Springfield Armory operated from 1794 through 1968 manufacturing seven major types of military shoulder arms. They were used in every US armed conflict up to the present. Inventors increased the Armory's fame through their innovations. Among them were Thomas Blanchard- who invented the eccentric lathe; Eskine S. Allin- who converted the muzzle-loading Civil War rifle-muskets into breech-loading rifles; and John Garand- who invented the famous M1 "Garand" rifle. (visit the Museum exhibit about the Armory's inventors, titled "Genius of Springfield.")