Original Item: Only One Available. The Springfield Model 1861 was a Minié-type rifled musket shoulder-arm used by the United States Army and Marine Corps during the American Civil War. Commonly referred to as the "Springfield" (after its original place of production, Springfield, Massachusetts), it was the most widely used U.S. Army weapon during the Civil War, favored for its range, accuracy, and reliability.

The barrel was 40 inches long, firing a .58 caliber Minié ball, and the total weight was approximately 9 pounds. The Springfield had an effective range of 200 to 300 yards, and used percussion caps to fire (rather than the flintlocks of the 18th century, the last U.S. flintlock musket was the Model 1840). Trained troops were able to fire at a rate of three aimed shots per minute while maintaining accuracy up to 500 yards, though firing distances in the war were often much shorter. The most notable difference between the Model 1861 and the earlier Model 1855 was the elimination of the Maynard tape primer for the Model 1861 (the Maynard primer, a self-feeding primer system, was unreliable in damp weather, and the priming mechanism was expensive and time-consuming to produce). Further, unlike the Model 1855, the Model 1861 was never produced in a two-banded "short rifle" configuration.

The Springfield was aimed using flip-up leaf sights. The sight had two leaves, one for 300 yards and the other for 500 yards, and with both leaves down, the sight was set for a range of 100 yards. By contrast, the British Pattern 1853 Enfield, favored by the Confederates, utilized a ladder-sight system with 100 yard increments, using steps from 100 to 400 yards and a flip up ladder for ranges beyond 500 yards. While the Enfield's sights did allow finer range settings, the Springfield's simple leaves were more rugged and were less expensive to produce. The Enfield's sights extended to 900 yards (and further, on later models), compared to the 500 yard maximum range of the Springfield's sights. Realistically, though, hitting anything beyond 600 yards with either weapon was mostly a matter of luck. While the sight designs were very different, the two weapons were otherwise very similar, and had very similar effective ranges.

The Springfield Rifle cost $20 each at the Springfield Armory, where they were officially made. Overwhelmed by the demand, the armory opened its weapons patterns up to twenty private contractors, including Savage Revolving Fire Arms Company of Middletown, Connecticut circa 1862-64. Savage was a major contractor in the Civil War who supplied the government with some 25,500 such muskets for the Army over the period 1862-1864. As with other contractors, they did not change to the model 1863 specifications, so there are examples of Model 1861 rifled muskets dated 1864 and possibly later.

The Model 1861 was relatively scarce in the early years of the Civil War (many troops were still using Model 1842 smoothbored muskets and Model 1816/1822 muskets converted to percussion cap primers, both in .69 caliber). It is unlikely that any of these were available for use in the First Battle of Bull Run. However, over time, more and more regiments began receiving Model 1861 rifled muskets, though this upgrade appeared somewhat quicker in the Eastern Theater of Operations. Over 1,000,000 Model 1861 rifles were produced, with the Springfield Armory increasing its production during the war by contracting out to twenty other firms in the Union. The number of Model 1861 muskets produced by the Springfield Armory was 265,129 between January 1, 1861 and December 31, 1863. According to United States Muskets, Rifles and Carbines by Arcadi Gluckman Colonel Infantry, United States Army, published 1949.

After the war ended, many model 1861 and 1863 rifled muskets were modified to a breech loading actions with new metallic cartridges. With these modifications, the basic 1861 evolved into the Springfield Model 1873 which served the US until being replaced in the 1890s by modern breech loading rifles chambered for new smokeless powder rounds that were far superior to the Model 1873.

This lovely matured example however was not converted, and is still in the original configuration. Stamped on lockplate in front of hammer is a spread winged Federal Eagle above letters U.S. Just forward is the two-line maker address:

SAVAGE R. F. A. Co.
MIDDLETOWN, Ct.

It is dated 1864 on the lock plate tail, and the markings on the lock are clear and overall the lock plate is in very good condition, especially considering the age, with just some light peppering. The barrel nocks form still shows very faint V / P / Eagle's Head proof marks, while the date on the top of the barrel is completely worn away. We checked the left side of the stock, and unfortunately there are no longer any inspection cartouches visible. The butt plate is US marked, and all three barrel bands have the correct U stamps.

The walnut stock is in really great shape, showing a lovely red brown color, with dents and dings from use in service. There are no repairs from service, and it is definitely a really solid example. There is a bit of wear to the wood around the wrist area, which is probably why the original cartouches are worn away. There is also a good amount of wear around the ramrod channel, showing that this rifled musket definitely saw a lot of use.

The metalwork overall has a gray patina, showing signs of past peppered oxidation that was cleaned away over many years. There is a good amount of past powder burn around the cap nipple cone bolster, indicating relatively heavy use. The cap nipple cone does look to have been replaced post war, and the cleanout screw possibly as well, which is still able to be removed. We checked the bore, and it measures out to about .605" now, so there is no longer any rifling present. It does not look to have been smoothbored, just used heavily until the rifling wore away. The lock functions correctly, holding at half cock and firing at full.

The gun has a two-leaf rear sight such as found on the Model 1863 Type II, so it's possible that it was replaced during the war, as it shows less oxidation than the barrel around it. Both sling swivels are intact, and move freely, and the ramrod under the barrel does not have an enlarged shank, but does look to be a period original. 

This is a great chance to pick up an lovely honestly used example of a Civil War Contract Rifled musket, ready to research and display!

Specifications (Rifle):-

Year of Manufacture: 1864
Caliber: .58" - worn to .605"
Cartridge Type: Minié Ball and Powder
Barrel Length: 40 Inches
Overall Length: 56 Inches
Action type: Side Action Lock
Feed System: Muzzle Loaded

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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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Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to almost any deliverable address across the globe. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.