David Marshall Williams (aka "Carbine Williams") was born 13 November 1900 in Godwin, Cumberland County, North Carolina, the eldest of seven children. As a young boy, he worked on his family's farm, but showed a marked affinity as a machinist. He dropped out of school after eighth grade, and began work in Ellery Ezzell’s Blacksmith Shop in Godwin, learning the craft of working metals. 1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 500 miles (805 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 9. ...

Known as “Marshall” to his friends, he caught some of the American military fervor of the early twentieth century, and although not yet officially old enough, enlisted in the US Navy, giving the recruiter a false age. He spent only a short time in the navy before this was realized, and he was discharged for being underage. After returning home from the navy, he spent one semester at Blackstone Military Academy in Virginia before being expelled. The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... This is a list of military academies in the United States which are now defunct. ... Official language(s) English Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Area  Ranked 35th  - Total 42,793 sq. ...

After returning to Godwin from the military academy, he was employed by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad at the station in town. This job assisted with his other business, an illegal distillery in the woods just outside of town. The distillery apparently had some high-level customers. During the time of Prohibition, a suitcase would be loaded with moonshine was placed on a train destined for Washington, DC every other day. On alternate days, when a shipment was not placed on the train to the nation's capitol, another suitcase containing a similar shipment was loaded onto the bus for Raleigh, the state capitol. The specific destinations and receivers of these shipments have never been revealed, but assumptions are rife about who in those cities would circumvent Prohibition to satisfy a taste for 'shine. The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (AAR reporting mark ACL) was an American railroad that existed between 1880s and 1967, when it merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, its longtime rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. ... Shine Road The name tells the history of this back road Hemingway, South Carolina The literal meaning of moonshine is the light of the moon, but because the activity of distilling whiskey unlawfully was usually done at night with as little light as possible, the word became both a verb... Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol. ... Flag Seal Nickname: the District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location Location of Washington, D.C., with regard to the surrounding states of Maryland and Virginia. ... ... See also Raleigh, North Carolina and Sir Walter Raleigh. ... Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol. ...

The operation of the distillery was generally common knowledge to most people in the area, but the local constabulary were still obligated to enforce the law whenever possible. A raid was conducted on the distillery in 1921, and during the course of this action, Deputy Sheriff Al Pate was shot to death. Williams was some distance away at the time of the shooting, assisting Ellery Ezzell, the blacksmith, in repairing a metal roof. Hearing the shooting he ran to the distillery, arriving just as the shooter, a man he employed to operate the distillery, had fled, dropping the pistol used in the shooting on the ground. Williams picked up the weapon just as the Sheriff arrived, and was arrested. Shine Road The name tells the history of this back road Hemingway, South Carolina The literal meaning of moonshine is the light of the moon, but because the activity of distilling whiskey unlawfully was usually done at night with as little light as possible, the word became both a verb... 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Williams was initially charged with first-degree murder since a law enforcement officer had been killed, but the trial ended in a hung jury, unable to determine guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Rather than go through another trial, Williams was persuaded to plead guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder, being promised a lesser penalty. The shooting had occurred on his land, at his distillery, and that made him an accessory. The judge, however, was not in the mood for making deals, and Williams was sentenced to a twenty to thirty year term for a crime he did not commit.

Williams was transported to Caledonia State Prison in Halifax County, North Carolina. During the early part of his incarceration, the prison superintendent began to observe in him a certain genius for metal work and gunsmithing. He was assigned to the prison's machine shop where he repaired weapons for the guards. Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 500 miles (805 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 9. ...

His extraordinary skills in the machine shop permitted him to stay ahead of the workload, and allowed him time for his own hobby. He began building lathes and other tools, and then parts for guns. He saved paper and pencils, and stayed up late at night drawing plans for various firearms. His mother sent him technical data on guns, and provided him with contacts with patent attorneys. While in prison, he invented the short-stroke piston and the floating chamber principles, eventually revolutionizing small arms manufacture.

The Williams Family went on a campaign to have his sentence commuted, and received assistance from the Cumberland County Sheriff having arrested him and the widow of the man he was accused of killing. In 1929, North Carolina Governor Angus W. McLean reduced the sentence, and Williams left prison after only seven years. 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 500 miles (805 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 9. ... Angus Wilton McLean (20 April 1870 -- 21 June 1935) was the Democratic governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1925 to 1929. ...

Back in Cumberland County, he set to work perfecting his inventions, and filing patents. In 1933, he traveled to Washington, DC to show his work to the US War Department. His first contract was to modify the .30 caliber Browning rifle to fire .22 caliber smokeless ammunition. The use of his short-stroke piston, developed while he had been in prison, in the US Army M-1 Carbine manufactured by the Winchester Arms Company and others, brought his greatest fame and the nickname "Carbine Williams." General Douglas MacArthur called this light rapid-fire carbine, "One of the strongest contributing factors in our victory in the Pacific." His fame was great enough for him to be portrayed by the actor Jimmy Stewart in the movie “Carbine Williams” released in 1952. 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Flag Seal Nickname: the District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location Location of Washington, D.C., with regard to the surrounding states of Maryland and Virginia. ... ... The United States Department of War was the military department of the United States governments executive branch from 1789 until 1949, when it became part of the United States Department of Defense. ... Browning Arms Company was founded in Utah in 1927. ... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... The M1 Carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber . ... The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American maker of repeating weapons during the late 19th Century and the early 20th Century. ... MacArthur landing at Leyte Beach in 1944. ... Jimmy Stewart, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1934 James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American film actor beloved for his persona as an average guy who faces adversity and tries to do the right thing, an image which was largely reflected in his own personality. ... Carbine Williams is a 1952 American drama film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring James Stewart. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Williams spent the remainder of his life alternating his time between his home in Godwin and an apartment he kept in Connecticut near the offices of the major arms manufacturers where he worked under contract as a consultant. He died of pneumonia in Dorothea Dix Hospital Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina on 8 January 1975. He is buried in the Old Bluff Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Godwin, Cumberland County, North Carolina. Official language(s) English Capital Hartford Largest city Bridgeport Area  Ranked 48th  - Total 5,549 sq. ... See also Raleigh, North Carolina and Sir Walter Raleigh. ... Wake County is a county located in the state of North Carolina. ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 500 miles (805 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 9. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... Official language(s) English Capital Raleigh Largest city Charlotte Area  Ranked 28th  - Total 53,865 sq mi (139,509 km²)  - Width 500 miles (805 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 9. ...