Original Item: Only One Available. This is something that we have not had in quite some time! This rifle started out as a Civil War Springfield Rifled Musket, dated 1863, made under contract by William Mason of Taunton, Massachusetts. This firm produced 30,000 muskets under this contract, and was still filling this contract in 1863, so it incorporated the advances of that model into the muskets it made in 1863. It is correctly marked with a Federal Eagle in the center of the lock plate, and to the right under where the cap bolster used to be is:

This particular rifle has the three leaf rear sight of the Model 1863 Type I, but also the spring retained solid barrel bands of the Type II, which are still present. Around 700,000 of all Model 1863 types were produced from 1863 until the end of the Civil War in 1865.

The U.S. Civil war had confirmed the adage of NEED is the Mother of INVENTION. Muzzle Loading Muskets and Rifles were extensively used but new developments continually resulted in a "fresh" breach loading system being adopted on a trial basis. The Union had as many as NINETEEN different systems issued during the war, and more were developed afterwards, such as the Robert's 1867 Patented system seen here. 

These are very rare, and apparently only 5,000 or so of these conversions were ever made, with this being only the third we have ever had. After the Civil War ended in 1865 the Providence Tool Company of Rhode Island contracted to convert Springfield Civil War percussion rifles to breech loading using the June 11th 1867 ROBERT'S PATENT. This allowed the rifle to be loaded from the breech using the special Robert's .58 caliber self contained cartridge. The system is ingenious but was not adopted by the U.S, Military. Some were supplied to France for the upcoming Franco-Prussian War and other sold within the U.S. on the local and Militia markets.

This system is actually a type of "falling-block" action, similar to the Martini-Henry.  The breech is accessed by raising a lever behind the tang that can only be fully opened with the hammer in the fired position. This drops the breech block into the stock, allowing a cartridge to be inserted from the rear. The action is then closed and locked, and the rifle can then be cocked and fired. Patent marking ROBERT'S PAT. / JUNE.11.1867 is visible on the left hand side of the receiver.

The converted rifle is in very nice "attic fresh" condition, having seen only a light cleaning. The metalwork show an overall peppered patina, with some more advanced corrosion on the butt plate, which shows light pitting It definitely looks like this rifle was carried around a lot, and there has definitely been wood loss around the butt plate due to cleaning. There are no cracks or structural issues in the stock, just a missing long chunk on the left side below the lock plates. The breech opens correctly, with the extractor presenting, however the firing pin is missing, having broken off the retainer long ago. We checked the bore, and it still shows clear three groove rifling with a mostly bright finish. There is a bit of oxidation on the inside near the muzzle, but nothing serious.

A lovely attic fresh patinated example of a scarce breech loading conversion rifle, ready to research and display!

Specifications:-

Year of Manufacture: 1863 - Converted Circa 1867
Caliber: .58" Robert's 
Cartridge Type: Rimfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 37 3/4 Inches
Overall Length: 55 3/4 Inches
Action type: Side Action Lock
Feed System: Falling Block Breech Single Shot

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