{"product_id":"original-u-s-civil-war-named-springfield-m1855-rifled-musket-by-harpers-ferry-with-functional-taper-primer-system-dated-1860","title":"Original U.S. Civil War Named Springfield M1855 Rifled Musket by Harpers Ferry with Functional Taper Primer System - dated 1860","description":"\u003cp\u003eOriginal Item: Only One Available. The Springfield Model 1855 was a rifle musket widely used in the American Civil War. It was manufactured by the Springfield Armory in Massachusetts and at the Harpers Ferry Armory in Virginia (modern-day West Virginia) along with independent contractors. The design exploited the advantages of the new conical Minié ball, which could be deadly at over 1,000 yards. About 60,000 of these rifles were made, and it was a standard infantry weapon for Union and Confederates alike, until the Springfield Model 1861 supplanted it, obviating the use of the insufficiently waterproof Maynard tape primer.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the war, most model 1855s were taken home, or parts used for other projects. The primer system lock was unsuitable for conversion to a Trapdoor style rifle, and given the small number produced and how many were captured by the CSA, they are very hard to find. This is one of the few intact examples of the rifle that we have ever had, and it has a lovely \"been there\" patina. It is still in the original configuration, and looks to have seen a good amount of service during the war, and possibly afterwards. It is one of the later produced examples, and has the rare steel patch box with spare nipple inlet on the right side of the butt stock. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Lock is on this example marked \u003cstrong\u003eU.S. \/ HARPERS FERRY\u003c\/strong\u003e on the right hand side, and the \"Federal\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Eagle\" stamped into the Maynard tape primer's steel cover is still crisp. It is dated \u003cstrong\u003e1860\u003c\/strong\u003e on the lock plate tail, the year of production at the \u003cem\u003eUnited States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry\u003c\/em\u003e in what was then Virginia\u003c\/span\u003e, today in the state of West Virginia. The markings on the lock are mostly clear and overall the lock plate is in good condition, with wear commensurate to age. The tape primer door still stays shut correctly due to an intact catch, and the primer advance pawl is still linked to the lock mechanism, though we have no way to test to see if it can still feed primer tapes. The lock still function correctly, holding at half cock, and firing at full.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe barrel breech area shows extensive past powder burn and corrosion, now cleaned away, and there is also \"pinching\" on the barrel tang, so it may have had the breech plug pulled at some point. The original rear sight has been replaced, most likely post war, after the original looks to have broken off, and only the \u003cstrong\u003eV\u003c\/strong\u003e proof is still visible, with the P and \"Eagle's Head\" worn away. The cap nipple cone and bolster show heavy oxidation, and the original cap nipple cone was replaced at some point long ago with an aftermarket one. There are no cartouches present on the left side of the stock by the lock screws, but \u003cstrong\u003ethere is a name written into the left side of the butt stock, which is too faint to read\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe heavy amount of oxidation on the breech area of the barrel definitely points to this possibly being a Confederate used rifle, as they would use their weapons to destruction out of necessity. They also did capture a fair number of Model 1855 Rifled Muskets during their raid on Harpers Ferry arsenal. This rifle definitely has been cleaned and had the stock finished more recently. The metalwork overall has mostly aged to an oxidized patina, with some areas of peppering and light pitting and wear commensurate to the age and level of service that this rifled musket saw. We checked the bore, and it is like a stovepipe, heavily oxidized and fouled, now measuring about 0.62\" at the muzzle, indicating heavy wear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoth sling swivels were removed at some point, and the bolsters themselves were also removed from the barrel band and trigger guard. All three barrel bands are correctly \u003cstrong\u003eU\u003c\/strong\u003e marked, with a faint \u003cstrong\u003eUS\u003c\/strong\u003e on the butt plate. There is a tulip headed cleaning rod under the barrel, however it does not have an enlarged shank or threads on the end, so we believe it to be a period replacement. The one piece walnut stock shows the beautiful red brown color of aged and oiled walnut in most areas, though near the fittings, especially the butt plate, it is stained darker due to rust exposure. It does look to have been refinished relatively recently, which is very well retained. We did note that there is missing wood around the cleaning rod channel, which is also now open all the way to the trigger guard due to chunks having broken away.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eThis is a great chance to pick up a nice Civil War Rifled Musket with a great service worn look and research potential. Ready to research and display!