Science Forums 2

[Freddy]

Originally Posted by eric l

I thought the expression came from the Harper's Ferry Arsenal, in the days of the"war between the states". According to what I learned, this was the first instance where the locks, the stocks and the barrels came from different suppliers for each item. But I can not trace back my source.

Actually, interchangeable parts came before the Civil War. Eli Whitney of MA received a pattent. The folks down at the Bunker (Breed's) Hill Monument in Charlestown, MA claim it came from the British Brown Bess musket used in the American Revolution. Several sites claim this. The first wriiten use comes from Sir Walter Scott in 1817. It could have been around some time before he used it, or Scott could have originated it.