Item Description
Original Item: Only One Available. The Enfield 1853 rifle-musket was used by both the North and the South in the American Civil War, and was the second most widely used infantry weapon in the war, surpassed only by the Springfield Model 1861 Rifled Musket. The Confederates imported more Enfields during the course of the war than any other small arm, buying from private contractors and gun runners. It has been estimated that over 900,000 P53 Enfields were imported to America and saw service in every major engagement from the Battle of Shiloh (April, 1862) and the Siege of Vicksburg (May 1863), to the final battles of 1865. The gun was highly sought after in the Confederate ranks. According to a survey taken by British officials during the early stages of war on the arms of the Western Confederate Forces, nearly 70% were armed with smoothbore arms, such as the Model 1842 Springfield, among others. Later in the war the same survey was taken, they found that more than 75% had attained a rifle and most being the Pattern 1853 Enfield.
Ultimately the British Government withdrew active support for the Confederacy. However, the illicit gun trade flourished. Confederate buyers now being rebuffed by the British Government turned to private sellers with the help of many British Companies. There is an excellent book on this subject titled THE CONFEDERATE ENFIELD by Capt. Steven Knott, U.S.N. Retired
This publication published in 2013 tells the story about how the trade worked and was carried out. Anything you want to know about Enfield Rifles the Confederacy bought and received is discussed. The P-1853 Percussion Rifle we offer today is just such a rifle as described in Captain Knott’s book.
The lock is marked:
1856
TOWER
[Crown]
VR
Barrel bears British proof marks.
All in all, this particular rifle is in nice condition with metal, wood and brass being clean, action functions perfectly.
Genuine British made P-1853 rifles are difficult to come by in today's market.
NOTE: International orders of antique firearms MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services (courier). USPS Priority Mail international will not accept these.
- This product is available for international shipping.
- 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 posses, 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. They are sold as collector’s items or as wall hangers. 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.
- Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon
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