ISAAC CURTIS INSPECTED SINCLAIR HAMILTON CS "TOWER" ENFIELD

ISAAC CURTIS INSPECTED SINCLAIR HAMILTON CS

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$2,650.00

Quantity Available: 1

Item Code: 2026-723

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The British made Pattern 1853 “Enfield” rifle-musket was the second most used infantry long arm of the American Civil War. It was the first “small bore” rifled long arm to see general issue to all British military personnel, effectively making every soldier a “rifleman” and the smoothbore musket obsolete. The .577 caliber rifled bore was a significant ballistic development. The Pattern 1853 would significantly influence the design of the new American Model 1855 Rifle-Musket and all arms production going forward. Approaching a million Enfields including rifles, rifle-muskets, musketoons and carbines saw use in the American Civil War. Today, it is difficult to determine if a specific Enfield was exported from Britain to the North or South. Recently, the Horse Soldier acquired a collection of imported British Enfield rifle-muskets that were destined for the Southern Confederacy. This "study collection" offers weapons by various contractors with varying dates of manufacture all having distinctive markings that make them exclusively Confederate imports.

This British Pattern 1853 Enfield (with the modifications based on field use is today called by many collectors the Pattern 1858 or 3rd Pattern) rifle-musket is dated "1862" on the "TOWER" marked lock plate. At the rear of the lock plate is the Queen's crown. The gun is devoid of any British military inspection markings and is a typical Birmingham-made contract gun for commercial sale that was destined for export from Great Britain.  The 39-inch barrel is Birmingham proofed and marked "25" for bore or .577 caliber and has nice mottled brown patination. The 3-barrel bands, have this same patination. The bore of the gun is good but very dirty.   The gun lost its original rear sight a long time ago. The original combination front sight and bayonet lug is present. The gun has both sling swivels, one on the front of the brass trigger guard and the other on the tension screw for the upper barrel band. The original full-length ramrod is in the channel under the barrel. The patina of the rod matches the gun perfectly. The stock is full-length, solid and free of any breaks or repairs. The stock has a dark brown color. The wood does show some scattered bumps, dings and minor dents and has an ancient coating of varnish which can be easily removed with denatured alcohol. On the comb of the stock is "SH" over "G3" This is Sinclair Hamilton over Inspector G number 3. This company was a major force in the English arms industry.  Sinclair, Hamilton & Company also maintained a strong relationship with five English arms making firms, which they referred to as the “Five Furnishers”. These firms delivered the bulk of the arms sold to the Confederacy. Sinclair, Hamilton & Company entered into at least five different contracts with the Confederate central government during the course of the war. The first contract was entered into in June of 1861, with a second contract quickly following in October of that same year. The last known contract was entered into in October of 1863, running through April of 1864.  It is surmised that the variations in style and location of the Sinclair, Hamilton & Company markings noted on the extant examples of Enfields today may represent different contracts or could possibly be the marks used by different teams of arms viewers during the inspection process. On the flat of the stock opposite the lock plate is the oval script inspector's mark of Isaac Curtis ("IC"). Curtis and Hughes both prolifically inspected arms for the Confederacy and were associated with S. Isaac, Campbell & Company "Suppliers to the Confederacy". For further reading we recommend The English Collection by Pritchard, Huey and Prince. Also stamped on the flat is a 1/4 high "G" this possibly stands for Georgia; it has been seen by this compiler on other CS imported Enfields. This is a fine Confederate import.  [pe] [ph:L]

DISCLAIMER: All firearms are sold as collector's items only - we do not accept responsibility as to the shooting safety or reliability of any antique firearm. All firearms are described as accurately as possible, given the restraints of a catalog listing length. We want satisfied customers & often "under" describe the weapons. Any city or state regulations regarding owning antique firearms are the responsibility of the purchaser. All firearms are "mechanically perfect" unless noted, but again, are NOT warranted as safe to fire!

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