.- A Requa Machine Gun is displayed in the right foreground, just
in front of the green chest. The gun had twenty-five barrels, each twenty-four
inches long. The spacing between the barrels could be adjusted for concentrated
fire or a wide broadside. A single cap fired the 25-shot volley. The gun
was serviced by a crew of three men and could fire 7 to 10 times per minute.
The gun was designed by three Rochesterians: Albert Mack, Josephus Requa,
and William Billinghurst in 1861. Private production of the gun began in
1862. 'Mack's Rifled Battery' was outfitted with the Machine Guns and recruited
to be part of Rochester's 108th New York Infantry. Instead they were
added to the 140th as the 26th New York Independant Battery when the 108th
left before Mack's unit was at full strength.
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