Original Item: Only One Available. Original, 1864 dated, .58 caliber Model 1861 Savage Arms contract percussion rifle-musket in very good condition overall. Specimen is a product of the Savage Revolving Fire Arms Company of Middletown, Connecticut circa 1862-64. Savage was a major contractor in the Civil War who supplied the government with some 25,500 such muskets for the army.

This rifled, single-shot muzzleloader retains a pleasing appearance and has undergone moderate cleaning to both wood and gunmetal. Barrel exhibits a light gray sheen overall with some surface pitting in areas especially at the barrel bolster / breech area. Musket retains its 40" long round barrel, two-leaf rear sight, front blade sight, nipple, "C" shaped hammer, steel ramrod with threaded tip, original barrel bands, sling swivels, and butt plate. Buttplate tang stamped U.S.. The bore has peppering and minor pitting, but lands and grooves are crisp.

Walnut stock is in very good condition overall and wears a handsome patina. Minor dings and dents are visible on the stock in keeping with its age. Mechanics strong and tight. Stamped on lockplate in front of hammer is a spread winged eagle motif above letters U.S. Just forward is the two-line maker address:

SAVAGE R.F.A. Co
MIDDLETOWN, CT.

A clean date 1864 stamped on lockplate behind hammer. Government proof marks V / P visible on the left facet of barrel. A very nice example, well worthy of display in any U.S. Civil War collection.

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: 1863
Caliber: .58"
Cartridge Type: Minie Ball and Powder
Barrel Length: 40 Inches
Overall Length: 56 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. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.

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.