Tag Archives: civil war guns

E.P. Bond Enfield Rifle Musket, JS/Anchor

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At the outbreak of the War Between the States the Confederate Central Government contracted for the purchase of 30,000 Enfield Rifle Muskets to be delivered between October 1861 and April 1862. These Weapons had hand engraved inventory numbers put on the tang of the butt plates, 3 series were to be delivered each numbered 1 to 10,000, with the second series engraved with an A suffix and the third series an B suffix.

This is one of those historically significant Imports.

The Civil War Arsenal newest member is an E.P. Bond Enfield Rifle musket that has many of the distinguishing marks that collectors want to see with any Confederate Imported Weapon. The JS / Anchor is the stamp of John Southgate who was the Confederate States Chief Enfield Inspector, kind of like a quality inspector, hand engraved # 8199 on the tang of the brass butt plate, and B for Bond stamped on the comb of the stock which represents the maker/furnisher of the weapon.

Overall this E.P. Bond Enfield is a beauty, missing its rear adjustable sight is a bummer but it’s not that unusual since they were soldered on and either broke off or fell off due to the barrel heating up during rapid fire. It was missing the rear sling swivel which I replaced with original that I purchased from Lodgewood Mfg.

I purchased the socket bayonet made by J.R. Field from an EBAY auction. Its not a Salter made bayonet but I thought it was appropriate for the Bond Enfield since it was from a private contractor rather a British government contract.

Hope you enjoy the photos and if you have any questions about this weapon or any of the other Weapons in the Civil War Arsenal feel free to contact: Eugene West at civilwararsenal@yahoo.com

1863 Richmond Va. Carbine & Linen Sling

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Summers almost over which is a bummer but I’ve been busy buying lots of new Southern Weapons for my arsenal. I haven’t been written much lately since I’ve been so busy at work. It’s a necessary evil (work that is) if I want to continue collecting and growing my weapons collection.

Just some of my new pieces include 1863 Richmond long rifle that I purchased from William Adams at the Gettysburg Civil War show back in June, E.P. Bond Enfield with the JS & anchor cartouche and hand engraved inventory # 8199 on the butt plate and 1864 Richmond Virginia Carbine out of a collection from Georgia.

But the Weapon I’ll write about today is the 1863 Richmond Carbine, I purchased this weapon from the good people at Lodgewood Mfg. I believe the carbine was on consignment and while surfing their web site I stumbled upon it, immediately I called David and negotiated a price.

The carbine is in pretty good shape especially for the price I paid. The only replacement parts is the front barrel band and the ram rod, but you can tell the ram rod has been with the weapon for a very long time and is hand made with many forging flaws throughout, oh and its missing the rear sight which is not uncommon for Richmond carbines everything else on the weapon is correct.

The wood stock is complete and has a great aged/blackened color to it, the brass tip towards the muzzle is correct with the extra thickness on the bottom to hold the ram rod. The stock has the Maynard Primer cut out under the lock plate so we know this was made with one of the condemned rifle stocks confiscated when the Harpers Ferry Arsenal was raided back in April 1861.

All the metal on the carbine except for the lock plate has a sweetened chocolate color to it, I’m thinking that this was probably a wall hanger at one time and someone polished the lock plate to make it look pretty (bummer) but at least they didn’t polish the whole carbine. The front pinched sight has been filed down a bit and the butt plate is metal with no U.S. stamp on it.

This weapon has the rear sling swivel that screws into the stock behind the trigger guard generally lost on these carbines. A month or two after I purchased this carbine, Brian Akins from “Rebel Relics” had a confederate linen sling for sale on his web site, so here I go again I call Brian a negotiate a price for the sling.

I wasn’t certain which weapon I would place my new sling on but it seemed as though it was meant for this 1863 Richmond carbine.

So there you have it another story told and another weapon for the Civil War Arsenal. My collection of Richmond rifles is growing quickly, if you have a Richmond rifle, short rifle or carbine that you’d like to sell please contact me at civilwararsenal@yahoo.com Attn: Gene West

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the photos.

1863 Fayetteville Rifle, Type IV and Bayonet

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My story starts in the spring of 2013 at the Gettysburg Civil War show; I was there to purchase a Southern weapon specifically a Richmond short rifle but I never found the one that worked for my collection so I wound up buying a wonderful Confederate D handle Bowie knife that was made from a rasp/file, which I will write about in the near future.

While I was walking around looking at all the neat Civil War artifacts on what must have been 200 tables I came across a gentlemen who was selling off his collection of Confederate Weapons. He is a gun collector whose interest has changed from Confederate to WWII German items. He must have had about 6 or 7 Confederate rifles but the one that stood out to me was a 1863 Fayetteville Type IV rifle with a Fayetteville Bayonet and linen sling that was priced at $14.500.00.

