I Buy Civil War Guns, Carbines, Swords, Revolvers

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The Civil War Arsenal is looking to buy, muskets, carbines, revolvers, swords, knifes and other items associated with the Civil War. I’ve been purchasing weapons of all types from major Civil War dealers for some time now, but I’m hoping to establish a niche with this web site that allows me and others to buy, sell and trade CW weapons.

I would be willing to pay top dollar for quality Union and Southern Weapons. My weapons of interest are Southern/Confederate provenance but I’m not opposed to buying Union pieces, after all the Union made some pretty COOL pieces.

No collection is too big or too small; I’d love to have first crack (opportunity) at buying your Civil War weapons/collections. If only I could buy Civil War weapons at what the Dealers buy weapons for, my collection would be GRAND.

So please if you have any Southern or Union Weapons, D handle Bowie knifes, Carbines, Muskets (Imports or Domestic), Revolvers, Artillery Swords. Email me at genx1969@yahoo.com .
I’m especially interested in any Richmond VA. Muskets, Rifles and Carbines any year any condition.

Gene West
civilwararsenal@yahoo.com

1864 Gywn & Campbell Carbine, Type II

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I’ve been tardy in posting photo’s of weapons I’ve written about, but I’ve been so busy at work and home that it’s not allowing me to write, photo and document as much as I’d like to so I apologize for that. The next weapon in the Civil War Arsenal that I’ll be writing about is the 1864 Type II Gwyn and Campbell Carbine. One of the more interesting looking weapons of the Civil War. There were actually 3 versions of this carbine. The first was the 1862 Cosmopolitan of which 1140 carbines were manufactured, next was the 1863 Gwyn and Campbell Type I, 4200 of these carbines were manufactured and finally the 1864 Type II Gwyn and Campbell of which 4002 carbines were manufactured. A total of 9342 carbines were purchase by the Ordnance Dept. for the sum of $197,320.00 as well as 6,300,000 linen cartridges for $132,007.27. The Cosmopolitan (Gwyn and Campbell) gets its name from the manufacturer, Cosmopolitan Arms Company of Hamilton, Ohio. It is also known as the ‘’Gwyn and Campbell” for the owners of the Cosmopolitan Arms Co. “Grapevine” because of the snake like curves in the trigger guard lever and long hammer; “Union Rifle” for the markings on the frame; “Ohio” for the state in which it was manufactured; and “Gross” for the inventor. The inventor, Henry Gross received U.S. Patent #25,259 on August 30, 1859 for the Cosmopolitan carbine. In 1860 the carbine was tested by Erskine Allin, the Master Armourer at the Springfield Armory, and again on June 9, 1860 by the Navy at the Naval Yard Washington with overall success. The actual manufacturing of the carbine was in Hamilton, Butler County, Ohio at the Cosmopolitan Arms Company which had been established in 1860. The firm’s owners were Edward Gwyn and Abner C. Campbell. The first wartime order for the Cosmopolitan carbine was requested by Illinois Governor Richard Yates through his State Quartermaster General’s headquarters at Springfield, Ill. Quartermaster General John Wood in a letter to Major Hagner dated December 12, 1861, requisitioned the Cosmopolitan Carbines for the Governor’s Legion. This letter introduced Edward Gwyn to Major Hagner so that Gwyn could obtain the order to furnish the Cosmopolitan for the Governors troops. Major Hagner in turn contacted General Ripley asking approval to give the order to Mr. Gwyn for 1,140 carbines plus appendages at $27.00 each with delivery in 60 days. The linen cartridge used a .52 caliber bullet weighting 390 grains and using 40 grains of powder, the overall length of the cartridge was 1.63 inches. The overall length of the carbine was 39 inches and it weighed 6 pounds 9 ounces. It does not have a fore stock and all carbines are marked UNION/RIFLE on the right side of the frame. The 19 inch blue barrel has a 3 ½ inch octagon section at the breech; with an iron blade front sight and a folding leaf rear sight graduated to 900 yards (type II versions have a 600 yard graduated rear sight). All major parts are serial numbered and also have an assembly number. The delivery on December 31, 1864 closed out the Gwyn and Campbell contracts during the Civil War. Many Calvary Regiments were issued the Gwyn and Campbell with a few being the 2nd and 3rd Arkansas; 5th, 6th and 16th Illinois; 3rd and 4th Indiana’s; 4th and 8th Iowa; 2nd, 6th and 14th Kansas; 10th, 12th, 14th and 40th Kentucky; 4th and 8th Missouri; 5th and 8th Ohio; 7th Tennessee; and the 3rd Wisconsin. In response to the 1863-1864 Ordnance Dept. survey of officers in the field using the various carbines, 37 officers commented on the Cosmopolitan with 23 considering it fully satisfactory and 14 considering it worthless. The major problem was found to be in the action of the breech mechanism. So that brings me to my 1864 Gwyn and Campbell Type II, which is in good condition. It does have a repair to the stock which is hardly noticeable, aside from that everything else is fine. The bluing on the barrel has worn off over the years but that just adds to the character of the weapon. All of the markings are legible and the action is perfect. The rear sight is the 600 yard graduated style and it has a sling ring on the left side. The serial # is in the 3500 range and the assembly number is 42. I’d like to thank John D. McAulay for all the great research he’s done. Without his book “Carbines of the Civil War” I would not be able to write this article in such detail.

