A Confederate marked Pattern 1853 Rifle-Musket---some history.

[drm3m]

I sent some photos to Brent Wilburn at Antique Arms Inc in the U.S. asking him if this was a Confederate P53 rifle-musket.

He has sold a number of these Confederate P53s in the past.

http://www.antiquearmsinc.com/

This was his answer.

David
I'm not in the office in front of my computer but looked at your photos, very well done I would like to add, and would say that what you have there is a very good example of a Confederate Enfield I can see the S a tiny bit of the j and most of the anchor. That mark is extremely important to the value and in my opinion yours has enough to be definitely Confederate. Congrats. Great find!

Regards
Brent Wilburn

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My photos that I sent him.

Inventory control number on this Confederate imported P53----# 1121.

Brit regulations specified that all arms were to have a number not to exceed four digits engraved “and in no instance stamped or punched" on the butt plate, the ramrod, the bayonet socket, the bayonet scabbard stud, and the waist belt.



The rifle-musket in question.
The sling shown is not correct for this M1853 rifle-musket.



1861 lock date on this Tower rifle-musket.



24 bore is .58 calibre, typical of many Enfields made for the American market.
The Confederates did not stipulate that .577 was the regulation calibre until 1862.




The big question!

These Confederate P53s are supposed (sometimes but not always---if it was a state purchase) to have a J S /Anchor marking behind the trigger guard like the photo shown below from Antique Arms Inc.



This is what is left of these markings on my P53.
A possible "S" with the bottom part of a "J"......no visible Anchor.



All very thought provoking!

David

Facing this must not have been pleasant.

 

[mrclean89]

Very interesting! That is a beautiful gun you have there!

 

[drm3m]

Thanks mrclean89.

The photos below show a recent book on ‘The Confederate Enfield’ written by Steve Knott.





I have recently had the good fortune to communicate with an Enfield expert in the U.S.

The following are excerpts from those emails for they that may be interested in this subject.

One of my questions for Bill;

-Do you often see engraved CS control numbers on the butt plates of P1853 rifle muskets without any visible J.S./Anchor marking?

His response;

Yes, there are numbered Enfields without the JS Anchor stamp; a number did not have JS Anchor stamps because they were state purchases. Most of the stamps were light and scraped away when refinished. Here's the caveat: since Steve Knott's book came out last summer, there are far more SC, Georgia and Louisiana Enfields on the market than were observed over the last 50 years.

The "defarbing" stamps sold by some sutlers for reenactors include JS Anchor stamps as well as other broker's stamps and maker's roundels. The stamps were used to enhance original arms (US inspector's stamps are also offered for use on Springfields, etc.). Freshly stamped and aged Enfields have also been engraved with CS control numbers. The engraving was quite crude on the first examples and most of the numbers consisted of straight lines like 1411, but the fakers have gotten better and can now do 9's and an occasional 0. At least six fake S.C P53's with various (incorrect) sizes of letter stamps have been marketed recently.

Bill’s comment about my P53.

The P53 in the photos looks like a great piece.

I can't quite make out the stamping in the stock - is it SHC? I think that I can see a letter S. Isn't this in fact the P53 with control #1121? (Yes)

The stock was scraped - the supplier's letter code is missing as well as a clear complete JS Anchor stamp (if it ever had one). I do not immediately have access to all of the crate shipping records (few survived). Crate #56 shipped aboard the Fingal contained P53's #1101 to 1120. There is then a gap to crate 62 which contained P53's 1221-1240. Those P53's were all supplied by C. W. James and originally had a letter J in front of the butt plate tang and had a letter G stamped on the lock side of the butt stock. 1121 would have been in crate #57 and if I have a listing for it, it is somewhere in the files, but was likely a James supplied piece. Interestingly, there was also a P56 rifle with control #1121 as the bayonet survived.

1121 was ready for shipment from London in August 1861 and was in the number series initially purchased by Georgia.

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A commentary by a U.S. Civil War dealer regarding the Confederate numbering system on these P53 Rifle Muskets.

During the early days of the American Civil War, Confederate purchasing agents (primarily Caleb Huse) did a splendid job of tying up contracts for the British P-1853 Enfield Rifle Musket, truly one of the most advanced and well made long arms of the time. Many of the early purchases were marked to help account for deliveries and to make sure that the contractors were paid for what they delivered. Marks such as JS / Anchor, CH / 1 and SH / C and its variants all indicated Confederate purchases and helped to properly account for them.

The first CS importation mark to be correctly identified by collectors is the famous JS / Anchor mark. While some level of debate still continues regarding who JS was, we do know that these guns were the most inventory controlled pieces, as all but the very last purchases so marked were engraved with a number on their brass butt plate, or stamped with one in the wood behind the trigger guard in the case of iron mounted rifles.

The numbering system on the butt plates apparently started with 0001 and proceeded to 9999, at which point a letter suffix was added so the numbers could be used again. Thus the second round of 10,000 muskets were numbered #### / A, the next 10,000 as #### / B, etc. This numbering system allows us to make some educated guesses about when a particular gun may have left England bound for the Confederate coast. Unfortunately, due to the fact that most of the guns were delivered to trans-shipment ports like Bermuda, prior to being loaded on a blockade runner for final delivery to the Confederacy, it is hard to know how long a particular gun may have sat on a dock or in a warehouse, prior to delivery.

The photo below shows an example of the control number on a P53 with the A suffix.



The top tang of the butt plate has the engraved blockade number in the 9,000 range with the A suffix...which stands for 10,000...or 19,000.
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The five main suppliers who sold Enfields through Archibald Hamilton to Confederate buyers Caleb Huse and Major Alexander were Bond "B", James "J", Scott & Son "S", Kerr "K", and Field & Sons "F".

Archibald Hamilton was both the Superintendent of the London Armoury Co. and secured quantities of Enfields by private contractors for the Confederates in London and Birmingham. Hamilton was so effective, in tying up Enfield production for the Confederates, that the "US Consul in London, F.H. Morse, was highly distressed to report in Oct. 1861 that "of Enfield rifles they (Confederates) have thousands now ready for shipment, and have all the armories here at work for them. With these (London makers) and what they are getting at Birmingham they must be receiving not far from 1500 per week."

Some examples of these markings;

"B' for Bond.




"F" for Field &Sons.




"J" for C.W. James.




JS stands for John Southgate, Major Edward Anderson (Caleb Huse's "boss") recorded in his dairy that Southgate had been retained as an inspector.

The JS /Anchor View Marking seen on many of these Confederate Enfields.



A comment from a U.S. CW dealer who is active selling these CS pieces.

"Next to a Richmond rifle musket, no single long arm has the cache and instant recognition as a true Confederate weapon as a British P-1853 Enfield, marked with the enigmatic J S / Anchor mark combined with an engraved, numbered butt plate. If a collector were to have only one true Confederate weapon in their collection, one of these imported Confederate Enfield’s would be the perfect addition".


David