Unlike the dealers that you meet at the shows who are generally willing to talk and negotiate as much as possible to secure the sale this gentlemen was there to sell his collection but wasn’t very willing to negotiate. He knew what the items were worth and he was going to sell them for that price.

After passing his table 3 or 4 times I approached him to inquire about the Fayetteville we exchanged some small talk and then I made him a fair cash offer on the Fayetteville. My offer was lower the then asking price which he did not except but he made me a counter offer which I didn’t except. In the end he was firm at $11,000.00 which I wasn’t willing to do.

Over the next 5 or 6 months I struggled with my decision not to except his counter offer of $11,000.00 for the rifle and worst of all I didn’t get his contact information (so I didn’t have a name, email, or phone # to negotiate after the show was over). All my research suggested the gun was indeed worth the asking price especially with the Bayonet and sling, so needless to say I was disappointed with myself that I didn’t seize the opportunity and close the deal. I thought I would never have that chance again to purchase a complete stand of rifle at that price.

So fast forward to the Fall of 2013 at the Gettysburg show and all I can think about is the Fayetteville that I’d seen 6 months before. I walked up and down the aisles looking at all the neat Southern pieces, and there were some really nice items for sale so I was certain I was coming home with a new piece for my collection. I had almost completed my first pass of all the tables, disappointed that I hadn’t come across the gentleman with the Fayetteville then low and behold there it is the Fayetteville in all its glory.

I scurry over to the table and introduce myself as the guy who made the cash offer for the rifle at the last Gettysburg show, he remembers my offer and immediately engages with me. After talking with him for a while it seems as though we both want to strike a deal. However the deal that is to be struck is a cash deal and I don’t have the cash with me. So we exchange info. and meet each other a week after the show and the deal was done.

My new Fayetteville is an 1863 Type IV model that is in very good condition unfortunately someone over the years removed the brown finish on the barrel and polished the brass hardware but it must have been done decades ago because the patina is coming back. The stock is in extremely good condition and the action on the lock plate and trigger mechanism is crisp. The left side of the rifle has old world script initials J.E.W. I believe that these rifles were only issued to North Carolinians from certain Co. I will try and research the soldier who carried this weapon during the Civil War.

The Fayetteville Armory, in Fayetteville, North Carolina Altered many seized captured flintlock pistols and long arms. After Stonewall Jacksons raid of the Harpers Ferry Arsenal in 1861 many of the machines to manufacture rifles were taken to Fayetteville North Carolina, which was one Confederate States Arsenals during the war, another being the Richmond Armory.

Many of the experienced workers from Harpers Ferry went to Fayetteville to help set up the machines and to make the rifles that were so needed for the Southern cause. This didn’t stand well with the Government of Virginia who felt by default that the experienced workers from Harpers Ferry should build rifles for the state of Virginia since after all Harpers Ferry was in Virginia at the time.

Anyway I can drone on but you probably won’t listen, haha.

There were 4 types of Fayetteville Rifle made throughout the war.

1. Type I; Early production 1861-1862 was made from captured Harpers Ferry parts. The Lock plate has a high hump (like the early Richmond’s) shape. Lock marks are C.S.A. Fayetteville, N.C. some have brass patch box most do not have C.S.A. on the butt plate.

2. Type II; Low hump and marked with eagle motif, C.S.A. Fayetteville, forward of the hammer. Date of 1862 behind the hammer. Many of the parts are captures Harpers Ferry parts, most brass butt plates are stamped C.S.A.

3. Type III; Lock plate redesign to the contour of the U.S. Model 1861 musket. Markings on rifle are like Type II; however the hammer has a distinctive S contour that is recognizable from across the room and there is a lug for a saber bayonet added to the right side of the muzzle.

4. Type IV; Similar to type III with the exception of slight variance in the eagle die stamp. Accepts a socket bayonet with the front sight acting as a bayonet lug. Lock markings are 1863, 64, 65.

Between 8000 and 9000 rifles of all types were made throughout the war, but most about 5000 were of Type IV. The Barrel is 33”long secured by 2 barrel bands and the hardware on the rifle is brass, many consider this to be the finest quality rifle the South made and it may be the prettiest.

The Bayonet is not an original Fayetteville it is a Drake Bayonet which is almost exact to the Fayetteville made ones. It has an overall length of 22 ½” with the blade being 20 ¼” from behind the neck to the end of the blade. The sleeve on the socket is stamped A.19, probably having to do with a rack # or Co. and infantry #.

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