Original item: One of a Kind. This is great find, just purchased at a local antique firearms auction! At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 the Confederacy were counting on support from England for Arms and the tools to manufacture them. Unexpectedly, the Union quickly blocked the Confederate Southern States' ports, eliminating importation of the much needed Manufacturing equipment from England.

The war progressed into 1862 and much to the Washington Government’s surprise, the Confederates had considerable successes, including the September 15th capture of the Union Arsenal at Harpers Ferry. This achieved, they immediately transferred all the built M1855 Muskets together with mountains of component parts and most importantly, the Machinery to make them. Using these the South started their own manufacturing plant at the Richmond Armory, in Richmond, Virginia, the Capital of the Confederacy.

In short order production of the RICHMOND PERCUSSION RIFLE began, based on the Springfield M-1855 Percussion Musket with certain incremental improvements, which served the South until the War's end in 1865. The first "Richmond" percussion muskets had HIGH HUMP lock plates, which were made using the M1855 lock plate mold, designed to house a Maynard Tape Primer system, but without one installed. The system had proven to be very difficult to work with in the field, and in February 1861 Springfield had patterned the Model 1861, which completely removed the system. Richmond copied this, however using the M1855 mold meant the hump went almost all the way up to the underside of the hammer. The first of these lock plates were simply marked "RICHMOND, VA", as the armory was not yet officially under CSA control. This changed shortly after, resulting in the TYPE 2 lock plate, identical to the TYPE 1, except it was marked "C.S." over the Richmond address.

It was found that unfortunately the "high hump" of the lock plate, left on to save machine time, was in fact a hindrance in the field, as it interfered with installing a new cap in a timely manner due to the lack of clearance. To fix this, the Richmond Armory began filing off the tops of the lock plates, giving rise to the first LOW HUMP lock plate, the TYPE 3. Then, the original M1855 mold needed replacement, so changes were made that produced a LOW HUMP directly from the mold, resulting in the TYPE 4 lock plate. This change happened at the end of 1862, so by 1863, all C.S. Richmond Rifled Muskets and Carbines were made using the Type 4 LOW HUMP lock plate. This alteration was the design of William Wentzel, made directly to the original dies used to make the molds.

Our example has the Classic TYPE 4 LOW HUMP lock plate, NOT incorporating the Maynard tape primer system used on the M-1855 Muskets from Harper's Ferry. It is not ground off, but originally molded as a "low hump." The lock is marked to the Confederate States with the correct two line Richmond address stamp:

C.S.
RICHMOND, VA.

We have checked the font, style, and size against other known examples, and it is definitely the genuine article,  dated 1862 on the lock plate tail, as per the pattern. We even removed the lock plate to look at the back to make sure, and it is constructed completely in the correct manner. We also checked the lock inlet, and it was never cut with the primer feed grooves, leaving a "Mule's Foot" in the lock mortise, though it suffered damage at some point and is no longer complete. The barrel is the correct 40" in length and has clear V / P / Eagle's head markings visible on the breech left facet.

We feel this example exhibits some Harpers Ferry captured parts in its assembly, particularly the barrel, which has the correct Federal proofs on it, without the "Broken P" often observed on Richmond-made examples. The barrel bands are also stamped with U markings. The first Richmond Rifles used steel butt plates and nose caps salvaged from the armory, but they had fully moved to brass by 1863 to save on steel and production time. As this example has both the brass nose cap and butt plate, it was probably made towards the end of 1862, and the original tulip head iron ramrod with an enlarged shank is still present under the barrel, and in good shape, though the threaded end is broken off.

The lock is fully functional, holding at half-cock and firing at full. The rifle also still retains the correct simplified M1855 style 3 leaf flip up rear sight, which still functions correctly. The barrel shows clear 3 groove rifling, showing use with some fouling and oxidation in the grooves, which was later cleaned away. There is a fair amount of powder burn around the cap bolster, so this rifle definitely did see a good amount of use. The cap nipple cone looks to possibly be a period replacement, and the bolster cleanout screw is seized, though the slot is still quite good.

Overall condition is very nice, showing a lovely mottled patina on the metalwork, showing areas of past peppering and light pitting, now cleaned away. This is definitely a percussion rifle that saw long use during the war, and possibly after. The stock is also in very nice shape, with the lovely red-brown color of oiled and aged American Black Walnut. It has great grain, and we do not see any major damage or repairs, just some cracking around the fittings, as well as wood erosion around the cap nipple cone bolster. Both sling swivels are present and move easily, though there is a crack through the upper swivel near the base.

ORIGINAL and fully cleaned to put it in the best light, this is a fantastic opportunity to acquire a lovely patinated Confederate rifled musket, which rarely come to market. This could be the crown jewel of your Civil War Collection! Ready to display!

Specifications:-

Year of Manufacture: 1862
Caliber: .58"
Cartridge Type: Minié Ball and Powder
Barrel Length: 40 Inches
Overall Length: 56 Inches
Action type: Side Action Lock
Feed System: Muzzle Loaded

NOTE: International orders of antique firearms MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services (courier). USPS Priority Mail international will not accept these. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.

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.

These antique guns are not sold in "live" condition, and are not tested for the the ability to feed or load any type of cartridge. They are sold as collector's items or as "wall hangers" not for use, and we make no guarantees regarding functionality aside from what is stated in the description. Any attempt at restoring an antique gun to be operational is strongly discouraged and is done so at the risk of the customer. By purchasing an antique gun from IMA you thereby release IMA, its employees and corporate officers from any and all liability associated with use of our Antique guns.

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.