Arms, Armor & Militaria

.58 caliber. 20" round barrel. NSN. Bright finish, iron furniture, walnut stock. Rotating breech, percussion ignition, breech loading single shot carbine based upon Edward Lindner's patent with the correct pattern L-shaped two-leaf rear sight mounted on the breech tang, a Barleycorn musket style front sight, and a sling ring mounted on the counterpane. Lock unmarked as is correct for these early "1st Type" Amoskeag produced carbines. Breech marked EDWARD LINDNER'S/PATENT/MARCH 29, 1859. Counterpane with no visible inspection marks, the weak outline of an illegible cartouche is present on the top of the stock comb, forward of the buttplate tang. The number "1" is stamped into the upper left side of the wrist six times, the meaning of which is unknown. The very first Lindner-type carbines produced were actually modifications of surplus Austrian rifles and were the really the first Lindner deliveries to the US Government. Those guns should be referred to as "1st Model" Lindner Carbines, but are generally forgotten in firearms history. That delivery was of 400 guns and was specifically intended to go to the 1st Michigan Cavalry. The later production guns were produced by the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company of Manchester, NH with the first type having unmarked locks like this one, and accepted for US military service. Only 500 of these Amoskeag "1st Model" were produced and were inspected by George Jacobs who was inspecting other Amoskeag produced arms at their Manchester factory. The later, "2nd Model" guns with the Amoskeag marked locks were never accepted for US military service and these 6,000 guns were finally sold off during the Franco-Prussian War circa 1870. This is a very scarce example of one of the Amoskeag "1st Model" Lindner Carbines, of which only 500 were produced. These guns are rarely found for sale and are a very difficult Civil War carbine to acquire. {ANTIQUE}