Creedmoor and the International Matches

David Minshall ©2004

America vs Great Britain

In May 1877 the NRA of Great Britain received an invitation from New York to compete for the Centennial Trophy the following September. Sir Henry Halford was appointed captain of the British team and organisation was left entirely in his hands. The team was chosen following a three day trial shoot held at Cambridge.

On 25 August the British riflemen arrived at New York. Booming cannon and an American reception party aboard the steamer Nelson K. Hopkins greeted them. The fifth annual fall prize meeting of the NRA opened on 9 September. As these opening individual matches drew to a close so attention shifted to the great international rifle match. Scheduled for two days shooting, on 13 and 14 September, this was to be the first time that a Great Britain rifle team had competed against an American team.

About 10 o'clock on the 13th the British team, consisting of Sir Henry St. John Halford, H.S. Evans, Lieut. G. Fenton, Lieut.-Col. J. Fenton, Sergt. Ferguson, A.P. Humphry, J.K. Milner and W. Rigby, arrived from their quarters in Garden City. After visiting the butts and examining the targets, they proceeded to the tent of the American team captain, General Dakin, where they met the American riflemen. The American team of Maj. Gen. T.S. Dakin, I.L. Allen, C.E. Blydenburgh, L.C. Bruce, F. Hyde, W.H. Jackson, Maj. H.S. Jewell and L. Weber appeared in their neat brown shooting costumes. In the tent, the captains of the respective teams drew lots for position, the Americans winning the choice. The British team used Metford and Rigby muzzle loading rifles, and the American team Remington and Sharps breech loading rifles.

The day did not go as the British would have wished, and it closed with aggregate scores of 1,655 for the Americans and 1,629 for the British, leaving the latter with a daunting 26 point deficit to make up in the next day's shooting and the Americans in buoyant mood.

On the second day, the Americans finished shooting at 5:35 p.m., and ten minutes later the British completed their shooting. The British team had floundered and with grand aggregate totals of 3,334 to the Americans and 3,242 to the British the great match was over. Both teams had in fact shot astonishing scores, bettering those made in other matches to date. America's team score on 14 September 1877 of 1,679 was, however, an outstanding achievement.