Louis Labadie Driggs speech, "Automatic Ordnance in the American Navy"
Creation: circa 1900Abstract
Louis Labadie "L.L." Driggs (1868-1942) was a weapons manufacturer, who, along with his brother, U.S. Navy Commander William Hale "W.H." Driggs (1847-1908), and fellow Navy officer Samuel Seabury (?-1902) founded Driggs-Seabury Ordnance Company in 1897. This item is a typewritten speech given by L.L. Driggs, likely to the New York Yacht Club, promoting a semi-automatic gun invented by W.H. Driggs.
Dates
- Creation: circa 1900
Creator
- Driggs, Louis Labadie (1868-1942) (Person)
Extent
1 item(s)
Physical Description
1 typescript ; 14 pages.
Biographical note
Louis Labadie "L.L." Driggs (1868-1942) was a weapons manufacturer, who, along with his brother, U.S. Navy Commander William Hale "W.H." Driggs (1847-1908), and fellow Navy officer Samuel Seabury (?-1902) founded Driggs-Seabury Ordnance Company in 1897. The company supplied the Army and Navy with guns and ammunition. Originally headquartered in Derby, Connecticut, the company moved production to Sharon, Pennsylvania, in 1904. L.L Driggs ran the company after his brother's death in 1908, merging with Savage Arms during World War I.
Dropping the Seabury name, Driggs was reconstituted as a motor vehicle manufacturer in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1921. It went into receivership in 1925, following which it was reorganized as Driggs Ordnance and Engineering. During the following ten years, the company produced anti-aircraft guns but failed to secure sought-after foreign orders. The ultimate fate of the company after 1935 is unclear.
L.L. Driggs married Roberta Whiting (1871-?) in 1893; the couple had three children, including prominent American painter Elsie Driggs (1898-1992).
Scope and Contents
This item is a typewritten speech given by Louis Labadie Driggs, likely to the New York Yacht Club, promoting a semi-automatic gun invented by his brother, W.H. Driggs, partner in Driggs-Seabury Ordnance Company. Driggs gives an overview of recent developments in rapid-fire naval guns during the Spanish-American War, then describes the technical improvements achieved in W.H. Driggs's new model. Similar content appears in L.L. Driggs's article, "The Secret of Our Naval Strength," published in Munsey's Magazine, vol. 26 (1901-1902).
Access Restrictions
No restrictions on access; this collection is open for research.
Language of Materials
English
Subjects
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- Louis Labadie Driggs speech, "Automatic Ordnance in the American Navy"
- Author:
- Diane E. Bockrath
- Date:
- 2024
- Description rules:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description:
- English
- Script of description:
- Latin
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository
