US Navy Captain John A. Dahlgren had a penchant for ordnance development and recommended adoption of a .69 caliber rifle to the navy in the late 1850s. Some 10,000 were delivered from 1861 to 1864 and nicknamed the “Plymouth” rifle after the U.S. Navy ship tasked with developing new weapons under Dahlgren’s command. Dahlgren developed two bayonets for the rifle: a short bowie-knife style bayonet and this one, a longer sword bayonet that would give the shorter rifle the same length, butt to bayonet point, as the army musket with bayonet. This has the correct “Collins & Co. / Hartford / Conn.” maker’s mark clearly stamped on the reverse ricasso. The hilt has an undisturbed dark brass patina with very few handling marks. The locking mechanism is intact and functional. The 22 ½ inch blade is smooth metal, primarily light gray in color with some darker gray area, but with no nicks and a good point. As is the case with most sword bayonets of the period some hand work was necessary in fitting the bayonets to the muzzle and lug of the rifle. This one bears a mating number of 4886, which would have appeared also on the barrel tang of the rifle.

A good example of a regulation issue Civil War U.S. naval bayonet. [sr]

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