Marcellus Hartley

Marcellus Hartley (1827-January 8, 1902) was an American arms dealer, appointed as an agent by the Union Government to purchase guns from Europe during the American Civil War. He later manufactured cartridges for breech-loading guns, owned the Remington Arms Company and diversified into other areas of commerce.

Hartley was the son of Catherine Munson and merchant, Robert Milham Hartley, who was active in public health reform and the New York temperance movement. Hartley was educated in New York and entered his father’s business at the age of seventeen as a clerk. After three years he moved to Francis Tomes & Sons, Maiden Lane, New York, and became involved with gun sales. In 1854, at the age of twenty six, he started in business with partners Jacob Rutsen Schuyler and Malcolm Graham. They purchased goods in Europe and found a ready market in New York, with Hartley specialising in guns and ammunition. In 1857 a financial panic hit the country and many companies went under; the firm of Schuyler, Hartley and Graham survived and the following few years proved to be a boom period for them. In 1860, due to the threat of civil war, another panic hit the market. The company also had to defend itself in front of the grand jury when accusations were made against the partners of selling goods to the South.

As war approached it became apparent that there was a major shortfall in weaponry for the armies of the North, and procurement from across the Atlantic seemed the only answer. The Secretary of War sought advice on who could act on their behalf and the name of Marcellus Hartley was put forward. His knowledge of the industry and contacts in Europe made him the ideal candidate. For the purpose of his mission he was appointed to a status the equivalent of a brigadier-general and given access to an account at Baring Brothers. In addition to buying guns he was also instructed to block the sale of weapons to Confederate agents where ever possible.

When Hartley was a young salesman travelling in the West, an acquaintance gave him a metallic cartridge as a souvenir. The majority of weapons at the time were muzzle loaded with paper cartridges. A metallic cartridge would enable rifles to be breech-loaded, but producing the ammunition had always been one of the stumbling blocks. Schuyler, Hartley and Graham purchased two small companies producing metal cartridges and started a business called the Union Metallic Cartridge Company that became highly successful due to various innovations that they introduced to the designs. Another purchase was the Bridgeport Gun Implement Company, that produced sporting guns and other sporting equipment.

Hartley also became involved with the early development and application of electrical generation and supply. He invested heavily in the United States Electrical Lighting Company (USELC), working with inventors such as Hiram Maxim, and using the designs of Edward Weston and Moses G. Farmer. USELC eventually became part of the Westinghouse Company with Hartley on the board of directors.

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