In 1874, the company was reorganized and renamed 'The Sharps Rifle Company' and it remained in Hartford until 1876, whereupon it relocated to Bridgeport, Connecticut. Lawrence continued as the chief armorer until 1872 and developed the various Sharp models and their improvements that made the rifle famous.

Sharps & Company' in Philadelphia Richard S. Christian Sharps left the company in 1855 to form his own manufacturing company called 'C. The Model 1851 was replaced in production by the Model 1853. Sharps was to be paid a royalty of $1 per firearm and the factory was built on R&L's property in Hartford, Connecticut. Lawrence as master armorer and superintendent of manufacturing. Palmer as president, Christian Sharps as engineer, and Richard S. In 1851 the 'Second Contract' was made for 15,000 rifles and the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company was organized as a holding company with $1,000 in capital and with John C. This is referred to as the 'First Contract', which was for 10,000 Model 1851 carbines - of which approximately 1,650 were produced by R&L in Windsor. invented the knife-edge breech block and self-cocking device for the 'box-lock' Model 1851. In 1851 the second model was brought to the Robbins & Lawrence Company of Windsor, Vermont where the Model 1851 was developed for mass production.

The second model used the Maynard tape primer, and surviving examples are marked Edward Maynard - Patentee 1845. Nippes at Mill Creek, (Philadelphia) Pennsylvania, in 1850. Sharps' initial rifle was patented Septem and manufactured by A.

Civil war sharps rifle serial numbers