US Model 1858 Type II Cadet Rifle Musket by Springfield Dated 1859

American Civil War

.58 caliber. 38" barrel. NSN. Bright finish, steel furniture, full-length walnut musket stock. Single shot muzzleloading percussion military rifle with Maynard's patent automatic tape priming lock, 1858 pattern three leaf rear sight, Barleycorn combination front sight and socket bayonet lug, sling swivels and a swelled-shank tulip head ramrod. Lock with a {Spread Winged Eagle} on the tape primer magazine door and marked U.S./SPRINGFIELD forward of the primer door and dated 1859 at the tail. Breech dated 1859 as well with the usual V/P/{Eagle Head} proofs on the left angled flat. A legible script JS cartouche is present opposite the lock, the mark of Springfield Arsenal inspector James Stillman. The obverse butt is stamped with the rack or inventory marking G.R. NO. 10. A total of 2,501 M1858 Cadet Rifle Muskets were produced at Springfield between 1858 and 1860 with 1,501 being of the "Type I" variation with a long base, long range rear sight of the M1855 pattern and the last 1,000 being of the "Type II" variation with the M1858 3-leaf rear sight. A nice example of a scarce, Civil War era Cadet Rifle, many of which were issued to states prior to the war, including the southern states of Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana, as well as the border states of Kentucky and Missouri. The markings on the butt of this gun suggest it may have gone to Georgia for use in one of their military academies in the months prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. {ANTIQUE}

From the Lifetime Collection of Robert G. Paulsen

This lot is located in Cincinnati.