R.T. Pritchett Rifle Musket, Enfield

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Over the last week or so I’ve been struggling with what I was going to write about this week, then I remembered that Greg posted a comment on my article about the 1862 Enfield SH&G #3 Musket, so I thought what better time to write about yet another weapon in my Civil War Arsenal.

The R.T. Pritchett Enfield Rifle Musket, Sinclair & Hamilton Company, (Crown/ SH/C/ Arrow). I think this mark is referred to as Type #2. The mark is on the bottom of the stock close to the trigger guard. The mark is faint but under the right light it is clearly there. I will be using the macro setting on my camera to photo the mark I hope it is clear enough to be seen.

Pritchett was a well known contractor who supplied many Enfield Rifle Muskets and parts to Confederate brokerage houses. Two of the more famous ones were S. Isaac & Campbell and Sinclair, Hamilton & Company.
Pritchett the inventor of the improved bullet for the 1853 Enfield, firing one of his own rifles on a windy, rainy day, shot 98 out of 100 shots in a 7 foot circle at 600 yards. Pretty good shooting especially at that range.

Aside from inventing and building guns Pritchett was also a business man who like so many others took advantage of the financial opportunities the American Civil War had to offer. Another one of those opportunists were Archibald Hamilton. Archibald was the Director of the London Armoury Company; they were a major gun making company in London. The quality of the London Armoury Guns was superior to other London Contractors since the L.A.CO’s parts were interchangeable and the others were not.

Archibald was a major player in the English arms industry, Director of the L.A.Co and was partners in a brokerage firm, this would create the perfect storm for the Confederacy to purchase, ship and receive the much needed weapons.

It wasn’t long before the South became the London Armoury Company’s principal client and it manufactured and shipped more than 70,000 rifles and about 7,000 revolvers (out of a total production run of about 10,000) to the South. However these weapons had to pass through the Union blockades and the number that actually reached the Confederate army is unknown. Confederates acclaimed the Armoury’s guns as the best weapons made in Britain.

Towards the end of the war the London Armoury Company was almost completely dependent on sales to the Confederacy and survived for only a year after the end of the war, dissolving in the Spring of 1866.

So back to the Pritchett Rifle Musket, this gun is in fair condition with a wonderful mocha color stock. The barrel and hardware have a brownish color throughout but no rust. This is one of the first Civil War guns I purchased and I probably paid a little more then I should have but all and all it’s a very nice example of a Confederate Import with the crown/ SH/C/arrow mark.
Your thoughts are welcome, contact Gene West at civilwararsenal@yahoo.com

1862 Enfield, P-1853 Type III Rifle Musket

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Over the last bunch of weeks I’ve written about many of the domestic weapons in my Civil War Arsenal, but today I’m going to write about one of my imports muskets. The 1853 Type III Enfield was the most common imported weapon of the Civil War. Both the North and South imported this weapon to the tune of 900,000 from 1861 to 1865.

At the outbreak of the war the Enfield was considered the rifle of choice. The Enfield was the first production gun to use rifling in its barrel and it fired the .577 caliber Pritchett minie ball (which was innovative for its time) and considered by many the prettiest rifle made with its brass accents.

