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{{Short description|American inventor (1822–1895)}}
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{{Infobox person
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| nationality = [[Americans|American]]
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| employer = Self, founder of American Rattan Company, Fitchburg, MA
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| known_for = [[Rattan]] processing machinery, artillery and projectiles
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'''Sylvanus Sawyer''' (15 April 1822 in [[Templeton, Massachusetts]] – 13 October 1895, in [[Fitchburg, Massachusetts]])<ref name=Grave1/> was a [[United States]] inventor.<ref name=AppCyc1>
==Biography==
John Sawyer,<ref name=Grave1/> his father, was a farmer, mill owner and lumberman. His mother was Lucy Balcolm Sawyer.<ref name=Grave1/> His siblings included Addison M.,<ref name=NatCyc1>{{cite book | last1 = White | first1 = James Terry |
He went to [[Boston]] about 1843 and, while working in a [[machine shop]] there, invented a machine for preparing [[Caning (furniture)|chair cane]] from [[rattan]]. Thousands of dollars had previously been spent in vain attempts to construct such a machine, but Sawyer's was successful, and after it was patented, on 24 June 1851 (
In the summer of 1853 he invented improvements in rifled cannon projectiles, which were patented in 1855.<ref name=VintMach1>[http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=1735&tab=7 Patents by Sylvanus Sawyer at VintageMachinery.com]</ref> These included the placing of a coating of lead or other soft metal on the rear and sides of the shell, which was expanded laterally by the discharge and prevented the
[[File:Civil War officers. Union (1909) (14576108858).jpg|right|thumb|250px|The Sawyer gun being demonstrated by Major General [[Benjamin Butler]] for [[John E. Wool|Major General Wool]] at the Rip Raps ([[Fort Calhoun (Virginia)|Fort Calhoun]]), 1861]]
In 1857–58, with his brother Addison, Sawyer conducted experiments on his invention, at his own expense, for the benefit of the [[
Sawyer claimed that he was treated unjustly by the ordnance officers during the Civil War. Notwithstanding the report in his favor, his guns were not extensively adopted, but his improvements were incorporated in others that, he said, were infringements on his patents. He was advised by government officials to wait until the war had ended and then prosecute the chiefs of ordnance of the army and navy, but they both died shortly after its close, and nothing had been done in the matter. But he received several orders for guns directly from department commanders, to whom he furnished what are said to be the first batteries of [[Steel casting|cast-steel]] rifled guns made in the United States.<ref name=AppCyc1/> He patented other improvements in projectiles and [[fuze]]s in 1861–63,<ref name=CWArtyPat/> and in 1864–65 built a shop for the manufacture of ordnance, as he anticipated orders from the United States, Mexico, Brazil, and Chile, all of which he had negotiated with.<ref name=NatCyc1/> However, the close of the wars in the United States and [[South America]] caused it to be turned to other uses.<ref name=AppCyc1/>
He took out patents on dividers and calipers in 1867, a steam-generator in 1868, a sole sewing-machine in 1876, and a centering watchmaker's lathe on
He served as an [[alderman]] in Fitchburg.<ref name=AppCyc1/>
==Sawyer artillery==
Sylvanus Sawyer designed at least five types of [[rifling|rifled]] artillery guns and a full line of projectiles for them, including [[solid shot]], [[Shell (projectile)|shell]], [[Shrapnel shell|case-shot]], and [[Canister shot|canister]] rounds.<ref name=NatCyc1/> His company initials of "S. & A.M. Sawyer" or "S. & J.B. Sawyer", found on orders for his weapons, indicate that he partnered with his brothers Addison and Joseph in designing and manufacturing artillery.<ref name=Olm1>{{cite book | last1 = Olmstead | first1 = Edwin | last2 = Stark | first2 = Wayne E. | last3 = Tucker | first3 = Spencer C.
===9-pounder rifle===
A 9-pounder Sawyer rifle ordered in June 1861 is said to be the U.S. Army's first [[Steel casting|cast steel]] rifled weapon. Documentation survives for only one weapon of this type.<ref name=Haz1/><ref name=Olm306/>
===3.67-inch rifle===
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===24-pounder bore (5.82-inch) rifle===
Four 24-pounder (5.82-inch) bore rifles machined from Model 1845 42-pounder [[cannon|smoothbore]] seacoast gun blocks were ordered in 1857–58. One of these was the "Sawyer gun" used at Fort Calhoun in 1861 with 42-pound shells. These were made at the [[West Point Foundry]] in [[Cold Spring, New York]], with one delivered in 1857 and three in 1859. One is noted "for Mr. Sawyer's experiments" and another is noted "for Mr. Sigourney's experiments". A 24-pounder Sawyer gun tested at [[Fort Monroe]] had a recorded weight of 8,822 pounds, only one pound different from the delivered weight of the "Sigourney" gun.<ref name=RipSaw1/><ref name=Olm205>Olmstead et al, p. 205</ref> An unknown number of these weapons were in a battery at [[Newport News, Virginia]] in mid-1861, with one on the Rip Raps (Fort Calhoun, later [[Fort Wool]]) that attracted media attention for long-range fire on Confederate batteries at [[Sewell's Point]].<ref name=NatCyc1/><ref name=Batt1/> One of these and a 3.67-inch Sawyer rifle were in the siege train of the [[Siege of Richmond]] in 1864–65, as reported postwar by [[Henry Larcom Abbot]], an engineer officer.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Abbot | first1 = Henry Larcom |
==See also==
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==References==
*{{Appletons'|wstitle= Sawyer, Sylvanus |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sawyer, Sylvanus}}
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