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LOT 3250
Highly Desirable Historic Civil War U.S. Martially Inspected Berdan Sharpshooter Double Set Trigger Sharps New Model 1859 Percussion Military Rifle with Sling - Serial no. 56740, 52 cal., 30 inch round bbl., blue/ casehardened finish, walnut stock. This New Model 1859 Sharps rifle is in the correct configuration of the 2,000 special ordered rifles produced in 1862 for
the 1st and 2nd U.S. Sharpshooter regiments (U.S.S.) organized and recruited
by Colonel Hiram Berdan (Berdan’s Sharpshooters), falls within the correct serial number range 54390-57574 of Berdan Sharps rifles, and is marked with “O.W.A” (Orville W. Ainsworth) inspection initials on the left breech of the barrel, and the left of the stock has faint remnants of a boxed inspection cartouche that was likely “JT” (John Taylor). Taylor inspected all 2,000 of the Berdan special contract rifles between April 11 and May 24, 1862, per Wiley Sword in “Sharpshooter.” Berdan’s two U.S. Sharpshooter regiments (U.S.S.) were composed of experienced marksman from Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Wisconsin. The regiments were intended to serve as skirmishers
and light infantry modeled on the famous British Rifle Brigade. Like their British counterparts, the U.S.S. were issued dark green uniforms with non-reflective
black buttons. Berdan selected the New Model 1859 Sharps rifle to arm the Sharpshooters, replacing the originally issued Colt Model 1855 rifles. The Ordnance Department’s initial order was for standard New Model 1859 rifles, but Colonel Hiram Berdan contacted the factory and requested a dull barrel finish and double
set triggers. The factory assumed Berdan had permission for the changes and began producing rifles for the unit to his specifications, but once the Ordnance Department got word, they insisted that they would not pay for additional rifles in the altered configuration. However, given that the specifications Berdan requested did not actually cost more due to the use of a socket bayonet rather than a sword bayonet, Sharps may have just continued making the rifles as Berdan requested. Many of the rifles were used by the Sharpshooters, but others were diverted
and used by other units including the Bucktails (13th Pennsylvania). Page 82 of Wiley Sword’s book states, “...a detail of sharpshooters cut small sticks to fit to the sight in order to increase the elevation while at the Po River in 1864. Their shots
at an estimated 1,500 yards distance caused a Confederate signal station to be abandoned, reported an observer.” Page 98 has a serial number list of some known surviving Sharps Berdan rifles including 56739, of which this rifle is one number away as 56740.
Berdan Sharpshooter