Old gun I inherited

wood800

wood800

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Any info on this piece greatly appreciated. Was my dad I got after he passed away. Thanks
 

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It is a Chief's Gun. Supplied by the British Government during the War of 1812 period. Contractor was "GALTON"?
It was originally flintlock, of course.

Samuel Galton supplied 248 of these in 1813, 422 in 1814, 362 in 1815 and 5 in 1816, for a total of 1037.
All contractors supplied a total of 10,118 Chief's Guns during these years.
 
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I’m located near Amerstburg Ontario near Fort Malden . I know there was big battles on the Detroit river here in that 1812 war. My dad never had any idea what it was .
 
Just about impossible to establish any provenance, barring the thing having been passed down in a family. If it was a local gun which came out of the woodwork - as opposed to something that been circulated through the hands of assorted collectors, it is entirely possible that it was issued and used in your area.
I have one of the NW guns (serpent sideplate, etc.) branded in three places with the mark of the Indian Department of the British Army. I/l\D. It came out of Brant County. I assume that it was supplied to the Grand River Mohawks.
A fair number of the Chief's guns seem to have survived. I think this is because they were really nice little guns, suitable for hunting larger and smaller game. Yours was converted to percussion, which would have been done in the 1830s or later. The gun was in use for quite some time.
 
wood800 said:
I’m located near Amerstburg Ontario near Fort Malden . I know there was big battles on the Detroit river here in that 1812 war. My dad never had any idea what it was .
Click to expand...

Yep, General Brock himself (who would have been personally gifting such guns or ordering the same to be done), Tecumseh (who rallied many men from all over First Nations territories), Kahnawake Mohawks. They all fought around that area in several battles and engagements.
 
Yes I’m actively searching for the missing parts , I have two uncles that live in the old farm house. It was built in 1886. I bet it’s in there somewhere. Maybe I’ll find a replacement part one day . Thanks for everyone’s input.
 
wood800 said:
I’m located near Amerstburg Ontario near Fort Malden . I know there was big battles on the Detroit river here in that 1812 war. My dad never had any idea what it was .
Click to expand...

Lots of battles in Essex and Chatham. But without any provenance hard to tell heck could be tecumseh’s for all we know.

I have been reading about these battles a lot lately.
 
wood800 said:
Yes I’m actively searching for the missing parts , I have two uncles that live in the old farm house. It was built in 1886. I bet it’s in there somewhere. Maybe I’ll find a replacement part one day . Thanks for everyone’s input.
Click to expand...

If you need help with replacing anything let me know I’m not too far from you.
 
The missing parts( depending on how handy you are) could be easily made with different profile hand files and plenty of elbow grease. You would have to find s blank or cut one out . As for the missing screws finding the right thread would be the biggest problem. But you could always tap it a larger size or different pitch . File the head to match the others profile/ shape. Hand fitting/ filin was how it was done originally. The hardest part is who to Antique the parts to match , Acid itching??:popCorn:
 
Got a couple dozen hammers for the olden units...suspect most came of doubles.
Get ahold of me... don't know when I'll be home again...but for a deposit I can likely send you the lot...Gentleman's rules in effect.
Honor system and all that. The road to hell is paved with good intentions...done this move before and had to get a bit huffy before they sent them back.
Like really, man?
 
just saying and I am sure you are already thinking this. If you modify any part to make it functional, make sure you don't modify any of the original parts on the gun. Just modify the new part to adapt it to your gun so it could be removed if the original parts surface.

I think it is important to keep it original and preserve the history.

Thanks for sharing your find and keep us posted on your developments.

Cheers,
 
buzzmagoo said:
The missing parts( depending on how handy you are) could be easily made with different profile hand files and plenty of elbow grease. You would have to find s blank or cut one out . As for the missing screws finding the right thread would be the biggest problem. But you could always tap it a larger size or different pitch . File the head to match the others profile/ shape. Hand fitting/ filin was how it was done originally. The hardest part is who to Antique the parts to match , Acid itching??:popCorn:
Click to expand...

I know I could make one I’m a machinist but I have no idea how to make the metal look similar . One out of brass would look nice but I hate to take away from its original look. I’ll have to ask my dads sibling to see if they know more about this thing’s history.
 
tokguy said:
Got a couple dozen hammers for the olden units...suspect most came of doubles.
Get ahold of me... don't know when I'll be home again...but for a deposit I can likely send you the lot...Gentleman's rules in effect.
Honor system and all that. The road to hell is paved with good intentions...done this move before and had to get a bit huffy before they sent them back.
Like really, man?
Click to expand...

Thanks ��
 
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