Win 38-55.
Collecting U.S. Civil War stuff as a Canadian has been an interesting ride.
Shown below are some of the long arms and carbines.
Along with this collecting period come the sabres and bayonets....which has also been interesting. (I have a bunch of them)
Lots to learn.
David
U.S. Model 1841 (Mississippi rifle) manufactured by Whitney in 1848. (purchased in July 1994)
M1855 sabre bayonet for the rifle above. (Purchased in March 1995)
U.S. Model 1842 .69 cal smooth bore musket manufactured by Harpers Ferry in 1843. (purchased in 2006)
This is quite an early lock plate date marking on these Harpers Ferry Model 1842s. (lock dated 1843)
The following commentary is from Joe Bilby (columnist from The Civil War Times publication following my questions to him on March 13 2006.)
Joe is the author of many gun books and regimental history works from this period
and was very helpful to me when I was debating purchasing this gun.
"Widely used in the first two years of the war by both sides, and used by certain regiments, like those of the Irish Brigade and the 12th NJ, who preferred it, into late 1864. The 12th's Gettysburg monument is as much to the '42 as to the regiment. It is topped with a large sphere and three smaller ones, with the line "buck and ball."
This is not my .69 Cal "buck and ball cartridge".
.69 calibre round ball, or , “buck and ball” that was a .69 round ball with three rounds of buckshot.
On March 30 2006 I purchased a bayonet for this musket that came from the Baltimore Antique Arms Show in March 2006. The price was $400 USD or $455 Cdn. The bayonet which is marked” U.S” over “C” over “17” on the blade flat is a U.S Bayonet Model 1835 it came in a Regulation Pattern of 1839 Scabbard. This scabbard was normally carried in a shoulder belt (baldric) as opposed to being carried on the belt with a frog. This is the correct bayonet for the U.S. Model 1842 Musket, with a correct early scabbard.
CRAZY prices in the U.S. for this stuff at that time!
Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle musket in .58 caliber-not .577 (Lock plate dated 1861) (purchased in 1994)
25 bore is .577 cal.-----24 bore is .58 cal.
U.S. Model 1861 rifle musket (Wm Muir Contract 1863) (purchased in 1993)
Sharps New Model 1863 carbine (purchased 1990)---Smith Carbine (purchased in 1993)---Spencer Model 1860 carbine (purchased in 1990)
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The two principal cavalry sabres used by the U.S. cavalry during the Civil War.
Model 1840 (the wrist breaker) and the Model 1860---somewhat lighter.
The Model 1840 on top. (Both of these sabres were manufactured by Ames.)
The Model 1840 I am very pleased with.
It came from a CW dealer in North Carolina.
Dated 1845 ...it is the first year that Ames manufactured this Model 1840 sabre.
These swords served during the Mexican/American War as well as the U.S. Civil War.
On the pommel, one of the inspector's markings is WAT ---for William Anderson Thornton whose inspector's markings are seen on many guns of that period.
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Civil War skin (treated paper) cartridges.
The J&D patent (#33,393 - October 1, 1861) was issued for "an improvement in envelopes for cartridges" and the cartridges made under this patent were officially called "Johnson and Dow's Combustible and Water Proof Cartridges".
The patent calls for a cartridge case of gun-cotton, paper, cloth or other fabric or texture treated with any nitrate and an oxygenating salt to make it "highly inflammable and instantly combustible"...
The finished cartridge was dipped in collodion (also highly inflammable) to make it waterproof.
In addition to the durability of these cartridges, tests and actual field use indicated that the cartridges were easier to load, since no tearing was required and the whole cartridge was simply placed in the bore. One regimental commander later wrote that the regiment adjacent to his on the firing line had been equipped with J&D cartridges and were able to fire three shots for every two of his own regiment.
The first J&D cartridges for .58 cal rifle musket were ordered by the Federal government on March 24, 1862. Cartridges using the J&D patent were also produced by Elam O. Potter in both rifle musket and revolver calibers.
Julius Hotchkiss patented the skin cartridge, which D.C. Sage (and a few others) manufactured; again waterproof by the nature of the skin. Again the power of the percussion cap penetrates the skin and ignites the powder. Some of the .44 cal. Army packets were labelled “Waterproof Skin Cartridges.”
The patented cartridge by Doctors Doremus and Budd had a powder envelope formed by pressing the powder into molds under high tonnage, attaching them to bullets, and then dipping them into collodion, which waterproofed them, is extremely flammable and easily ignited with a percussion cap.
The combustible cartridges allowed quickness in loading, firing and being waterproof, became useful in the field. You didn’t need good teeth to tear them open and unnecessary handling.
NOT MY PHOTOS OF THESE CARTRIDGES. (For info only)
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Some of my CW stuff.
