Arsenals of History 2025
20–22 August
National Museum of the
United States Army
Fort Belvoir, Virginia
Presentations
Day 1 (20 August)
Introductory Remarks
Danny Michael (Curator, Cody Firearms Museum)
Arms, Ammunition, and Archaeology: A Multi-Faceted Approach to Understanding 18th-Century Ballistics
Joel Bohy (Director of Historic Arms & Militaria, Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers)
Arms from the Archives: Service Patterns of 18th Century British Military Arms
Dr Matthew Keagle (Curator, Fort Ticonderoga)
Small Arms of the American Revolution in the Army Museum Enterprise Collection
Brian Briones
History, Importance, and Ballistics of Early 16th Century Snap Matchlock Firearms
Balázs Németh (independent researcher)
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly: French Small Arms of the American Revolution
James Mullins
Arming Post-Revolutionary Troops in the Ohio River Valley
Zachary Distel, (Curator & Director of Collections, Sons of the American Revolution)
Steel & Sovereignty: Arms, Politics, and Power in Late 19th-Century Afghanistan
Dr N.R. Jenzen-Jones (Director, Centre for the Study of Arms History)
Day 2 (21 August)
Thompson and his Rifle Demonstrators: Training, Troubleshooting, and Building Confidence in the M1917
Jonathan Krisko
Springfield Armory Production 1911s
Andrew Stolinski
18th Century Arms Manufacturing in Fredericksburg, VA
Logan Metesh (independent researcher)
Unwilling to Adapt: American Arms Designers vs. the Krag’s Adoption
Justin Baird (independent researcher)
Appreciating Percussioned Flintlocks as a Folk Art
Nathan Bender (Reference Assistant, McCracken Research Library)
Guns of the Dutch Colonial Empire, From Matchlock to Uzi
Mathieu Willemsen (Curator, Nationaal Militair Museum)
Gun Labels? In this Economy?: Musem Firearms Labeling Standards (or Lack Thereof)
Tyler Berger (Research Assistant, Cody Firearms Museum)
& Jathan Clark (Curatorial Assistant, Cody Firearms Museum)
Day 3 (22 August)
The Gun Museum Debate: An Examination of Canadian & U.S. Gun Laws and their Effects on Museums
Ashley Hlebinsky (Executive Director, Firearms Research Center, University of Wyoming)
& Khan Rooney (Intendant, Château Ramezay)
Conservation of an Insect-damaged Carbine
Isabelle Lobley (Assistant Conservator of Arms and Mechanical Arts, Colonial Williamsburg)
Pathway to Provenance: The Makarov Pistol
Dr Rachel Bolton-King (Associate Professor of Forensic Science, Nottingham Trent University)
New Insights into John Garand’s Primer-actuated Rifles
Alex MacKenzie (Curator, Springfield Armory NHS)
Guns & Gaming
Jonathan Ferguson (Keeper of Firearms & Artillery, Royal Armouries)
Guns of the Little Bighorn: An Archaeological Perspective
Douglas D. Scott (Supervisory Archaeologist, National Park Service (retd.))
The Mystery of the Burton Machine Rifle
Matthew Moss (independent researcher)
& Danny Michael (Curator, Cody Firearms Museum)
Publications in Armax
Presenters are strongly encouraged to submit their research as an article or shorter ‘note’ for possible publication in Armax: The Journal of Contemporary Arms, the CFM’s journal published by Helios House Press. For those of you who represent an institution with a small arms collection or research focus, please also consider subscribing to the journal at: armaxjournal.org.
Jonathan S. Ferguson, review of Bullet Strikes From the First Day of the American Revolution (Joel Bohy & Douglas Scott), Armax: The Journal of Contemporary Arms, Vol. XI No. 1 (Spring–Summer 2025) (forthcoming).
Mathieu Wilemsen, ‘The Dutch Uzi: Service Variants of the Army, Navy & Air Force, 1957–1997’, Armax: The Journal of Contemporary Arms, Vol. VII No. 1 (Spring–Summer 2021), pp. 85–94, <doi.org/10.52357/armax13327>.
LINK
Symposium Report
Danny Michael, ‘Report: The 2025 Kurt Swanson Bucholz Arsenals of History Symposium’, Armax: The Journal of Contemporary Arms, Vol. XI No. 2 (Autumn–Winter 2024) (forthcoming).
Other Publications
A list of other publications arising from or otherwise connected to research presented at this symposium is provided below. This list is based on submissions from participants and may be incomplete.
Joel Bohy & Douglas Scott, Bullet Strikes From the First Day of the American Revolution (Woonsocket, RI: Mowbray Publishing, 2025).
LINK
N.R. Jenzen-Jones, ‘Coins & Cartridges: The Industrial Tools of State-building in Late 19th-century Afghanistan’, The Numismatic Chronicle (forthcoming).
LINK
N.R. Jenzen-Jones, Vernon Easley & Charles Randall, ‘Rifles Under Rahman: An Updated History of Martini-type Rifle Production in Afghanistan’, Journal of the Arms & Armour Society, Vol. XXIV No. 5 (2024), pp. 271–294.
LINK
N.R. Jenzen-Jones, Charles Randall, Jack Shanley & Omer Sayadi, ‘‘Blown from a gun’: Situating the British Practice of Execution by Cannon in the Context of Southern and Western Asia’, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 34 No. 4 (2024), pp. 777–798, <doi.org/10.1017/S1356186324000038>.
LINK
Douglas Scott, Uncovering History: Archaeological Investigations at the Little Bighorn (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2014).
LINK