H&P Type I Alteration of a US Springfield Model 1816 Type III Musket

American Civil War

.69 caliber. 42" rifled round barrel secured by three flat, spring retained bands. NSN. Bright finish, smooth walnut stock. Single shot muzzleloading percussion altered US military musket altered from flintlock to percussion with a chambered breech, rifled and sighted. Lock marked with a {Spread-Winged Eagle}/US forward of the hammer and in three vertical lines at the tail: SPRING/FIELD/1831. Hewes & Phillips added patent breech plug tang dated 1861 with H&P on top of breech. Counterpane with two script cartouches, the original ET inspection mark of Elisha Toby and the EB/2 inspection rating cartouche of Elizur Bates. The original final script JS inspection cartouche of Springfield's Assistant Master Armorer John Stebbins is present behind the triggerguard . Altered to percussion by the firm of Hewes & Phillips of Newark, NJ with a patent breech with clean out screw in the bolster and additionally modified by rifling the bore and adding an inverted US 1858 pattern 3-leaf rear sight at the breech with a taller iron blade front sight on the upper barrel band. Approximately 8,000 guns were so altered with patent breeches, rifled bores and long range rear sights, primarily for the state of New Jersey. This gun has a weak NJ New Jersey ownership marking on the left barrel flat. Musket retains both original sling swivels, the H&P added tall iron front sight on the upper band, the small socket bayonet mounting lug on the top of the barrel near the muzzle and an original button head ramrod that is about 3" short of full length that has had the head correctly dished for use with elongated ball ammunition. {ANTIQUE}

From the Lifetime Collection of Robert G. Paulsen

This lot is located in Cincinnati.