There were many private contractors manufacturing Enfield’s but the better quality Enfield’s were made by the Birmingham Small Arms Factory and the London Armory Arsenals. The reason for this was that these two companies made muskets that had interchangeable parts, the dozens of other gun making companies made muskets that looked the same but the parts would not interchange from one gun to the other. This did not fare well in battle, as one musket failed you could not take parts from another and fix it.

So that takes us to the 1862 Enfield in my Civil War Arsenal. I purchased this musket a few years back on Gun Brokers Auction Web Site. The fellow that was auctioning musket did not know much about it, other then it was old. He was selling off a collection of antique weapons for someone. When I first saw the gun I thought there was no way I’d win the auction, thinking that everyone interested would be jockeying for position. However I did have the winning bid and I think I got it for a great price.

This Enfield is super clean with hardly a mark on it. The stock is absolutely stunning with its tiger wood finish and the barrel and hardware are almost flawless. It has the Birmingham stamp on the right side of the stock with the maker’s name of Joseph Wilson. On the top of the stock by the tang of the butt plate is the stamp of Schuyler Hartley and Graham, or SH over G3. I think 3 and 5 are the most common numbers found on these imports with 1, 2, 4 being less common.

Schuyler Hartley and Graham had Military Goods, stores in N.Y.C. at 19 Maiden Lane and 22 John Street, and are considered by many to be the first store to sell Military accessories, kind of like a modern day Army Navy store.

Because they already had connections overseas as buyers of military accessories the U.S. Government and State Governments turned towards them to purchase weapons (rifles, pistols, swords, etc…). Most of the Enfield’s they purchased were bought for the State Militia’s of Massachusetts and New York.
However some of the weapons that S.H & G sold were sold over the counter to soldiers who wanted better equipment then the Government was issuing, and all officers were required to purchase their own uniforms and swords, so during the war S.H.& G. was the perfect tool for soldiers and officers alike to purchase quality weapons and accessories.

But we know this Musket wasn’t purchased by a soldier over the counter. First of all if a soldier wanted to upgrade his Government Issue weapon he would have bought a breech loading rifle or carbine. But the most telling sign is the Government cartouche on the left side of the stock, which tells us this was imported by S.H. & G for the U.S. Government, very neat stuff. I love it when the markings on the weapon tell the story.

This Enfield is a beauty I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Any questions about this posting or any of the other postings at the Civil War Arsenal feel free to contact me at civilwararsenal@yahoo.com attm: Gene West

Thomas Jonathan ”Stonewall” Jackson

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Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson born January 21, 1824, was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. He graduated 17th of a class of 59 from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in time to fight in the Mexican War (1846-48).

Jackson began his United States Army career as a Second Lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Artillery Regiment. He served at the Siege of Veracruz and the battles of Contreras,Chapultece , and Mexico City, eventually earning two brevet promotions, and the regular Army rank of First Lieutenant. It was in Mexico that Thomas Jackson first met Robert E. Lee.

In the spring of 1851, Jackson accepted a newly created teaching position at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), in Lexington Virginia. He became Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy and Instructor of Artillery. Parts of Jackson’s curriculum are still taught at VMI, regarded as timeless military essentials: discipline, mobility, assessing the enemy’s strength and intentions while attempting to conceal your own, and the efficiency of artillery combined with an infantry assault.

After his home state of Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861, Jackson joined the Confederate army and quickly forged his reputation for fearlessness and tenacity during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign.

Jackson served only briefly as a colonel before receiving a promotion to brigadier general under General Joseph E. Johnston. Jackson earned his nickname at the First Battle of Bull Run (also known as Manassas) in July 1861 when he rushed his troops forward to close a gap in the line against a determined Union attack. Upon observing Jackson, one of his fellow generals reportedly said, “Look, men, there is Jackson standing like a stone wall!”–a comment that spawned Jackson’s nickname. Jackson was commissioned a major general in October 1861.

By October 1862, Jackson was a lieutenant general and led a significant portion of Lee’s army. His widely publicized exploits had elevated him to legendary status among Southern soldiers and citizens alike. Jackson’s bravery and success inspired devotion from his soldiers, but to his officers, he was known as overly secretive and difficult to please. He frequently punished his officers for relatively minor violations of military discipline and rarely discussed his plans with them. Rather, they were expected to obey his orders without question.

Lee and Jackson’s most famous victory took place at the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia in May 1863. Facing a numerically superior Union force of 130,000 men to 60,000 of their own, Lee and Jackson devised and executed a plan to rout the army of Union General Joseph Hooker.

