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Smith cavalry carbine - Confederate captured & used! Civil War
Guns International #: 102182450 Seller's Inventory #:
Category: Civil War Carbines - Military Rifles - Antique
Seller's Information
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Seller: scooterdriver
Member Since: 1/12/20
First Name: John
Last Name: Stapleton
State: North Carolina
Country: United States
Phone: (321) 704-2956
Number of Active Listings: 0
Total Number of Listings: 3
Seller: Private Seller
Return Policy: 3 day inspection and return policy on used guns.
Shipped UPS Ground
Payment Types Accepted: USPS Money Orders
Description:
The Smith carbine is one of the more popular and successful of the patent breech loading carbines used by the US military during the American Civil War. Approximately 35,000 of the .50 caliber Smith carbines were manufactured in Massachusetts by three contractors, with some 31,002 being delivered to the Ordnance Department during the Civil War. The guns were produced by American Machine Works, of Springfield, the Massachusetts Arms Company of Chicopee Falls and by American Arms, also of Chicopee Falls.
During the war these carbines saw extensive use and were issued to various Union cavalry regiments. The Smith was well thought of in field, with the majority of the officer’s responding to the 1863-1864 Ordnance Department carbine survey rating it either “Best” or “Good”. Of the eighty-six respondents, 73% found favorably for the Smith. The Smith was instrumental on the first day of the battle of Gettysburg, as two of General Buford’s regiments were armed with the Smith during the opening of the battle on July 1, 1863.
This Smith carbine was made at the Massachusetts Arms Company. It is in very good shape and well marked. The carbine has the matching serial number 17012. While the serial number was not found in the Springfield Research Service serial number books, based upon the records that are listed, the gun was probably issued to the 1st Connecticut Volunteer Cavalry.
What makes the carbine extremely rare and valuable is that it was "captured and collected" by the Confederacy during the war, cleaned/repaired, and reissued to Confederate units for use against its manufacturer host!
During the war the Confederacy had a system to recover, clean and repair, inspect and reissue small arms of all types from the battlefields of the Civil War. The Confederate Ordnance Bureau final inspection stamps were applied to these reissued guns. Currently known markings that identify these captured and reissued weapons include the letters A, F, Q,T and Z. Most of these guns came from eastern battlefields that Confederate victories left accessible, and the repair work was concentrated at facilities at Danville, Staunton, Lynchburg, and Richmond.
This Smith carbine has been stamped with a prominent "Z" o the underside of the stock. The Z is believed be for Captain Louis Zimmer at the Richmond Arsenal/Artillery Warehouse. PLEASE NOTE: THE STOCK IS SOLID AND IS NOT CRACKED/SPLIT. THE PICTURE OF THE "Z" APPEARS TO BE A CRASCK BUT IT IS MERELY A DEEPER SCRATCH, NOT A CRACK/SPLIT.
This carbine functions as manufactured and is in very good condition that displays very well. It comes with the book Captured and Collected by Captain Steven N. Knott, USN (ret.) 80 pp., heavily illustrated with color photographs.
This gun would be a wonderful addition to any Civil War carbine collection that any collector would be proud to own and needs to make no excuses for.
For comparison of prices, see these listings below. As you can see, this rare Smith carbine is not only priced competatively, it is priced well below what dealers are asking & getting.
The Horse Soldier - ://horsesoldier/products/firearms/carbines/42863
Union Drummer Boy - ://uniondb/products/xn-confederate-captured-and-collected-model-1861-springfield-rifle-musket-t928byc
Shiloh Relics - ://shilohrelics/cgi-bin/display_Item.asp?132939
Arizona Swords - ://azswords/Firearms.htm
Shipped UPS Ground. Shipping is $75.00
SOLD
Antique: Yes