Listed in company literature as the Model 1863, these .50 caliber single-shot breechloading carbines are known among collectors simply as the Second Model Maynard. Using a brass cartridge with pierced base for percussion ignition, a little over 20,000 of them were supplied to the US government by the Massachusetts Arms Company from June 1864 to the following May. This one is serial numbered 9352, well within the first half of the production run.

This is a pretty example with good coverage of original blue on the barrel, case color on the receiver, and a stock that rates excellent, with good color and surface, and only a couple of handling marks. The wood to metal fit is tight at the buttplate and the receiver. The two cartouches at the left wrist are crisp, with a just a slight curved drag mark though the forward one, perhaps by a sling hook attached to the carrying ring. The mechanism is tight and the bore has excellent rifling and a mirror finish.

The metal throughout is smooth, with no pitting or corrosion. The buttplate shows a mix of muted silver and caramel brown with lots of blue remaining on the screw heads. The lever and trigger guard plate show also dull silver from handling, though the screw heads show blue. The frame shows lots of case color and is sharply stamped on the right: “MANUFACTURED BY / MASS. ARMS CO. / CHICOPEE FALLS” in three lines. The left shows even stronger case color shielded by the sling ring and side bar and is crisply stamped in four lines on the frame: “EDWARD MAYNARD / PATENTEE / MAY 27, 1851 / DEC. 6, 1859.” The trigger has a deep blue, and the hammer underlying color with a translucent thin blue matching the barrel. Both sights are in place. The barrel shows slightly thinner blue on the right near the muzzle from rubbing, where some brown shows. The left barrel flat shows crisp “A.J.N.” inspector’s initials.

This is a pretty example of the Second Model Maynard. The carbine was well-regarded by soldiers. Among other units receiving these carbines, the 9^th and 11^th Indiana Cavalry, and the 3^rd, 4^th, 10^th and 12^th Tennessee (US) Cavalry drew them from the Nashville Ordnance Depot in 1864 in time to see action against Hood. This is a regulation US cavalry issue Civil War carbine that combines history and condition.  [sr]

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