Some 200,000 thousand firearms that were captured or collected by CS Ordnance teams and civilians, along with perhaps another 50,000 turned in by CS units, went through the cleaning and/or repair (“C&R”) system of the Confederate Ordnance Department for reissue to Confederate soldiers. The process took place mostly in the eastern theatre, where Lee’s victories left battlefields and arms in Confederate hands, and was concentrated at facilities at Danville, Staunton, Lynchburg, and Richmond. This U.S. Model 1842 musket shows a final Confederate C&R inspector’s stamp on the underside of the stock, just forward of the triggerguard, reading “Z,” which is associated with Captain Louis Zimmer, who supervised C&R operations at Richmond from late 1864 to early 1865.

This 1842 musket has a lockplate stamped with a Springfield eagle over U.S. forward of the hammer, and “Spring / field / 1845” aft. At left breach the barrel has crisp V/P/eaglehead proofs, and a matching 1845 date on the breechplug tang. Overall, the metal rates very good, with smooth surfaces, no pitting, crisp marks and a muted silver-gray finish showing some scattered dark gray and some brown spots. The bolster and lockplate show no pitting. The hammer and lockplate show good color, the lockplate in particular showing the mottled blue and pewter of old case colors. The buttplate, bands, springs, swivels and rod are in place and show smooth metal.

The wood has good color and good edges around the lockplate, with just slight rounding from handling. The stock shows dings and scratches to be expected from field use. The ramrod channel shows some battering between the upper two mounts. The left flat shows some gouges and there is some chipped out wood along the breechplug tang and upper edge of the counterpane.  We see no obvious repair work and the musket seems to have only gone through the cleaning process. The slightly better condition of the metal than the wood is expected on these arms, where the Confederate cleaning would concentrate on the metal components and functionality. The “Z” inspector’s mark in the wood just forward of the triggerguard tang is sharp and legible. Given the musket’s Mexican War 1845 date, it was already a veteran of one war. The mark remains good testimony that the gun, though having seen active service by then in two wars, was completely acceptable for reissue to Confederate troops in the field.  [sr]

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