Dustin DePue - In The Armory: Weapon Comparison

In this episode, Dustin DePue digs into our armory to compare the Krag-Jorgenson rifle and the Springfield 1903 rifle. The Krag-Jorgenson rifle has the unique distinction of being the first smokeless powder rifle adopted by the U.S. Military as a primary battle rifle. It preformed poorly during the Spanish American War in comparison to the Mauser rifles used by our enemies in Cuba and the Philippines. This directly led to the U.S. switching to the Springfield 1903 rifle, a copy of the Mauser design, which served in WWI as our primary battle rifle.

This program will cover the differences in the rifle's designs, an explanation of their histories, particularly their use in two successive conflicts and what made them successful (or not). 

DUSTIN DEPUE is the Museum & Library’s Director of Collections. In this position, Dustin manages the Pritzker Military Museum & Library's Special Collections, Archives, and Digital Lab. Additionally, he and his team oversee the acquisition, preservation, cataloging, and display of archival collections, artifacts, photographs, prints, and posters. He holds a Masters in Library and Information Science from Dominican University and a B.A. in Fiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago.

The episode will be LIVE on our Facebook page.