Tag: Agar gun

Wikipedia says: The Agar gun (or Ager) was an early rapid fire machine gun developed during the US Civil War. The weapon was nicknamed the Coffee Mill Gun, and was also called the Union Repeating Gun.

During the Civil War, inventors were encouraged to create new and better weapons. The Agar machine gun was one of about fifty or so hand-cranked machine guns developed for the war during this period. It was named after its inventor, Wilson Agar (sometimes spelled Wilson Ager). The gun was nicknamed the “Coffee Mill Gun” because the crank and the ammunition hopper on the top of the weapon gave it a look similar to that of a common kitchen coffee grinder.

Agar advertised the gun as “an army in six feet square”, due to its high rate of fire. In 1861, the Agar machine gun was demonstrated to President Abraham Lincoln, who was very impressed by the weapon. Lincoln wrote “I saw this gun myself, and witnessed some experiments with it, and I really think it is worth the attention of the Government.” Ten of the weapons were purchased immediately. The Union eventually ordered fifty-four additional guns.

Throughout the war, these weapons were used, though not extensively. In January 1862 the 28th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry were said to have used the Agar Guns in a skirmish by Harpers Ferry. In another skirmish at Middleburg, Virginia, on March 29, 1862, a captain by the name of Bartlett recalled Union soldiers firing an Agar Gun at attacking Confederate cavalry at a distance of 800 yards, inflicting many casualties and causing the Rebels to flee. The “Coffee Mill” gun was also used somewhat by the Union during McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign in 1862. The Union Army was not the only one to have used the “Coffee Mill” guns. In September 1862, Confederates obtained seventeen of the machine guns when they captured Harpers Ferry, and used them sparingly in 1864.