Springfield Armory National Historic Site - Organ of Muskets (U.S. National Park Service)

Springfield Armory NHS, US NPS

The "Organ of Muskets" was originally one of many such double racks built in the early 1830's by Armory craftsmen to house the most recently manufactured flintlock muskets.

The double musket rack, displayed in the museum at Springfield Armory NHS, is one of the most dramatic yet enigmatic objects on public view in the Main Arsenal building where the Museum and collection may be visited. Partially filled with 645 Springfield US Model 1861 rifle muskets (with musket assembly views) in remarkable condition, it rarely fails to awe both the casual visitor and the serious student of arms. Exhibited alongside the rack is a printing of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, The Arsenal at Springfield, protesting the wanton waste of war that was written after a visit to Springfield Armory in 1843.

Image of Longfellow postage stamp next to the musket rack

Springfield Armory NHS, US NPS

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's second wife, Fanny, influenced her husband during a trip to Springfield Armory on the occasion of their wedding in 1843. Fanny is recorded to have said, that “I urged H. to write a peace poem.” That poem and its history, "The Arsenal at Springfield", may be viewed in the image above!