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 1st Pattern leather swivel frog with plain 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 loss is the brass scabbard attachment hook, which is no longer present.

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. The Model 1873 and its later Trapdoor variants became closely associated with the U.S. Army during the western campaigns of the 1870s and 1880s.

Because the .45-caliber Model 1873 rifle barrel was smaller in diameter than the .58-caliber rifle-musket barrels for which the earlier socket bayonet had been designed, a new bayonet with a smaller socket was required. Externally, the Model 1873 retained the familiar form of the earlier U.S. socket bayonet, with a locking ring surrounding the socket and an approximately 18-inch triangular blade. The principal functional difference was the socket dimension needed to fit the .45-70 Springfield barrel.

This example is really in good service-used condition, with a lovely patina of age. There is some rust peppering on the socket, as often seen. The locking ring moves easily, and still has the correct securing screw. The blade ricasso is stamped U.S. / F with the U in U.S. now worn away.

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, which is the most significant loss to the scabbard assembly.

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 plain circular rosette that permits a limited amount of rotation. This unmarked rosette configuration is recognized on early Model 1873 scabbard frogs, while later examples are commonly encountered with a rosette marked U.S.

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.

The Model 1873 Trapdoor rifle and its socket bayonet remained important pieces of U.S. Army equipment throughout the Indian Wars period. The bayonet was intended for the full-length infantry rifle rather than the cavalry carbine, which was not ordinarily equipped to mount this socket bayonet. Although the Trapdoor carbine is famously associated with the 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, that history should be understood as context for the firearm family rather than for this infantry bayonet specifically.

This is a particularly complete early Model 1873 bayonet grouping, retaining the full-length socket bayonet, original steel scabbard, and desirable early plain-rosette swivel frog together. The scattered socket oxidation, minor deformation, finish loss, worn leather, and missing brass scabbard hook are the principal condition issues, while the freely moving locking ring and surviving 1st Pattern frog preserve the most important functional and collector features of the set.

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