Historians call this battle one of Lee’s finest moments as a Confederate general, and his success owed much to Jackson’s participation. On May 2, Jackson stealthily and quickly took 28,000 troops on an approximately 15-mile forced march (Jackson’s Flank March) to Hooker’s exposed flank while Lee engaged in diversionary attacks on his front. Jackson’s attack on the Union right inflicted massive casualties on the superior force, and Hooker was forced to withdraw only days later.

But the victory was not without cost. Jackson’s brutal attack ended at sunset, when he took some men into the Wilderness to scout ahead. Troops from the 18th North Carolina regiment mistook them for enemy cavalry and opened fire, shooting Jackson 3 times, twice in the left arm and once in the right hand. Several of his Staff were killed, in addition to many horses. Darkness and confusion prevented Jackson from getting immediate care. He was dropped from the stretcher several times while being evacuated. He was taken from the field and General J. E. B. Stuart took over his command. Dr. Hunter McGuire determined that a bullet had shattered the bone just below his left shoulder, and quickly amputated Jackson’s left arm he was then moved to Thomas Chandlers Plantation.

Jackson appeared to be healing from his wounds, but he died in the plantation office building in Guinea Station, Virginia from pneumonia on May 10, 1863 at the age of 39. Lee dispatched a letter, writing, “Could I have directed events, I would have chosen for the good of the country to be disabled in your stead.” Southerners mourned the death of their war hero, while Lee faced fighting the war without a highly valued general and comrade.

His body was moved to the Governor’s Mansion in Richmond Virginia for the public to mourn, and then he was moved to be buried in the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery, Lexington, Virginia. However, the arm that was amputated on May 2nd was buried separately by Jackson’s Chaplin at the Horace Lacy House,’’ Ellwood” in the Wilderness near the field hospital.

1862 Sharps & Hankins Naval Carbine

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First I must apologize for my spelling errors. It seems as though in my rush to enter content my grammar and spelling haven’t been as good as they should. I find myself wanting to add information as quickly as possible and in my haste I’m making errors, I’m sorry I’ll try to do better.

So on to the next weapon in my Civil War Arsenal. I’ve been of the fence as to which weapon I’d write about next, so I decided to write about the New Model 1862 Sharp & Hankins Naval Carbine.

Christian Sharps left the Sharps Rifle Company in 1853 and started his own company. He needed capital to expand his operation so he brought in partners Ira B. Ebby and Natan H. Bolles. The Companies name was C. Sharps & Company.

In 1860 William C. Hankins, a wood maker by trade joined the firm as superintendent of the rifle works. He brought additional capital to the business, which was greatly needed. In 1861 Ira and Nathan left the firm, the following year William became a full partner. In 1863 the Company’s name was changed to Sharps & Hankins.

The Sharps & Hankins Carbine contained a number of “firsts” in the military field.

1. The separate firing pin within the receiver.

2. Hammer safety mechanism, this kept the hammer face from contacting the firing pin.

3. Extractor system, a spring loaded catch in the frame extracts the cartridge and also prevents the forward movement of the cartridge case when the breech is open.

The Sharps & Hankins Carbine used a 52 – 56 rimfire cartridge with the later carbines chambered for Spencer rimfire cartridges. It had a 800 yard graduated rear sight with a walnut stock the overall length of the carbine is 38 5/8”long and the Barrel is 23 5/8”long. But perhaps the strangest thing about this weapon is that it has a leather sleeve that fits over the barrel and is fastened at the breech. Because this was designed for Naval use it was thought that the leather would prevent the barrel from rusting from exposure to salt water, however they found that when the leather got wet it held the water (like a sponge) and rusted the barrel, part of the learning curve of the industrial revolution I guess.

They actually made a Calvary version of this Carbine without the leather sleeve over the barrel. This carbine measured a total of 33 ½ “with the barrel length of 18 ¾”. It had a sling ring on the left side of the breech so the cavalrymen could attach it to there harness.

About 6200 of these were made throughout the war at a cost of $25.00 each. There were only a handful (600 I think) of the Calvary version made.

The one you see here is a 1900 serial # and is in good condition. Most of the bluing has worn off but it has no rust on it. The leather is in very good condition but may have been replaced at some time. On most of these Navy Carbines the leather sleeve is in poor condition or even missing

The Sharps & Hankins Co. closed its doors in 1867 and all guns were sold off by 1868. William Hankins left the firm early 1867 and the Company changed its name to C. Sharps & Co.

