Greene carbines are rare on the collector’s market. The carbine was breechloading and his innovation consisted of a better gas seal, but he obtained a US contract in the late 1850s for only two hundred, which were placed in the hands of the 1^st US cavalry for field testing in the west, along with some others sent to Florida. Others were made for civilian or private sale, of course, but production numbers were certainly very low. Greene had better luck with the British government, who ordered two thousand. Some of those ended up back on the US market, though apparently not in time for use in the war.

The 6^th Ohio Cavalry is one of the few units known to have carried Greenes and according to McAuley, these small instruction sheets sometimes show up in the patchboxes of surviving examples. About the size of a handbill (8.5 x 5.5”), the sheet gives instructions for loading, disassembling and cleaning the carbine. We are fortunate in having obtained two. This one has a slight dirt smudge at upper left, but is in good overall condition, very legible, and would make an excellent piece to accompany one of these rare carbines.  [sr] [ph:L]

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