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpecifications:-\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYear of Manufacture:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e 1860\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCaliber: .58\" - worn to 0.62\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCartridge Type: Minié Ball and Powder with Tape Primer\u003cbr\u003eBarrel Length: 40 Inches\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOverall Length: 56 Inches\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAction type: Side Action Lock\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFeed System: Muzzle Loaded\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMore on the Springfield Model 1855\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEarlier U.S. Military muskets had mostly been smoothbore flintlocks. In the 1840s, the unreliable flintlocks had been replaced by much more reliable and weather resistant percussion cap systems. The smoothbore barrel and inaccurate round ball were also being replaced by rifled barrels and the newly invented Minié ball. This increased the typical effective range of a musket from about fifty yards (46 m) to several hundred yards. The Model 1855 had an effective range of 500 yards (460 m) and was deadly to over 1,000 yards (910 m).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe barrel on the Model 1855 was .58 caliber, which was smaller than previous muskets. The Springfield Model 1816 and all of its derivatives up through the Springfield Model 1842 had been .69 caliber, but tests conducted by the U.S. Army showed that the smaller .58 caliber was more accurate when used with a Minié ball.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Model 1855 also used the Maynard tape primer, which was an attempt at improving the percussion cap system that had been previously developed. Instead of using individual caps which had to be placed for every shot, the Maynard system used a tape which was automatically fed every time the hammer was cocked, similar to the way a modern child's cap gun works. While the powder and Minié ball still had to be loaded conventionally, the tape system was designed to automate the placing of the percussion cap and therefore speed up the overall rate of fire of the weapon. The Maynard tape system gave the Model 1855 a unique hump under the musket's hammer. The weapon could also be primed in the usual way with standard percussion caps if the tape was unavailable. The Secretary of War at the time Jefferson Davis authorized the adoption of the Maynard system for the Model 1855.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the field, the Maynard tape primer proved to be unreliable. Tests conducted between 1859 and 1861 found that half of the primers misfired, and also reported that the tape primer springs did not feed well. The greatest problem was the actual tape itself. Despite being advertised as waterproof, the paper strips proved to be susceptible to moisture. An attempt was made to remedy this problem by making the tape primers out of foil, but despite the improvement this brought, the Ordnance Department abandoned the Maynard system and went back to the standard percussion lock in later muskets like the Model 1861. Most Model 1855s were used throughout the Civil War with standard percussion caps.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eApproximately 75,000 Model 1855 muskets were produced. The machinery to make the Model 1855s, at Harpers Ferry was captured by the Confederate Army in early 1861. The captured machinery to produce rifle muskets was taken to Richmond Armory, where it formed the backbone of Confederate weapon manufacturing capability. The rifle machinery was taken to Fayetteville Arsenal, North Carolina where it too was put to use for significant arms production throughout the War. As a result of using the original arsenal machinery, the Richmond rifles and the Fayetteville rifles were two of the finest weapons produced by the Confederacy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Model 1855 was in production until 1860 and was the standard-issue firearm of the regular army in the pre-Civil War years. The need for large numbers of weapons at the start of the American Civil War saw the Model 1855 simplified by the removal of the Maynard tape primer and a few other minor alterations to make it cheaper and easier to manufacture, thus creating the ubiquitous Model 1861. The Model 1855 was the best arm available at the beginning of the conflict as it took some time for the Model 1861s to be manufactured and actually reach the field. However, less than 80,000 Model 1855s had been manufactured by the start of the war. Some of them were destroyed when the Confederates captured the Harpers Ferry arsenal in April 1861, and several thousand more were in Southern hands. Approximately 10,000 rifles had also been shipped to California, and therefore were useless for the Union war effort.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNOTE: 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Original Items","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45317808914501,"sku":"ONSV26GCS036","price":2295.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1524\/1342\/files\/9C4F2AA0-F7D8-4BCA-B0BD-8861BFB51B9F.jpg?v=1783544858","url":"https:\/\/www.ima-usa.com\/products\/original-u-s-civil-war-named-springfield-m1855-rifled-musket-by-harpers-ferry-with-functional-taper-primer-system-dated-1860","provider":"International Military Antiques","version":"1.0","type":"link"}