William Algernon Sydney Smoot

William Algernon Sydney Smoot
Smoot in a portrait published by Bell Telephone Magazine
President of the Western Electric Company
In office
January 1, 1885 – February 18, 1886
Preceded byAnson Stager
Succeeded byEnos M. Barton
Personal details
Born(1845-03-12)March 12, 1845
Norfolk, Virginia, United States
DiedFebruary 18, 1886(1886-02-18) (aged 40)
Evanston, Illinois, United States
Resting placeCongressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C.
SpouseMary Bangs Head
OccupationInventor, mechanical engineer, industrial executive
Known for
Remington–Smoot revolvers
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
RankLieutenant
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

William Algernon Sydney Smoot (March 12, 1845 – February 18, 1886), commonly known as William Sydney Smoot or W. S. Smoot, was an American inventor, mechanical engineer, ordnance officer, and industrial executive. He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War, worked for E. Remington and Sons, and designed the series of pocket handguns commonly called the Remington–Smoot revolvers.

After becoming superintendent of Remington's manufacturing department, Smoot left the firearms business to become the second president of the Western Electric Company in January 1885. He remained president until his death in February 1886.

Early life and family

Smoot was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on March 12, 1845.[1] He was the son of United States Navy officer Joseph Edward Smoot and Anne Elizabeth Darne Smoot. His father, who attained the rank of captain and was sometimes styled commodore in contemporary family notices, died in 1857.[2]

Smoot married Mary Bangs Head in 1866. Their children included William Sydney Smoot, Anne Titcomb Smoot, and mechanical engineer Charles Head Smoot.[3]

Military career

During the Civil War, Smoot served as a lieutenant in the First Maryland Infantry of the Union Army. He subsequently performed ordnance work at the Springfield Armory in Massachusetts.[1] The Official Army Register for 1865 listed William S. Smoot among the second lieutenants of the Army's Ordnance Department, with a commission date of January 29, 1864.[4]

While working in ordnance, Smoot participated in the examination of firearms submitted for possible military use. A report concerning a Remington carbine, reproduced in a history of Remington's military revolvers, bears his signature as "W. S. Smoot, Lt. 1st Md. Vols."[5]

Smoot resigned from the Army in 1870 and entered private industry.[1][4][6]

Firearms and ammunition career

E. Remington and Sons

Smoot joined E. Remington and Sons at Ilion, New York, in 1871.[1] He initially worked as an inventor and firearms engineer and eventually became superintendent of the company's manufacturing department. A history of Remington's nineteenth-century operations states that Smoot succeeded J. M. Clough as superintendent in 1877 and was later succeeded by John Hoefler.[7]

The Cody Firearms Museum describes Smoot as the recipient of more than a dozen firearms-related patents.[1] His inventions covered repeating firearms, breech-loading mechanisms, revolvers, metallic cartridge cases, cartridge anvils, and percussion primers. Several of his cartridge patents were assigned wholly or partly to E. Remington and Sons.

Remington–Smoot revolvers

Smoot's best-known invention was his 1873 improvement in revolving firearms.[8] Patent No. 143,855 described a revolver in which the barrel, upper frame, and bridge strap were made as one piece. It also incorporated a separate guard strap, an ejector mechanism guided by the cylinder center pin, and a revolving recoil shield.[9] Smoot assigned one-half of his rights in the patent to E. Remington and Sons.

The patent became the basis of the Remington–Smoot family of compact, single-action, five-shot pocket revolvers. Remington literature called the weapons the "Smoot's Patent New Model" or "Remington–Smoot New Model"; the frequently used name "New Line" was associated more closely with a competing series produced by Colt.[10]

The Remington–Smoot No. 1 was a .30-caliber rimfire revolver manufactured from approximately 1875 to 1877. Around 3,000 were produced. Its barrel, frame, and ejector housing were forged as one piece, and the earliest examples used Smoot's revolving recoil shield.[11]

The No. 2 was offered in .30 and .32 rimfire versions and used a stepped ejector rod. The larger No. 3 was introduced in 1878, principally in .38 rimfire and centerfire chamberings; approximately 25,000 No. 3 revolvers were produced through 1888.[1] A further compact variant, conventionally known as the No. 4, was manufactured in .38- and .41-caliber versions without the earlier model's attached ejector assembly.[12]

An example of a Remington–Smoot New Model No. 1 is held by the National Museum of American History.[13][14]

Western Electric

In January 1885, deteriorating health led Anson Stager to resign as president of Western Electric. Smoot, then associated with the Remington organization, was selected to succeed him.[15] Western Electric had recently become the principal manufacturing company of the growing Bell System. American Bell had acquired a majority interest in the company in 1881, and the two organizations signed an exclusive manufacturing agreement in February 1882.[16]

Smoot served as Western Electric's second president for approximately thirteen months, from January 1, 1885 until his death on February 18, 1886.[15] His tenure fell between those of Stager, the company's first president after its 1881 reorganization, and co-founder Enos M. Barton. Barton formally became president later in 1886.[17]

Patents

The following are among Smoot's United States patents:

Patent Date Invention Notes
U.S. patent 68,250 August 27, 1867 Breech-loading firearm extractor Covered an extraction mechanism later discussed in connection with Berdan-pattern arms.[18]
U.S. patent 97,821 December 14, 1869 Repeating firearm Described a sliding breechblock, tubular magazine, cartridge carrier, extractor, and locking mechanism.[19]
U.S. patent 116,105 June 20, 1871 Metallic cartridge Secured a cartridge base and reinforcing washer by riveting a projection from the shell.[20]
U.S. patent 120,338 October 24, 1871 Metallic cartridge Strengthened the cartridge head with cold-pressed lead or another pliable metal.[21]
U.S. patent 143,855 October 21, 1873 Revolving firearm Basis of the Remington–Smoot pocket-revolver series.[9]
U.S. patent 152,425 June 23, 1874 Cartridge case Used an internal cup pressed over the cartridge's base wad.[22]
U.S. patent 170,780 December 7, 1875 Cartridge primer A center-fire primer design intended to simplify ignition and removal of the spent primer.[23]
U.S. patent 178,683 June 13, 1876 Cartridge anvil Used a strip or bar anvil compressed into the primer pocket.[24]
U.S. patent 255,822 April 4, 1882 Percussion primer Designed to reduce misfires and hang fires and improve communication between the primer and powder charge.[25]

A Smithsonian study of the development of ammunition lists Smoot's patents Nos. 116,105, 120,338, 152,425, and 178,683 among nineteenth-century advances in cartridge-case and primer construction.[26]

Death

Smoot died at Evanston, Illinois, on February 18, 1886, at the age of 40.[6] His remains were returned to Washington, D.C., and interred in the Smoot family plot at Congressional Cemetery.

Because Smoot died while still president, Western Electric was temporarily without a permanent president. Enos M. Barton, one of the company's founders and its longtime senior executive, succeeded him later in 1886.[15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hlebinsky, Ashley (October 4, 2014). "Guns of the Week: Remington-Smoot". Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  2. ↑ Newman, Harry Wright (1936). The Smoots of Maryland and Virginia: A Genealogical History of William Smute, Boatright. Washington, D.C.: Harry Wright Newman. p. 40. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  3. ↑ Secretary's Fourth Report, Harvard College Class of 1900. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard College. 1917. p. 432. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  4. 1 2 Official Army Register for 1865. Washington, D.C.: Adjutant General's Office, United States War Department. 1865. pp. 15–16. Retrieved August 23, 2026 – via University of North Texas Libraries.
  5. ↑ Ware, Donald L. (2007). Remington Army and Navy Revolvers, 1861–1888. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 978-0-8263-4280-5. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Local Notes". The Evening Star. Washington, D.C. February 19, 1886. Retrieved August 23, 2026 – via Library of Congress.
  7. ↑ Remington Army and Navy Revolvers, 1861–1888. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  8. ↑ "The 28 Most Notable Guns from Remington's 200-Year History". Outdoor Life. October 10, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  9. 1 2 "US143855A: Improvement in Revolving Fire-Arms". Google Patents. United States Patent Office. October 21, 1873. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  10. ↑ Flayderman, Norm. Flayderman's Guide to Antique American Firearms and Their Values. DBI Books. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Remington Smoot New Model No. 1 Revolver". National Firearms Museum. National Rifle Association. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Rare .30RF Remington Smoot No. 2 Revolver". College Hill Arsenal. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Remington-Smoot New Model 1 Revolver". National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  14. ↑ "A Study of Remington's Smoot Patent & Number Four Revolvers". Remington Society of America. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  15. 1 2 3 Iardella, Albert B., ed. (1964). Western Electric and the Bell System: A Survey of Service. New York: Western Electric Company. p. 29. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Western Electric Co.". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History. Case Western Reserve University. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  17. ↑ Lovette, Frank (Winter 1944–1945). "Western Electric's First 75 Years: A Chronology". Bell Telephone Magazine. 23: 27. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  18. ↑ Russian Type I Firearms (Report). Cody Firearms Museum Library. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  19. ↑ "US97821A: Fire-Arms". Google Patents. United States Patent Office. December 14, 1869. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  20. ↑ "US116105A: Improvement in Metallic Cartridges". Google Patents. United States Patent Office. June 20, 1871. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  21. ↑ "US120338A: Improvement in Metallic Cartridges". Google Patents. United States Patent Office. October 24, 1871. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  22. ↑ "US152425A: Improvement in Cartridges". Google Patents. United States Patent Office. June 23, 1874. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  23. ↑ "US170780A: Improvement in Primers for Cartridges". Google Patents. United States Patent Office. December 7, 1875. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  24. ↑ "US178683A: Improvement in Cartridges". Google Patents. United States Patent Office. June 13, 1876. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  25. ↑ "US255822A: Primer for Cartridges". Google Patents. United States Patent Office. April 4, 1882. Retrieved August 23, 2026.
  26. ↑ Lewis, Berkeley R. (1956). "Small Arms and Ammunition in the United States Service". Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. 129. Smithsonian Institution: 235–237. Retrieved August 23, 2026.

Further reading

  • Parker, Harry J.; Gunther, Joan M.; Mulligan, Don (1999). A Study of Remington's Smoot Patent & Number Four Revolvers. Armslore Press. ISBN 978-1-882824-21-2.
  • Ware, Donald L. (2007). Remington Army and Navy Revolvers, 1861–1888. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 978-0-8263-4280-5.
  • Newman, Harry Wright (1936). The Smoots of Maryland and Virginia. Washington, D.C.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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