An Exciting New Bardstown Rifle by Benjamin A. Davenport ©
Foreword: Bardstown rifles were the most highly decorated guns made in Kentucky. Extensive research has described the Bardstown rifle, its evolution over time, significant makers, and small variations among makers that help identify unsigned guns. New Bardstown guns appear occasionally and generally fall withing the school’s known design parameters. But a newly discovered rifle by Benjamin A. Davenport was an exception to the rule.
Figure No.1: Benjamin A. Davenport was trained by Bardstown gunsmith David Weller and worked at Lebanon in Marion County east of Nelson County and Bardstown. This is his earliest known rifle circa 1832 to 1835. The patchbox is not a recognized Bardstown style, but the rest of the gun including its stocking and mountings follow traditional Bardstown patterns. Barrel: 44-1/4 inches with .32 caliber bore. Author’s collection, photo by Author.
Benjamin A. Davenport: Davenport was born July 27, 1811, in Virginia to parents William and Nancy Raine Davenport. William died in 1819 while exploring Kentucky, leaving his widow and four children back in Virginia. Davenport relatives already lived in Kentucky, so the widow and her children joined other family members moving to Hardin County, Kentucky, in 1823. When Benjamin became fifteen in 1826, he was apprenticed to gunsmith David Weller [previously of Rizer & Weller in Bardstown] at Elizabethtown in Hardin County. When his training ended in 1832, Benjamin moved to Lebanon in nearby Marion County where he worked as a gunsmith and married Nancy Ann Blaine in 1837. His newly found rifle in Figure No.1 is from his early years in Lebanon ca. 1832-1835. The gun has a period replaced lock, making it unclear if it was a late single bolt flintlock or early percussion gun. The lack of a vent pick hole in the butt’s toe suggests a percussion gun. The 1840 census showed Benjamin and Nancy in Marion County with two children under age 6 and two men between 20 and 30. One of the men was Davenport and the other undoubtedly a worker in his shop. He was probably the “W. Davenport” whose name appears on a circa 1845 rifle signed “B. & W. Davenport” shown in Figure No.2 below. Benjamin had an older brother and younger cousin in Kentucky named William, and his assistant was probably the younger cousin.
Figure No.2: This rifle dates several years later than the study rifle, when Davenport had a journeyman gunsmith working in his shop. The gun is plain with no molding lines or inlays. Its later date is supported by the later style guard and use of barrel pins instead of wedges, with the barrel pin locations moved away from the traditional Bardstown locations. Barrel: 45-3/4 inches with .36 caliber bore. Author’s collection, photo by Author.
In 1850 Benjamin was still working in Marion County with his wife Nancy and seven children from 11 years to 7 months old. About 1853 he moved to Hodgenville in nearby LaRue County, where he worked as a gunsmith and farmer until his death on November 3, 1858; he was buried in Hodgenville’s Red Hill Cemetery. His wife Nancy remained on the family farm near Hodgenville and in the 1860 census was listed as a widow, 39 years old and a “farmer,” with nine children in the household. Her oldest child at home was son William, age 20 and a “farmer,” while Ida was the youngest at 1 year, born shortly after Benjamin’s death. Nancy died in 1874 and was buried in Red Hill Cemetery next to her husband and other Davenport relatives.
The Davenport Rifle: Davenport’s work is rare with no example known to the author until 2022 when the study rifle signed “B. A. Davenport” sold at auction. Its good quality and different patchbox made it an important Bardstown discovery, in addition to being Davenport’s earliest known rifle. A year later a longer barreled rifle signed “B. & W. Davenport” appeared at auction, providing a second example of Davenport’s work and verifying a relative, “W. Davenport,” was also a Kentucky gunsmith. The two rifles’ script signatures are compared below in Figures No.3 and No.4.
Figure No.3: This ca. 1834 signature on Davenport’s fine earlier rifle is engraved in large, readable script with dotted borders around the name and flourishes at either end.
Figure No.4: This joint Davenport signature is on the plainer rifle made in the early 1840s. The partner is thought to be William Davenport, a younger cousin.
The outstanding feature of the “B. A. Davenport” rifle is its elaborate patchbox seen in Figure No.5a that strayed from the standard Bardstown form, yet its engraving followed traditional Bardstown patterns as did lid hinge construction with “Bardstown ridges” on both sides. The patchbox resembles early Hagerstown, Maryland, patchboxes, but it was more likely taken from similar patchboxes by well-known Virginia gunsmith Simon Lauck, since the Davenports came from Virginia. The Davenport rifle has Bardstown single-line forestock and lower butt moldings, but the forestock molding is terminated differently at the rear pipe with a serpentine line seen in Figure No.6 rather than traditional Bardstown “opposed volutes.” Also visible in Figure No.6 is Davenport’s rear pipe, made in Rizer’s one-piece style with engraved rear flange [not visible in this view]. The important “swag & tassel” carved detail running vertically along the butt plate’s rear edge, an iconic “trademark” of Rizer & Weller rifles, is present on the Davenport rifle as seen in Figure No.5b below. It is enhanced by an unexpected serpentine line emerging from its mid-point and running outward toward the cheekpiece. The serpentine line, a bit hard to see in the photo due to glare, seems to tie both sides of the gun together with the small, wavy/serpentine borders on the patchbox lid and side leaves as well as on the side plate and toe plate. The cheekpiece shows Weller’s influence a single molding line and forward placement on the butt, but it also shows Rizer’s influence in its flattened lower edge. An 8-pointed “hunter’s star” with Weller’s later style engraving decorates the cheek, with the longer horizontal points shortened and rounded a bit by Davenport.
Figure No.5a: The Davenport rifle’s patchbox is exceptional for a Bardstown rifle with its elaborate shape and nine piercings. However, its engraving and hinge construction follow Bardstown patterns.
Figure No.5b: The back side of the butt has Bardstown’s iconic carved “swag & tassel” detail along the butt plate, here a later style enhanced with a unique wavy line emerging from its center point.
Both the guard and side-plate on the Davenport rifle retain traditional Bardstown shapes. The guard has the expected oval Bardstown bow with three flats filed on its outer surface and a “square shoulder” above the rear spur where it joins the rear extension. However, the guard lacks traditional Bardstown “dimples” on its front/rear extensions, replaced by small “thumbnail” finials on each end as seen in Figure No.7. The side plate in Figure No.8 has an engraved pattern associated with late single bolt Bardstown flintlocks ca. 1830-1835. Ramrod pipes are the traditional Bardstown style with the rear pipe made in Rizer’s one-piece construction with an engraved flange, rather than Weller’s two-piece construction that lacked engraving. The toe plate is a non-standard form and appears to be an older recycled part as seen in Figure No.9.
Figure No.6: A “wavy line” termination of the forestock molding was used in northern Kentucky, but not on Bardstown guns. It retains a Kentucky flavor while showing Davenport’s growing design independence.
Figure No.8: The side plate is a traditional Bardstown pattern for late flint or early percussion guns with short “Kentucky horns” on either side of the lock bolt and “wavy line” borders and center line engraving.
Figure No.7: The Davenport rifle’s guard has the traditional 3-flats on its outer surface, but the Bardstown “dimples” on the front and rear extensions are gone, replaced with small “thumbnail” shaped finials.
Figure No.9: The Davenport rifle’s toe plate is fancier than expected, similar to the patchbox. While engraved with the traditional wavy line borders, it was probably recycled from an earlier gun.
Summary: Overall, the early Davenport rifle displays strong Bardstown details in its stock architecture, furniture, and engraving, despite its non-standard Bardstown patchbox. The triangular butt, stepped side-facings, forestock single molding line, standard wedge placements, three ramrod pipes, and Bardstown’s small step-down on the butt plate’s top extension all verify its Bardstown pedigree. The butt plate, side plate, and guard also retain traditional Bardstown shapes. The tang is shaped like Weller’s late flint lozenge-tipped tangs but a bit longer with an added tail screw. The patchbox is exceptional despite its non-standard profile, yet it retains traditional Bardstown engraving with a serpentine vine with attached “balls” growing out of the lid’s open end, dotted wavy line borders along lid edges, and matching wavy line borders on the side-leaves’ inner edges. The gun is a fully evolved Bardstown rifle that demonstrates the subtle design changes that took place as Bardstown-trained gunsmiths carried the school’s design into neighboring counties.
Sources: Shelby W. Gallien, Kentucky Gunmakers 1775-1900, Vol. II, Biographies, see “Davenport, Benjamin A.”; Federal Census of 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870, Kentucky Division; FamilySearch.com, “Benjamin R. Davenport (1854–1941).”