Would love to hear from anyone who is familiar with the little known or mostly forgotten facts about this model. I'm looking for a register of purchase by the Federal Gov with serial numbers and where and when they were shipped - if such a record still exists. Trying to track the history of the one I have.
The information below touches on things from the NRA Museum. It mentions the 1862 only briefly. Of the 80 000 plus Carbines the Federal Gov purchased, around 6600 were 1862 Navy Carbines.
It is also interesting that the term "Sharp Shooter" refers to the regiment that used the Sharp rifle and has since become synonymous with precision long distance shooters.
below is from:
https://www.nramuseum.org/guns/the-galleries/a-nation-asunder-1861-to-1865/case-14-union-carbines/sharps-hankins-m1862-single-shot-breechloading-percussion-carbine.aspx
"During the Civil War, the Federal government bought over 80,000 Sharps carbines and nearly 10,000 Sharps Rifles. These arms were highly regarded by the troops who used them. Sharps Carbines found favor with Federal cavalry troopers, and New Model 1859 Rifles were used with great success by famous infantry units such as Colonel Hiram Berdan's U.S. Sharp Shooters, perhaps the first specialty troops in the history of modern warfare, as well as the 5th New York (Duryea's Zouaves) and the 13th Pennsylvania Reserves (Bucktails). Even the Confederate government recognized the superiority of the New Model 1859 Carbine, contracting with the Richmond firm of S.C. Robinson for the production of 5,000 copies."
"The New Model 1859 was followed by the New Model 1863 and New Model 1865 Carbines and Rifles. These were nearly identical to the New Model 1859, differing primarily in barrel stampings, the omission of buttstock patchboxes, and in the design or absence of bayonet lugs. Many versions of all three arms were later converted for use with .50-70 and .52-70 caliber metallic cartridge ammunition in the years following the Civil War. The New Model 1869 Carbine and Rifle, available in .44-77, .50-70, and .60 calibers, were the first Sharps arms designed for use with metallic cartridges."
"In 1862, Sharps entered into a partnership with William Hankins. Their new company, known as Sharps & Hankins, continued to produce pepperbox pistols, as well as the single-shot .52 caliber Model 1861 Navy Rifle and the Model 1862 Carbine, both of which featured sliding breech actions."
If anyone out there has information or links to records I'd love to hear from you.
The information below touches on things from the NRA Museum. It mentions the 1862 only briefly. Of the 80 000 plus Carbines the Federal Gov purchased, around 6600 were 1862 Navy Carbines.
It is also interesting that the term "Sharp Shooter" refers to the regiment that used the Sharp rifle and has since become synonymous with precision long distance shooters.
below is from:
https://www.nramuseum.org/guns/the-galleries/a-nation-asunder-1861-to-1865/case-14-union-carbines/sharps-hankins-m1862-single-shot-breechloading-percussion-carbine.aspx
"During the Civil War, the Federal government bought over 80,000 Sharps carbines and nearly 10,000 Sharps Rifles. These arms were highly regarded by the troops who used them. Sharps Carbines found favor with Federal cavalry troopers, and New Model 1859 Rifles were used with great success by famous infantry units such as Colonel Hiram Berdan's U.S. Sharp Shooters, perhaps the first specialty troops in the history of modern warfare, as well as the 5th New York (Duryea's Zouaves) and the 13th Pennsylvania Reserves (Bucktails). Even the Confederate government recognized the superiority of the New Model 1859 Carbine, contracting with the Richmond firm of S.C. Robinson for the production of 5,000 copies."
"The New Model 1859 was followed by the New Model 1863 and New Model 1865 Carbines and Rifles. These were nearly identical to the New Model 1859, differing primarily in barrel stampings, the omission of buttstock patchboxes, and in the design or absence of bayonet lugs. Many versions of all three arms were later converted for use with .50-70 and .52-70 caliber metallic cartridge ammunition in the years following the Civil War. The New Model 1869 Carbine and Rifle, available in .44-77, .50-70, and .60 calibers, were the first Sharps arms designed for use with metallic cartridges."
"In 1862, Sharps entered into a partnership with William Hankins. Their new company, known as Sharps & Hankins, continued to produce pepperbox pistols, as well as the single-shot .52 caliber Model 1861 Navy Rifle and the Model 1862 Carbine, both of which featured sliding breech actions."
If anyone out there has information or links to records I'd love to hear from you.
