Arms, Armor and Militaria

.56-56 Spencer. 22" round barrel secured by a single spring-retained barrel band. SN: 52240. Blued and color casehardened finish, walnut butt and forend. Seven-shot repeating lever action cartridge carbine with manually cocked hammer and tubular magazine in butt. Top of receiver marked in three lines: SPENCER REPEATING/RIFLE CO BOSTON MASS/PAT'D MARCH 6, 1860 with portions of the marking weak. Serial number on receiver tang. Two weak but mostly visible script cartouches are present on the reverse wrist with the MMJ of Martin McNary Johnson stamped vertically behind the sling bar and the very weak DAP of Dwight A Perkins stamped horizontally to the rear of the first cartouche. The name G.C. LAWS over Co. C. is neatly carved on the obverse stock. Carbine retains the original military folding ladder long range rear sight, pinned German silver front sight blade in iron base, the sling bar and ring and the sling swivel in the toe of the stock. The original and correct pattern magazine follower tube is in place in the butt. A search of the Springfield Research Service database did not find this carbine, however Spencer carbine #52238, only two numbers from this one, was issued to Company G of the 14th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry and #52252, only twelve numbers away was issued to Company B of the 7th Indiana Volunteer Cavalry. A search of the Civil War Data database found that George Clenden Laws (1845-1913) served in Company C of the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry during the Civil War. Laws initially served in Company D of the Pennsylvania National Guard Infantry for a few days in September of 1862, before enlisting in Company H of the 15th PA Cavalry on October 10, 1862. During his service he transferred from Company H to Company C, as noted in the carving on the butt of the carbine. A portion of the regiment that was formed before Laws joined fought at Antietam, but afterwards the regiment spent the war in the Western Theater doing much of its service with the Army of the Cumberland. The regiment fought during the Stones River Campaign in Middle Tennessee in the winter of 1862-1863 and in 1863 fought in the Tullahoma Campaign and the Chickamauga Campaign, followed by the Chattanooga Campaign and Knoxville Campaign. In 1864 the regiment was temporarily dismounted to provide horses to those units that were participating in Sherman's Atlanta Campaign and subsequent March to the Sea. The regiment fought during the Nashville Campaign in late 1864 and then pursued Hood's retreating army into Alabama. In the spring of 1865 the regiment split up with some men helping to harass Lee's retreating army in Virginia, particularly around Lynchburg and the balance participating in the final North Carolina Campaign against Joe Johnston. After the war Laws worked as a physician and died in 1913. This is a solid example of a Civil War Spencer carbine which has not undergone post-war modifications for Indian War service and with a very plausible carved ID that was likely purchased by Laws when he mustered out of the unit in Nashville on June 21, 1865 and went home with him. {ANTIQUE}