Page 192 - 4092-BOOK2-FLIPBOOK

AS DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK OUR RIFLES BY SAWYER
190
LOT 1193
Documented Legendary Abe Williams “Little George Lainhart” Inscribed Massive Heavy Barrel Side Hammer Percussion “Civil War Sniper” Rifle with Scope - NSN, 65 cal., 30 1/4 inch octagon bbl., blue/casehardened/German silver finish, rosewood stock. This iconic 19th century target rifle and the legend surrounding it have been told many times.
The two key markings on the rifle are “Little George Lainhart” inscribed in Gothic script on the heel plate and “Abe Williams Maker” on the toe plate. There is also a partially faded Remington maker’s mark on the barrel, and scroll and border engraving. The rifle is fitted with a 37 inch long scope on finely adjustable mounts dovetailed into the barrel towards the muzzle and on screw mounted on the upper tang. The
upper barrel flat also has a variety of other taps for mounting (three filled, four with screws in place, and two empty). Two gold hearts are inlaid into the left side of the stock which has been previously noted as rosewood. The semi-pistol grip wrist is checkered, and there are oval cheekpieces on both sides. Collector J.P. Stevens made many of the accoutrements for the rifle, including bullet molds, swages, and patch cutters, and the more recent owner made the case which contains additional accessories including a large bullet starter, false muzzle, another scope, and more. The rifle weighs over 35 pounds.
This impressive rifle is featured on the cover of the February 1969 edition of “The Gun Report” (copy included) and discussed within in the article “Little George Lainhart” by S.P. Stevens and which relays
the legendary tale of this rifle first told in “Our Rifles” by Charles Winthrop Sawyer on pages 89-102 (copy included) and also noted in Ned Roberts’s book “The Muzzle-Loading Cap Lock Rifle.” In Sawyer’s legend, the West Point Graduate Captain John Metcalf III
used this rifle in a machine rest to shoot and kill a Confederate general at the range of one mile and 187 feet while serving in the U.S. Army Engineer Corps in April 1864.
AS PICTURED AND DESCRIBED IN THE FEBRUARY 1969 EDITION OF "THE GUN REPORT"