Original Item: Only One Available. This is a genuine "barn find" rifle, recently uncovered and purchased by IMA, now cleaned up to put it in its best light. It is a very nice example of a Civil War Springfield Rifled Musket, issued to New Jersey, which then saw long service, and at some point was shortened by about 8 inches for drill use. The front of the barrel was turned down to be able to fit a bayonet, and a new sight was added. This made it about the same length as the Springfield Krag. It is even equipped with a very nice recent issue leather sling.

The Springfield Model 1861 was a Minié-type rifled musket shoulder-arm used by the United States Army and Marine Corps during the American Civil War. Commonly referred to as the "Springfield" (after its original place of production, Springfield, Massachusetts), it was the most widely used U.S. Army weapon during the Civil War, favored for its range, accuracy, and reliability.

The barrel was 40 inches long, firing a .58 caliber Minié ball, and the total weight was approximately 9 pounds. The Springfield had an effective range of 200 to 300 yards, and used percussion caps to fire (rather than the flintlocks of the 18th century, the last U.S. flintlock musket was the Model 1840). Trained troops were able to fire at a rate of three aimed shots per minute while maintaining accuracy up to 500 yards, though firing distances in the war were often much shorter. The most notable difference between the Model 1861 and the earlier Model 1855 was the elimination of the Maynard tape primer for the Model 1861 (the Maynard primer, a self-feeding primer system, was unreliable in damp weather, and the priming mechanism was expensive and time-consuming to produce). Further, unlike the Model 1855, the Model 1861 was never produced in a two-banded "short rifle" configuration.

The Springfield was aimed using flip-up leaf sights. The sight had two leaves, one for 300 yards and the other for 500 yards, and with both leaves down, the sight was set for a range of 100 yards. By contrast, the British Pattern 1853 Enfield, favored by the Confederates, utilized a ladder-sight system with 100 yard increments, using steps from 100 to 400 yards and a flip up ladder for ranges beyond 500 yards. While the Enfield's sights did allow finer range settings, the Springfield's simple leaves were more rugged and were less expensive to produce. The Enfield's sights extended to 900 yards (and further, on later models), compared to the 500 yard maximum range of the Springfield's sights. Realistically, though, hitting anything beyond 600 yards with either weapon was mostly a matter of luck. While the sight designs were very different, the two weapons were otherwise very similar, and had very similar effective ranges.

The Springfield Rifle cost $20 each at the Springfield Armory, where they were officially made. Overwhelmed by the demand, the armory opened its weapons patterns up to twenty private contractors, including Savage Revolving Fire Arms Company of Middletown, Connecticut. Savage was a major contractor in the Civil War who supplied the government with various different types of firearms. Between 1862-64 they supplied the Federal Government with some 25,500 such muskets for the army, which makes this example quite rare.

The most notable producer of contract Model 1861 Springfield however was Colt, who made several minor design changes in their version, the "Colt Special" rifled musket. These changes included redesigned barrel bands, a new hammer, and a redesigned bolster. Several of these changes were eventually adopted by the Ordnance Department and incorporated into the Model 1863 rifled musket.

The Model 1861 was relatively scarce in the early years of the Civil War (many troops were still using Model 1842 smoothbored muskets and Model 1816/1822 muskets converted to percussion cap primers, both in .69 caliber). It is unlikely that any of these were available for use in the First Battle of Bull Run. However, over time, more and more regiments began receiving Model 1861 rifled muskets, though this upgrade appeared somewhat quicker in the Eastern Theater of Operations. Over 1,000,000 Model 1861 rifles were produced, with the Springfield Armory increasing its production during the war by contracting out to twenty other firms in the Union. The number of Model 1861 muskets produced by the Springfield Armory was 265,129 between January 1, 1861 and December 31, 1863. According to United States Muskets, Rifles and Carbines by Arcadi Gluckman Colonel Infantry, United States Army, published 1949.

After the war ended, many model 1861 and 1863 rifled muskets were modified to a breech loading actions with new metallic cartridges. With these modifications, the basic 1861 evolved into the Springfield Model 1873 which served the US until being replaced in the 1890s by modern breech loading rifles chambered for new smokeless powder rounds that were far superior to the Model 1873.

This example however was not converted, and is still in the original configuration, except that it has been shortened by 8 inches for drill use. It is dated 1863 on the lock plate tail, and also has an Eagle stamped into the lock over U.S., indicating military contract production. To the right it is manufacturer marked with 

The markings on the lock are clear and overall the metalwork is excellent, with all of the nickel plate intact. The barrel is dated 1863 on the breech, and also has very faint V / P / Eagle's Head proof marks partly intact. The barrel is also marked N.J. on the side, for issue to New Jersey.

The rifle, as mentioned previously, has seen extensive use over its lifetime. The rear sight base is still installed, but the sight leaves are missing. There are also repaired cracks through the wrist to the rear of the lock plate. The lower barrel band is U marked, but it looks like the upper barrel band is from a British 3 band enfield, and possibly the brass nose cap as well.

A very interesting U.S. Civil War rifled musket, in service long after the war. Ready to display!

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: 1863
Caliber: .58"
Cartridge Type: Minie Ball and Powder
Barrel Length: 32 Inches
Overall Length: 48 Inches
Action type: Side Action Lock
Feed System: Muzzle Loaded

NOTE: International orders of antique firearms MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services (courier). USPS Priority Mail international will not accept these.