Original Item. Only One Available. This is a very good original U.S. Model 1873 socket bayonet for the .45-70 Springfield “Trapdoor” rifle, complete with its original steel scabbard and early leather swivel frog with U.S. brass rosette. The bayonet retains its full-length 18-inch triangular blade, movable locking ring, and securing screw, while the scabbard and frog show the expected wear and patina of military service. The principal losses are the missing brass scabbard attachment component and heavy deterioration to the leather frog, which is now beginning to separate from the scabbard.

The Model 1873 Springfield represented the culmination of the earlier Allin breechloading conversion system and became the standard U.S. Army .45-70 service rifle of the post-Civil War period. Its hinged breechblock gave rise to the familiar collector term “Trapdoor.” The full-length infantry rifle used a 32 5/8-inch barrel, while the shorter cavalry carbine used a 22-inch barrel. Both were chambered for the .45-70 Government cartridge.

Because the .45-caliber Model 1873 rifle barrel was smaller in diameter than the .58-caliber rifle-musket barrels for which earlier U.S. socket bayonets had been designed, the Army required a bayonet with a correspondingly smaller socket. Externally, the M1873 retained the familiar form of earlier U.S. socket bayonets, with a locking ring surrounding the socket and an approximately 18-inch triangular blade.

This example is in good service-used condition with an attractive age patina. There is scattered rust peppering and oxidation around the socket, as commonly encountered on surviving examples. The locking ring moves easily and still retains its correct securing screw. The blade ricasso is clearly stamped U.S.

The bayonet is accompanied by its original steel scabbard, measuring approximately 18 3/8". The scabbard shows extensive finish loss and age-toned surface wear consistent with long use, but it remains generally straight without major dents or bends. The original brass attachment hook is missing, and the leather frog is now heavily cracking, and is now partially detached from the scabbard.

Attached to the scabbard is an early leather swivel frog. The blackened leather shows cracking, flaking, and general age wear, while the belt loop remains attached through a US circular rosette that permits a limited amount of rotation. Due to heavy wear, cracking, and oxidation, the swivel no longer moves.

The earliest Model 1873 bayonet scabbard arrangements used a leather frog that looped over the narrow waist belts then in service. As U.S. Army accoutrements changed during the 1880s, several different hanger and frog arrangements were developed, including later systems intended to adapt the existing socket-bayonet scabbard to the Mills woven cartridge belt. The Pattern 1885 frog, for example, incorporated a hook attachment specifically for the Mills belt. The plain-rosette leather swivel frog on this example therefore represents an earlier form of the post-Civil War carrying system.

This example is particularly noteworthy for the combination of its full-length U.S.-marked M1873 socket bayonet, movable locking ring and screw, original steel scabbard, and early U.S.-rosette leather swivel frog. The deteriorated frog and missing attachment hardware document long service and age, while the surviving early hanger configuration places the set within the first generation of post-Civil War U.S. Army Trapdoor accoutrements.

Specifications:
Blade Length: 18"
Blade Style: Triangular
Overall length: 21“
Scabbard Length: 18 3/8"