Christian Sharps (who by the way patented the breech mechanism on the Sharps Carbine) died of tuberculosis on March 12, 1874 his estate was valued at $341.25.

1864 Burnside Carbine, Fourth Model

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The Burnside Carbine was invented by Ambrose Everett Burnside, born in Liberty Indiana May 23, 1824. He graduated Unites States Military West Point Academy in 1847 and became a Lieutenant of Artillery. He fought towards the end of the Mexican American War. He resigned from the Military in 1853 and organized the Bristol Fire Arms Co. in 1855. Burnside developed a breech loading idea and patented in 1856, U.S. Patent # 14,491.

In April 1856 he sold 200 Carbines to the Government. The following year it was rated the best breech loading weapons of the weapons tested. In September 1858 he sold another 709 Carbines to the Gov. for $35.00 each.

A further trail board was conducted in 1860 to test various breech loading carbines. The Board concluded that although the Burnside was capable of rendering good service, it does not consider it equal to Smiths and Maynard’s to Military Service.

At the outbreak of the war Everett Burnside was no longer associated with the Bristol Fire Arms Co. He had gone bankrupt and sold off the Patents to pay his creditors. He becomes Major General and leads the Army of the Potomac during the Fredericksburg campaign in the winter of 62, if your reading this article I’ll assume you know what happens, it wasn’t pretty.

So back to the Carbines, the U.S. Government purchased 53,031 Carbines and 21,819,200 cartridges throughout the the war. The earlier Models of the Burnside Carbines had a Walnut Stock, Breech Mechanism and a barrel with no wood forearm. However in 1864 the Forth Model was designed with a 14” wood forearm held to the barrel with a single barrel band. This allowed for better sighting and allowed the shooter to handle the barrel without getting burnt.

During the 1863-64 Ordinance Department survey of breech loading carbines, 185 officers were polled on the Burnside, with the following results. Best 17; Good 125; Fair; 12 Poor 28: and 3 considered it useless, far cry from the Maynard Survey. It makes me wonder why the Government purchased more Burnsides then Maynard’s. Go read my article on Maynard Carbines if you’re confused.

So that brings us to my next example of a Civil War Weapon. The Burnside that you see here is in excellent condition. I purchase this from a gun auction a couple years ago. It has a Government cartouche on the left side of the stock, some bluing still on the lever mechanism and a serial # in the 16,000’s. Overall this is a fine example of a Fourth Model Burnside Carbine.

Many thanks to John D. McAulay and his book Carbines of the Civil War. Thanks for the history, and the ones who are passionate enough to document it.
Any questions contact Eugene West at civilwararsenal@yahoo.com

Devils Den, Gettysburg Pennsylvania

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This massive formation of rocks at the base of Little and Big Round Top were caused by glacial frost wedging of the igneous landform formed 200 million years ago when the “outcrop of the Gettysburg sill” intruded through the Triassic “Gettysburg plain”.

Fast forward 200 million years, the date is July 2nd 1863 around 4:30 Gen. John B. Hood’s Confederate division launched its much-anticipated assault. Spearheaded by Texans, Arkansans, and Alabamians, Hood’s men swept over Sickles’ men occupying the boulder-strewn Devil’s Den and made their way toward a rocky hill known as Little Round Top.

From there position (Devils Den) the 4th and 5th Texans and the 4th Alabamians attack the 16th Michigan, 44th New York and the 83rd Pennsylvania on Little Round Top 2 times but are repulsed. The 15th Alabama attacks the 20th Maine a number of times with little or no success, they attempt to flank the 20th Maine in hopes of turning them. But every time they charge up the hill the Union troops hold their ground and repulse the Southern attackers. The courage of Joshua Chamberlain and men of the 20th Maine may have been the difference.

Who knows what the outcome of Gettysburg would have been if the Southern troops could have secured Little Round Top. It may have been enough to turn the left flank of the Union Army so when Picket, Trimble and Pettigrew spear headed there famed Pickets Charge attack they may have broken thru the Union Lines. But I guess we’ll never know for sure, but it’s fun to speculate.

