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LOT 1229
Historic Civil War U.S. Springfield Model 1861 Percussion Rifle-Musket with Inscription Attributed as from
Confederate General Ambrose P. Hill to George H. Kennedy - NSN, 58 cal., 40 inch round bbl., bright finish, walnut stock.
“1861” dated lock. “Geo. H. Kennedy from. A. P. Hill. Gen. C.S.A.” neatly period inscribed in fancy script on top of
the barrel. The presenter is attributed as Confederate General Ambrose Powell Hill (November 9, 1825-April 2,
1865), and the recipient being a George H. Kennedy, possibly an individual located in the Civil War soldier rosters
out of Bartow County, Georgia, that was enlisted as a private in Company F (aka “Davis Guards”) of the Confederate
18th Georgia Infantry Regiment on March 12, 1862, and died of disease shortly after on July 31, 1862, in Ashland, Virginia, where he
is buried at Woodland Cemetery. The connection between these two individuals is not entirely clear, although the timeframe and
units line up. Ambrose P. Hill was promoted to a brigadier general on February 26, 1862, and commanded a brigade in the early
Confederate Army of the Potomac. During the Peninsula Campaign that lasted between March through July of 1862, with Hill as
brigade commander, his brigade successfully thwarted a Union attack during the Battle of Williamsburg on May 5, 1862, earning him a
promotion to major general and division command on May 26, 1862. Hill’s new division consisted of mainly brigades pulled from the
Carolinas and Georgia. Without being able to confirm the reasoning for presentation of this U.S. Springfield Model 1861 rifle-musket,
it is possible it was captured from the Union Army by Hill’s Confederate forces during the 1862 Peninsula campaign, and General
Ambrose P. Hill may have gifted it to George H. Kennedy for a possible act of valor. The Model 1861 rifle-musket was the primary
shoulder arm used by the Union infantry during the Civil War, with various firms outside of Springfield Armory manufacturing them under contract for the war effort using parts interchangeability
on a large scale. Marked “U.S./SPRINGFIELD” at the center of the lock ahead of a federal eagle and the “1861” date at the tail of the lock, no visible date marking on the breech of the barrel with
“V/P/(eagle head)” proofs on the upper left breech flat. Front bayonet stud sight and rear sight with 100, 300 and 500 yard flip-up leafs. The left stock flat is stamped with two faint bordered script
inspection cartouches. “US” marked buttplate tang.
CONDITION: Very good, with antiqued brown and gray patina, light pitting, distinct lock markings and legible inscription. Stock is also very good, with a professional repair in the wrist, some light
handling marks, and mostly defined edges. Mechanically excellent.
Estimate: 3,500 - 5,500
LOT 1230
Desirable Civil War Era Confederate Range Massachusetts Arms Company Maynard First Model Breech Loading
Percussion Carbine - Serial no. 2978, 50 cal., 20 inch part round bbl., blue/casehardened finish, walnut stock. Approximately 5,000 First
Model Maynard carbines were manufactured c. 1858-1859, according to “Flayderman’s Guide” (9th Edition, 9B-073). “If the 1859 production ceased
between serial nos. 1600 and 1900, and if production on an annual basis reached 150 arms per month during the period from January, 1860, to April, 1861,
arms within the serial range from approximately 1800 through 4100 (give or take 200) should be in the range that saw Confederate service” according to
Howard M. Madaus in “The Maynard Rifle and Carbine in the Confederate Service” in the American Society of Arms Collectors Bulletin No. 52 from 1985.
Multiple Confederate states are known to have had contracts for Maynard rifles and carbines in both .35 and .50 caliber including Mississippi, Florida,
and Georgia. For example, in early 1861, Jefferson Davis and J. Thompson entered into agreements for Maynard arms and ammunition that included
325 carbines and 175 rifles in .50 caliber and 300 carbines in .35 caliber along with one thousand rounds of ammunition for each gun. Confederate
soldiers are said to have been particularly fond of the Maynards due in part to the fact that the brass cases could be reloaded numerous times.
German silver blade front sight and dovetailed notch rear sight on the barrel, with a ladder peep sight mounted on the upper tang. It has a two-line
Maynard Arms Co. Washington address on the right of the frame, while the left is marked with the three-line Massachusetts Arms Co. Chicopee Falls
address. The three-line Maynard patent marking is on the patchbox lid, and there is a label with Maynard patent dates inside the patchbox. Serial
number “2978” marked on the interior of the Maynard primer door of the gun, with what appears to be “2918” marked on the bottom of the barrel,
most likely a factory error. The stock has a first model iron patchbox and buttplate.
CONDITION: Very good, retains 40% thinning original blue finish, traces of original case colors in a few protected areas, with mostly smooth silvered
out gray patina along with freckling on the balance of the metal surfaces, and defined markings. Stock is good as re-oiled, with a large chipped
section at the toe, a small repair behind the upper tang, and otherwise defined edges. The tape primer mechanism is not properly functioning,
repaired lever retaining pin that is slightly loose fitting, otherwise mechanically functions.
Estimate: 3,000 - 5,000
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