Posted December 30, 2019 6:00 pm by Comments

By Logan Metesh

tommy guns
The two Thompsons used in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. (T. Logan Metesh photo)

Newport, KY – -(AmmoLand.com)- Born on December 31, 1860, John T. Thompson was the man who made “The Gun That Made the ‘20s Roar” – the Tommy Gun. He was, however, an accomplished military man long before he was a gun designer. A Class of 1882 graduate of the United States Military Academy, Thompson went on to become the youngest colonel in the US Army.

General John T. Thompson with an early working Thompson machine gun
General John T. Thompson with an early working Thompson machine gun

The most famous use of Gatling guns in battle was by Lt. John Henry Parker during the Spanish-American War’s battle of San Juan Hill. During that battle, Teddy Roosevelt and his fellow Rough Riders were heard to have exclaimed, “It’s the Gatlings, men, our Gatlings!”

Thompson was responsible for those guns being made available to Parker. In his capacity as Chief Ordnance Officer, he coordinated the assemblage of Gatling guns and ammunition and saw to their delivery to Parker in Cuba.

John …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand

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