The Billinghurst Requa Battery gun was an early rapid-fire gun used during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. It was invented by a Dr. Josephus Requa (1833–1910), a dentist by profession, who had at the age of 16 spent three years as an apprentice to William Billinghurst (1807–1880), a New York riflemaker.

Design

The gun consisted of twenty-five heavy .58 caliber rifle barrels, each long and mounted together in a secure frame, which could be elevated for range. The frame was then mounted on a two-wheeled carriage. Ammunition was loaded as a long magazine of twenty-five rounds, which were fired by a single percussion cap in a single volley. With a crew of three, it could be reloaded and fired seven times a minute, giving a rate of fire of 175 rounds per minute. The .58 caliber bullets were conical and weighed approximately one ounce. It was also possible to adjust the spread of the guns to make them diverge for use at close range.

History

In 1861 on the suggestion of an Albert Mack, Requa began thinking about the design of a rapid-fire gun. Requa talked with Billinghurst, who he remained friends with and came up with a scale model of a design by 11 July 1861. After it was received favorably, Billinghurst and Requa decided to build a full-scale prototype, which cost approximately $500 to build. Requa met with General James Wolfe Ripley on 22 April 1862 to propose the idea. Ripley however dismissed Requa with the argument that such a weapon would consume expensive ammunition at such a rate that it would cause logistical problems. Requa then approached President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

on 1 May 1862, who listened to Requa's explanation of Ripley's dismissal. He gave Requa a note which said: ''Gen. Ripley, please see Mr. Requa A. Lincoln, May 1, 1862''. Ripley, however, would not move from his position. Requa went back to Lincoln, who then ordered Ripley to arrange a demonstration of the weapon. Two tests were arranged on 12 May 1862 and 24 May 1862 with favorable results. Requa and Billinghurst needed financial backing to proceed with production of the weapon, and arranged for a public demonstration of the weapon as proof to backers. This was conducted on 12 August 1862 at

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. At the demonstration, the gun blasted holes in a wooden barrel target setup away in the

Genesee River The Genesee River ( ) is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. The river contains several waterfalls in New York at Letchworth State Park and Roch ...

. The backers were impressed, and contracts were drawn up to produce 50 units. A patent numbered 36,448 was also issued on 16 September 1862. The battery was never officially accepted into service, yet it saw action at the

Siege of Port Hudson The siege of Port Hudson (May 22 – July 9, 1863) was the final engagement in the Union (American Civil War), Union campaign to recapture the Mississippi River in the American Civil War. While Union General Ulysses S. Grant, Ulysses Grant was S ...

, Fort Wagner,

Fort Sumter Fort Sumter is a historical Coastal defense and fortification#Sea forts, sea fort located near Charleston, South Carolina. Constructed on an artificial island at the entrance of Charleston Harbor in 1829, the fort was built in response to the W ...

and

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the siege of Petersburg, it was not a c ...

as well as the

Battle of Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses ...

. A final test of the gun was conducted at the Washington Arsenal in August 1864, with a report issued in 1866 indicating that the gun was reliable and performed well during the testing. As a result, an additional five guns were ordered, but advances in firearms technology soon rendered the weapon obsolete.

References

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External links

* {{youTube, cx_ar4B_MPo, 1862 Billinghurst Requa Volley Battery Gun Early machine guns Machine guns of the United States Multi-barrel machine guns American Civil War weapons