VERY RARE CONFEDERATE RICHMOND 1864 33-INCH BARREL “SHORT RIFLE FROM OLD PARTS”

$5,500.00 SOLD

Quantity Available: None

Item Code: 172-5913

Murphy and Madaus state, “Richmond short rifle production must have been extremely limited, as surviving examples are very rare” (p.606.) Indeed, Paul Davies in CS Armory Richmond could only document production or delivery of 1,050 of these rifles, with another possible 261 that were listed as “Richmond Rifles Cal. 58” in 30 June 1864 ordnance returns for the 5th and 15th Virginia Cavalry. Those particular cavalry returns may list any longarm as a rifle, but the combined total of 1,311 serves as a good, if approximate, upper limit, since Davies believes the very earliest production may only have been in April 1864. (None of them appear in production figures for 1863 and figures are lacking for January to July 1864.) The first positive reference, however, is delivery to Military Store Keeper William Hawn of 200 “Rifles, Short / from old parts” in August 1864, which are logically attributed to undocumented manufacture in July. Three subsequent groups were produced in September (420 guns,) November (200,) and January, 1865 (230,) for a total of 850 more, all listed, however, as “New, Short Rifles.” Even allowing for 200 per month from April through June, which seems unlikely, would only get you to 1,650, still making this pattern significantly rarer than Confederate Fayetteville rifles and the like.

These “short rifles,” whether “from old parts” or “new,” are both rare and esthetically pleasing, using a 33-inch .58 caliber barrel secured by two barrel bands and ending with a brass stock tip midway between the upper band and muzzle, essentially following the lines of the US M1855 rifle and Confederate derivatives like the Fayetteville, etc. As with Richmond carbines and musketoons, these rifles could utilize rifle musket barrels that had been damaged near the muzzle but, more importantly, they could use rifle musket stocks that had been damaged above the middle barrel band, whose band spring inletting caused problems with in creating shorter carbines and musketoons. Unlike the other 33-inch barrel rifles, however, no provision was made for a bayonet, the rifle having no side lug and a pinched front sight with no block base. They can thus be classified as cavalry as well as infantry arms, which Davies cites as a reason for positing the 261 Virginia cavalry Richmond rifles might be these weapons. The barrel length was no obstacle: Fayetteville rifles have been documented in the hands of Confederate cavalrymen.

The difference between the first short rifles made from old parts and those categorized as “new” seems more a matter of degree in the use of old versus new parts than an absolute distinction. This one, however, meets the criteria for the earlier rifles. The iron buttplate clearly shows its U.S. stamp on the tang, where a CS made brass buttplate tends to make the case for a “new” short rifle. The lower band is also clearly US, showing the directional “U” stamp next to, and in line with, the band spring. The upper band is retained by spring, but has a rather heavy lug on the bottom and shows a hole on the lower left indicating it was likely screw fastened and from an import longarm. The barrel was cleaned at some point in the last 60 years or so and is devoid of markings. The front sight is missing, but the mortise for it is there. An 1861 pattern rear sight, lacking the leaves, is present, but is likely a replacement made when the barrel when some well-intentioned but misguided soul cleaned it up. The mortise for it shows the crude notch for the steady pin of the 1858 pattern sight used by Richmond indicating the barrel may be a Richmond barrel. It was bored out to smoothbore for use as a shotgun around the farm in postwar years, making sights superfluous. Whoever added the sight later did not have the time or ability to replace the front sight.

The rifle uses an 1864-dated Richmond lock that, like the brass stock tip, is not a problem on an “old parts” rifle: see Davies, p. 230 for another “old-parts” short rifle with an 1864 plate. As is correct, the lock plate is pure Confederate: a low hump Richmond pattern, crisply stamped “C.S / RICHMOND, VA.” at the lower forward edge, Murphy and Madaus’s Type-III, lacking the lower left serif of the “I,” and dated “1864” at the rear, using the same die lacking the crossbar in the “8” illustrated by Davies on p. 216. The surface is smooth metal and shows, like the hammer, a mottled bluish gray indicating it was likely casehardened and not polished. The stock is likely CS as well, at least the reddish tone strikes us as such. As with the barrel, there are no markings visible, perhaps due to sanding, but we note the Master Armorer’s cartouche on the side flat was omitted after stock production moved to Macon.

As with most Confederate guns, this shows considerable use, but rates at least good by CS collecting standards. The wood shows a gap around the rear of the lock plate, perhaps in an effort to repair a short crack, a short crack along the barrel channel of the forestock on the left above the upper band, and another on the right, some hairlines fore and aft from the lock apron, and one on the side flat forward from the upper lock screw, along with various handling marks, but has a nice, warm, reddish-brown tone with some darker streaks along the buttplate and on the side flat. The upper swivel is missing. A correct ramrod is present, though it may be an old replacement.  The metal shows some semi-bright areas on the barrel from cleaning, along with some abrasions, but is mostly a silver gray with darker gray spots and scattered thin brown, a patch of which stands between the rear sight and lower band. The mechanics of the rifle are good, with a strong action. The breech shows some deep corrosion around the nipple and the wood next to the hammer shows burn-out, likely not from careless treatment around the farm, but something expected in Confederate long arms from the use of imported British “high-pressure” percussion caps. These were introduced in April 1861 to ensure ignition of combustible cartridges by a more intense flame, so powerful as to draw complaints among the British volunteer forces and be withdrawn from general British issue in August 1864.

This is a very scarce rifle and also one that well illustrates Confederate ingenuity in the face of failing resources- in this case, stock production out of Macon. At the same time, despite postwar use as a smoothbore and some modern cleaning that can be dressed down, it has a great deal of visual as well as historical appeal and would be a great addition to a CS cavalry, infantry, long arm, or even Richmond Armory focused collection.  [sr] [ph:L]

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