Original Item: One Only. The Ballard is a single-shot, breech loading firearm used late during the Civil War. The .44 caliber, percussion "capping breech loader" carbine was invented and patented by Charles H. Ballard of Worcester, Mass in November 1861. This was quickly followed by rimfire versions, as well as some that worked with both percussion and rimfire ammunition. Ballard however was an inventor, and not a firearms manufacturer, so he sought a way to market and sell his invention with an eye towards collecting patent royalties, instead of investing in a manufacturing facility to produce his guns. This lead to a partnership with the New York sales agents Merwin & Bray, who represented Ballard's invention, received contracts for his guns, and then subcontracted the production of the guns to other established arms makers.

As it was a solid workable design, the U.S. Ordnance department became interested, as they were always in need of additional reliable cavalry carbines during the U.S. Civil war. They put out several contracts for them in several different chamberings, however it is not entirely clear how many of each type were made, and also one of the contracted manufacturers went bankrupt during production, further complicating things. Carbines and rifles were mostly made in .44 for private use, however the military contracted for .56-56 (56-52) Spencer.The .56-56 Spencer contract went to Dwight, Chapin & Company, however the company folded after producing only 115 guns.

Ball & Williams ended up purchasing their parts and unfinished guns to try to complete the contract. They ended up being the major contractor for all Ballard Rifles and Carbines, and ended up making carbines in .54 rimfire, as well as .44 rimfire, even though the military had requested .50 rimfire for the second order. The company would end up making about 15,600 total Ballard Patent rifles and carbines, 6,600 of which were for the military. As best we can tell the majority of the .54cal rimfire carbines went to the State of Kentucky, who used them late during the Civil War. Some of these were sent by the Federal government, while later examples were purchased directly by Kentucky, as the ordnance department did not want any more, and also because Kentucky paid more.

This is a lovely patinated example of one of the Ballard Carbines in .54 rimfire made by Ball & Williams of Worcester, and almost certainly sent to Kentucky for use during the war. Made between 1864 and 1865, this carbine measures 37 3/4” long overall with a single barrel band and has a two-piece American black walnut stock. Unlike the examples in .44, the 22-inch long .54 barrel is completely round from muzzle to breech, and as best we can see does not bear any markings. It is fitted with a the correct flip up rear sight, which has a 100 yard leaf and a second with two sight notches labeled 250 YDS and 500 YDS.

The receiver on the carbine shows patination and past peppering, now cleaned away, which has made the original markings faint. Using a magnifier however we were able to see that the right side still bears the original patent information:-

The left side of the receiver has the agent information, as well as the serial number of the carbine:-

MERWIN & BRAY. AGT'S
NEW YORK.
407

The only other marking we can see on the gun is 24 stamped on both sides of the two piece breech block on the bottom front. Research indicates that the guns sent to Kentucky usually did not have any Federal inspection markings, and we were not able to find any traces on this carbine. Due to the condition of the metalwork however, it is possible that they wore away.

The metal surfaces are in good condition, though the original finish is almost completely worn away, leaving a gray peppered patina overall. This is particularly evident on the right side of the receiver, which has some evidence of past pitting, as well as on the spur of the hammer. The barrel has a lovely plum brown color from years of cleaning. The walnut stocks are in very good service used condition, showing the expected scratches, dents, and dings from long service. The butt stock has some wood filler repairs on the right side just below the wrist, as well as various scratches and gouges from service. The fore stock is in similar condition, and there is a hairline crack running forward from the band spring.

The falling block action cycles correctly, with a crisp dry fire, and the spring loaded manual ejector works well, though it does need to be manually returned to the fully forward position. The bore is in very good condition, showing crisp lands and grooves and a mostly bright finish. There is just a bit of fouling in the grooves, making this a really fantastic bore for a black powder era carbine. It does not look like it saw much actual use at all.

The early falling block action used was ahead of its time, but the competition with Sharps, Spencer and others was overwhelming. The result is that these Carbine are very scarce today but are essential to be included in any Civil War Carbine Collection. Fully cleaned and ready to display!

Specifications-

Years of Manufacture: 1864-65
Caliber: .54 - 5-groove rifling
Ammunition Type: Rimfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 22 inches
Overall Length: 37 3/4 inches
Action: Falling Breech with Manual Hammer
Feed System: Single Shot

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IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to possess, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.

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