VERY GOOD CONDITION STARR PERCUSSION CARBINE

VERY GOOD CONDITION STARR PERCUSSION CARBINE

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$2,295.00 ON HOLD

Quantity Available: 1

Item Code: 2026-840

This is in very good condition, complete and all original, with good mechanics and bore. The metal is smooth overall, with sharp markings. The barrel shows as gray, with dark gray spotting. The rear sight and receiver show as light gray. The brass buttplate shows a nice gold tone. The brass barrel band is somewhat darker, shows rubbing and some shallow dings on either side, likely from someone tapping it off to clean the weapon. The wood to metal fit is good. The wood has a pleasing dark brown tone and shows scattered small handling dings, mainly on the butt flats as expected, but no significant cracks or chips.

The markings are good. The lockplate is marked at rear, “STARR ARMS CO. / YONKERS, N.Y.” in two lines; the barrel has a one-line stamp between the rear sight and barrel band: “STARR ARMS CO. YONKERS, N.Y.” The receiver tang is marked, “STARR’S PATENT / SEPT. 14th 1858” in two lines, just behind the breechblock. The barrel has the “LAB” inspector’s stamp of L.A. Brown, and small “B” initials are stamped on various parts, with his three initials also appearing on the comb of the buttstock just forward of the buttplate tang, an indication of the relatively good condition of the wood. There are some faint traces of a cartouche on the left wrist, but nothing legible. Daum and Pate note the appearance of Brown’s initials at this spot along with those of Samuel T. Bugbee, but in this case movement of the sling ring and attached carbine sling swivel along with simple wear from holding the carbine at the wrist effectively wore them.

The U.S. government purchased 20,601 of these carbines, patented by Ebenezer Starr, son of famous arms maker Nathan Starr, Jr., beginning with an open market purchase of 600 on July 30, 1863, a single carbine in mid-September, and then 20,000 on contract, with deliveries beginning Sept. 30, 1863, and ending Aug. 20, 1864. McCaulay notes that by Fall 1864 some 9,300 were in the hands of over thirty cavalry regiments. Regiments carrying them at various times included the 20th and 24th NY Cavalry, 5th Kansas, 11th Missouri, 1st and 2nd Colorado, and 1st Arkansas. These are .54 caliber, single shot arms, using a combustible linen cartridge ignited by a percussion cap. Loading is accomplished by unlatching the triggerguard at the rear and moving it forward, similar to a Sharps. The breechblock is divided and movement of the triggerguard first lowers a block at rear and then permits the forward portion of the block to pivot down to the rear for insertion of the cartridge, with the initial intention of the forward block offering a better gas seal when closed up again.

The serial number on this carbine is partially visible on the side of the breechblock- we have not disassembled it to check fully. When lowered. “276” is sharp, but the frame obscures any other digit. Two additional digits would put in the range for the rimfire Starr, so “276” or “276X” are most likely. Either one would fall into an early delivery, with #276 in theory in the July 30, 1863, purchase, and #276X in the October 31, 1863, delivery on contract. Both dates would put in the field in time for many of the great cavalry campaigns, expeditions, and raids of the war. As for unit attribution, published Springfield Research volumes list six three-digit Starrs: 1 in the 13th Illinois Cavalry, 1 in the 19th PA, and 4 in the 14th PA. They also show a 24XX carbine in the 19th PA and a 31XX in the 9th PA. These suggest a Pennsylvania unit for this one, though the brackets are likely too broad to be meaningful, but it is a very good example of a widely issued Union cavalry carbine in any case, and one made early enough to see a lot of action.  [sr][ph:L]

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