Philadelphia Marked US Model 1861 Contract Rifle Musket

American Civil War

.58 caliber. 40" barrel secured by three flat, spring retained bands. NSN. Bright finish, iron furniture, full-length walnut musket stock. Single shot percussion muzzleloading rifle musket with M1861 three leaf rear sight, Barleycorn combination front sight and socket bayonet lug, sling swivels and swelled shank tulip head ramrod. Lock marked with a {Spread Winged Eagle} and in two lines U.S./PHILADELPHIA forward of the hammer. Dated 1862 at tail of lock and top of breech. Standard V/P/{Eagle Head} proofs on breech. An illegible script cartouche is present opposite the lock. The mystery of who actually produced the US Model 1861 Rifle Muskets with locks marked "Philadelphia" has long plagued arms collectors and despite decades of research the answers are still not clear. It appears the locks were produced by Philadelphia contractor C.H. Williams for John Rice, also of Philadelphia, who had a contract to produce rifle muskets for the US Government. Like most of the arms contractors at the beginning of the war, Rice had no real experience in producing arms and was intending to rely upon other contractors to produce most of the parts for the guns, which he workmen would then assemble. Rice failed to meet his obligations and several theories exist about what happened to the few arms he assembled (believed to be about 400-500) and the parts that he had on hand. One theory is that the assembled guns were sold to Alfred Jenks & Sons, who subsequently delivered them to the Ordnance Department in November of 1861 as "non contract" deliveries. Another theory is that the guns were sold to the state of Pennsylvania and yet another suggests that Addison Burt (of Burt & Hodge, working as "Trenton Locomotive Works") acquired the left over parts and used them to assemble guns. Realistically all of the theories could be at least partially correct. Moller indicates the Philadelphia locks were part of A.D. Burt's deliveries. In any event, the Philadelphia marked US Model 1861 Rifle Musket is not just a conundrum, but also one of the harder contractor marks to find on a Model 1861 Rifle Musket, making it a desirable acquisition for the advanced collector of Civil War rifle muskets. {ANTIQUE}

From the Lifetime Collection of Robert G. Paulsen

This lot is located in Cincinnati.