship, IN, pp. 58-64.