Original Item: Only One Available. The Springfield Model 1855 was a rifle musket widely used in the American Civil War. It was manufactured by the Springfield Armory in Massachusetts and at the Harpers Ferry Armory in Virginia (modern-day West Virginia) along with independent contractors. The design exploited the advantages of the new conical Minié ball, which could be deadly at over 1,000 yards. About 60,000 of these rifles were made, and it was a standard infantry weapon for Union and Confederates alike, until the Springfield Model 1861 supplanted it, obviating the use of the insufficiently waterproof Maynard tape primer.

Earlier muskets had mostly been smoothbore flintlocks. In the 1840s, the unreliable flintlocks had been replaced by much more reliable and weather resistant percussion cap systems. The smoothbore barrel and inaccurate round ball were also being replaced by rifled barrels and the newly invented Minié ball. This increased the typical effective range of a musket from about fifty yards (46 m) to several hundred yards. The Model 1855 had an effective range of 500 yards (460 m) and was deadly to over 1,000 yards (910 m).

The barrel on the Model 1855 was .58 caliber, which was smaller than previous muskets. The Springfield Model 1816 and all of its derivatives up through the Springfield Model 1842 had been .69 caliber, but tests conducted by the U.S. Army showed that the smaller .58 caliber was more accurate when used with a Minié ball.

The Model 1855 also used the Maynard tape primer, which was an attempt at improving the percussion cap system that had been previously developed. Instead of using individual caps which had to be placed for every shot, the Maynard system used a tape which was automatically fed every time the hammer was cocked, similar to the way a modern child's cap gun works. While the powder and Minié ball still had to be loaded conventionally, the tape system was designed to automate the placing of the percussion cap and therefore speed up the overall rate of fire of the weapon. The Maynard tape system gave the Model 1855 a unique hump under the musket's hammer. The weapon could also be primed in the usual way with standard percussion caps if the tape was unavailable. The Secretary of War at the time Jefferson Davis authorized the adoption of the Maynard system for the Model 1855.

In the field, the Maynard tape primer proved to be unreliable. Tests conducted between 1859 and 1861 found that half of the primers misfired, and also reported that the tape primer springs did not feed well. The greatest problem was the actual tape itself. Despite being advertised as waterproof, the paper strips proved to be susceptible to moisture. An attempt was made to remedy this problem by making the tape primers out of foil, but despite the improvement this brought, the Ordnance Department abandoned the Maynard system and went back to the standard percussion lock in later muskets like the Model 1861. Most Model 1855s were used throughout the Civil War with standard percussion caps.

Approximately 75,000 Model 1855 muskets were produced. The machinery to make the Model 1855s at Harpers Ferry was captured by the Confederate Army in early 1861. The captured machinery to produce rifle muskets was taken to Richmond Armory, where it formed the backbone of Confederate weapon manufacturing capability. The rifle machinery was taken to Fayetteville Arsenal, North Carolina where it too was put to use for significant arms production throughout the War. As a result of using the original arsenal machinery, the Richmond rifles and the Fayetteville rifles were two of the finest weapons produced by the Confederacy.

The Model 1855 was in production until 1860 and was the standard-issue firearm of the regular army in the pre-Civil War years. The need for large numbers of weapons at the start of the American Civil War saw the Model 1855 simplified by the removal of the Maynard tape primer and a few other minor alterations to make it cheaper and easier to manufacture, thus creating the ubiquitous Model 1861. The Model 1855 was the best arm available at the beginning of the conflict as it took some time for the Model 1861s to be manufactured and actually reach the field. However, less than 80,000 Model 1855s had been manufactured by the start of the war. Some of them were destroyed when the Confederates captured the Harpers Ferry arsenal in April 1861, and several thousand more were in Southern hands. Approximately 10,000 rifles had also been shipped to California, and therefore were useless for the Union war effort.

After the war, most model 1855s were taken home, or parts used for other projects. The primer system lock was unsuitable for conversion to a Trapdoor style rifle, and given the small number produced and how many were captured by the CSA, they are very hard to find. This is probably only the second intact example we have had of the rifle, while we have had several of the Pistol Carbine.

This example is still in the original configuration, though it definitely shows wear from service. As many of these were used by the South, they often saw a lot more service than those in the North. However, we do not see any evidence that this was a confederate used weapon, and it still is in very good condition.

The Lock is on this example marked U.S. / SPRINGFIELD with a Spread Eagle stamped into the Maynard tape primer's steel cover. It is dated 1858 on the lock plate tail, the year of production at the United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield, located in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. The first federal armory of any type, it was the primary center for the manufacture of United States military firearms from 1777 until its closing in 1968.

The markings on the lock are crisp and overall the lock plate is in good condition, showing only light wear. The spring catch that keeps the tape primer door closed is present, and the primer system itself looks to be fully functional, though we have no way to test to see if it feeds. The lock still functions correctly, holding at half cock, and firing at full, which also cycles the primer advance pawl. It's very rare to find one of these rifled muskets that still has a complete and functional tape primer system.

The V / P / Eagle Head proofs on the barrel nocks form are present, which are worn due to cleaning and powder burn. There is a mostly clear date on the top, which reads 1858, though the last two digits are very faint. The cap nipple looks to be original, and shows fouling and oxidation, and is also currently clogged. The clean out screw is intact and unscrews correctly, with the passage to the barrel open. The rear sight is fully intact and functional, with a working slider.

The metalwork overall has a polished matte patina from decades of gradual wear from cleaning and light oxidation. We checked the bore, and the rifling is still present, and in very good condition considering it is a muzzle loader from the black powder days. There are some areas of light pitting and fouling, but the three grooves are still clearly visible, and have some machining marks still visible. Both sling loops are present, without any issues, and the correct tulip headed cleaning rod is still present. All three barrel bands still show the correct U stamps on the right side, with a U.S. stamped on the butt plate.

The one piece walnut stock has a beautiful red brown color, with the expected wear of age, as well as some small cracks in high stress areas. There is cracking on the left side the stock by the lock screws, as well as by the rear of the lock plate. There is also some wood missing around the cleaning rod channel between the upper and middle barrel bands.

This is a great chance to pick up a very good intact example of a somewhat rare Civil War Rifled musket. Ready to display!

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: 1858
Caliber: .58" - worn to about .61"
Cartridge Type: Minie Ball and Powder with Tape Primer
Barrel Length: 40 Inches
Overall Length: 56 Inches
Action type: Side Action Lock
Feed System: Muzzle Loaded

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