Very Rare Confederate 1863 Broadwell’s Patent Breech-Loading .58 caliber rifle. This rifle is an alteration of an Austrian muzzle-loading Fruwirth rifle-musket. Overall length is 50”, barrel is 34” round with a .58 caliber bore that is excellent. Metal has a smooth even brown patina. Wood is fine, no cracks or chips. Back-action lock is unmarked. The top flat of the barrel is marked “Ferd Fruwirth” in a circle, and the top tang is marked “Broadwell’s patent/1863”. Percussion-action functions correctly. The falling block is activated by rotating the trigger guard 180°. The barrel has a stud for a saber bayonet. The butt has a trap. Lewis Wells Broadwell was a New Orleans resident during the Civil War. He was a prolific inventor who had 9 firearms related patents from 1861 to 1876. He was issued U.S. Patent Number 49,583 for this particular breech-loading firearm on August 22, 1865, probably the first opportunity to obtain it after the Civil War. It is also known that Broadwell offered a breech-loading carbine to the Confederate government but apparently no action was taken on his offer. It is highly likely that the carbine was of the same basic configuration as this rifle-musket. Here’s your chance to own a very rare percussion breech-loading rifle-musket with Confederate and New Orleans ties.