If you’ve never been to Gettysburg you MUST put it on your to do list. Whether you’re a Civil War Geek like me or just a history buff it’s a great weekend excursion for all. When you get to Gettysburg you must go to Devils Den and climb the rock formations (the kids will love it). Try to visualize how Union and Confederate Troops would have used the rocks to hold their positions, the Confederates used snipers to shoot at Union Soldiers on the hill. It’s hard to believe, (because of the distance) they would have been effective, it has to be 200 yards between Devils Den and Little Round Top.

William Brosius Company J 187thPennsylvania Vol. Infantry

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For my birthday my friend Sam gave me a framed picture of what appears to be an old man giving you the finger with an American Flag behind him. Turns out it is a photo of William Brosius of Co. J 187th Regiment Pennsylvania Vol. Infantry. He was wounded July 30th 1864 in the left hand on Plank Road in Petersburg Virginia. With the photo came a copy of a Civil War Award giving by G.A.R. Post No. 17 saying that he was indeed wounded in the left hand at Petersburg Virginia . The G.A.R post was located in Harrisburg Pennsylvania; I assume he lived in or around Harrisburg.

The photo has William sitting in front of a 48 star flag (Arizona entered the Union Feb. 12th 1912), William looks to be about 70 years old in the photo. I believe the photo is of William on the 50th anniversary of being wounded, holding his war scared hand up to the camera.

The weird thing about the photo is that it is laminated on the glass and it almost looks like a negative, but when you hold it up to the light it has color in it, in fact the American Flag is RED, White and Blue. I think it may be a glass panel for a lantern light from the turn of the century.

Whatever reason it was made for, I don’t care. IT’S VERY COOL! I think eventually I will mount it in a frame that has a 2” deep reveal on the back side so I can put a light behind it and turn the color on and off.

1863 Maynard Carbine

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Let’s talk Civil War Carbines, in particular the Second Model Maynard Carbine, a.k.a. Model 1863 Maynard Carbine. Manufactured c. 1863-65; total about 20,202 (I’ll talk about this number later), 50 Caliber, no patchbox, and has a thinner butt plate then the First Model. Manufactured by Mass. Arms Co. / Chicopee Falls. Unlike the First Models this Model is without the tape primer and tang sight. Thiers a sling ring and cartouche on the left side of the stock.

Many of these Carbines were issued to Union Calvary from the 9th and 11th Indiana and the 11th Tennessee. Many of these Carbines are seen in very good condition since most were issued late in the war and many saw little or no service. Many laid in arsenals until the government sold them off in the late 1860’s.

The Maynard Carbine’s are considered one of the best performing and most accurate carbines of the Civil War era. In John D. McAulay,s book “Carbines of the Civil War” he writes in October of 1859 the Navy conducted test firing on the Maynard Carbine at the Washington Navy Yard. Dr. Maynard personally fired a .50 caliber Maynard for the test. A 3×6 foot target was placed at 200 yards, and 237 rounds were fired without a miss. The rate of firing was at 12 rounds per minute. One Maynard was fired 562 times before cleaning. Two of the metallic cartridges were reloaded and fired 200 times and found to still be serviceable.

I would say that’s a Five Star Review of this weapon. With the exception of the Sharps and Spencer it’s my opinion this may have been the best and most reliable Carbine issued during the Civil War. I would have no objections to using this as my primary weapon, back in the day. How about you? The First Model Maynard carbines were manufactured in .35 and .50 Caliber and many of those weapons were purchased by Southern States at the outbreak of the war. So many were purchased that in the Confederate Arms Guide the Maynard was shown as a weapon.

So that brings us to yet another Weapon in my Civil War Arsenal. This 1863 Maynard has 2 government cartouches on the left side of the stock. Most of the bluing is worn off the barrel but no rust or cracks in the stock. This was the first CW weapon I purchased and even though I’ve made some bad purchases over the years, this was a good one considering it was my first, anyone collecting CW stuff knows what I mean.

I guess the most unusual thing about this Carbine is the serial no. is in the 22,000 range, it has government cartouches. Like I said earlier in John D. McAulay’s book “Carbines of the Civil War” 20,002 carbines were procured by the government and Norm Flayderman , documents 20,202 carbines manufactured in his book “Guide to Antique American Firearms” so that makes me question the facts or the lack of. Either way the US Government paid $24.20 for each Carbine and 2,157,000 Maynard Cartridges were bought at a cost of $72,207.50.
If you have any questions contact Eugene West at civilwararsenal@yahoo.com