View attachment 117812 View attachment 117813 Hello guys,
I will be posting some of my own collection of Guns and Bayonets from the Civil War Period.
This is my Whitworth which is in superb shooting condition.
I bought this along with a Lancaster Rifle and 3 Band Enfield as well as a 2 Band Enfield from a guy who was attached to the 82nd AB in Fort Bragg. He was there 86-88 and bought them from a gun dealer in Fayettville.
The Whitworth was he says used by the Confederate Army as was the Lancaster. The two Enfields were used but I do not know who by.
He brought them back to the UK and I bought them from him for a considerable amount 4 years ago.
I mentioned to him I had just bought a Whitworth Bayonet and a near mint Lancaster Bayonetand he dropped the Bombshell he was thinning his collection of guns and he Had the Rifles for the bayonets.
This has a beautiful tiger stripe patina on the furniture. The Whitworth bayonet looks similar to the 1856/57 British Yataghan Bayonets but has a round mortice hence the bayonet lug shape.
This has its Nipple Protector still attached. I saw a comment regarding a nipple protector on a 53.
These were to prevent damage to the nipple.
I would be interested to find out which units used the Whitworth if any did at all. Bragg being in S Carolina I would imagine it might have been a local unit...who knows?
Any views most welcome.
Very nice Whitworth, unfortunately this piece did not see service in the ACW, all of the markings indicate manufacture for the British Government. All known ACW Whitworths were of the 2nd Quality markings and are so scarce are almost mythical. There were basically only 2 Whitworths per brigade in the ANV for a total of 72 pieces and the AoT had 32 on hand in June of 1864. No Whitworths were on the lists of arms surrendered at either Appomattox or Durham.
Attaching a write up from one of the most noted experts on ACW arms, Tim Prince, of an identical piece he sold this year:
This
British Pattern 1863 Whitworth Military Rifle is in about
NEAR VERY GOOD condition and is a good example of the 8,000 rifles authorized for production at R.S.A.F. in 1863. The lock of the rifle is marked with the usual British
(CROWN) to the rear of the hammer, over the letters
V.R. for Victoria Regina, and indicating British government ownership. Forward of the hammer, the lock is marked
1863/ ENFIELD, and with a small
(CROWN-BROAD ARROW) / S-R and with a very small
19. The obverse buttstock bears the expected R.S.A.F. storekeepers mark, a roundel that reads
- R (CROWN) M – ENFIELD in a circle around the inspection mark
E / (CROWN) / 15 (inspector #15 at Enfield), all of which is over the number
1. The “1” indicates the rifle is “1st Class” and made of interchangeable parts. The top of the breech is marked
WHITWORTH’S PATENT, but most of the word “Whitworth” is illegible to due to pitting around the breech area. The left breech of the barrel is marked with usual British military proof and gauge marks for Enfield, and are over stamped with the sold out of service, surplus
S. The right side of the breech appears to be serial numbered
3875, although the first two numbers are very difficult to read. If this serial number was part of the original marking system for the P-1863 Whitworth Rifles, it places this example nearly in the middle of their production run. The sight is complete and fully functional. The bottom of the barrel is marked
FIRTH, who one of the four primary suppliers to steel barrels to Enfield for the production of these rifles. The bottom of the barrel additionally shows the inspection mark of an
R / (CROWN) / 1 and the initials
H and
F. The rifle is in
NEAR VERY GOOD condition and retains no original finish on the outer surfaces. The underside of the barrel, where it has been protected by the stock, retains about 20%-30% of its original blue, which is dulling and fading. The balance of the rifle has a medium pewter gray patina. The gun was probably lightly cleaned long ago, and the metal is mostly smooth (forward of the rear sight) and shows some scattered pinpricking and light pitting along its length. The breech and bolster areas show more significant amounts of pitting, which has partially obscured the name “WHITWORTH” on top of the breech, as well as the proof marks and serial number. The barrel shows a scattered patina of darker, age stained peppering along its length as well. The bore of the rifle is in
VERY GOOD condition. The bore is partly bright with scattered light to moderate pitting along its entire length. However, due to the system of mechanical rifling, versus traditional rifling grooves, the pitting should have practically no effect on the accuracy of the rifle. A good scrubbing might improve the overall condition of the bore. The lock has a smoky gray patina, a little darker than the overall color of the barrel and is mechanically
EXCELLENT. The lock functions perfectly on all positions and remains in very crisp mechanical condition. The cone (nipple) appears to be a very old replacement that fits the rifle perfectly and shows erosion and wear commensurate with the breach area of the rifle. The original cones for these guns were platinum lined with very small flash channels. This was due to the very high pressures created when firing the guns, especially with the hexagonal ammunition. The pressure cased severe erosion of the cones, and opened the flash channels enough that the pressures could damage the hammer. This resulted in the adoption of platinum liners for the cones to reduce the speed of the erosion. This cone appears to be a standard musket or rifle cone without the platinum liner and with a standard sized flash channel. The rifle retains its original rear sight, which is correctly marked and graduated for both types of ammunition issued with the guns. The sliding adjustment bar on the sight is marked with an engraved
C on the right hand side and an engraved
H on the left hand side. These indicate that the right side graduations are for the use of Conical (round) ammunition and the right hand graduations are for use with the Hexagonal (six sided) ammunition. The conical side is graduated to 1,250 yards, while the hexagonal side is graduated to 1,350 yards. The sight is complete and fully functional. The original front sight is in place near the muzzle of the rifle as well. The original ramrod is in place in the channel under the barrel and is full-length with good threads at the end. The original rear swivel is in place at the end of the extended iron triggerguard tang, and all of the hardware and furniture appears to be original to the rifle, with the exception of the upper barrel band and swivel. The original band would have had both a bayonet bar mount on it and a hole for the transverse pin that secured the band to the stock. This band is the correct width and general style, but does not have the hole or the bayonet bar. It is most likely an original upper band from a Type II P-1853 Enfield, and while an original part from the era and generally correct in appearance, is not quite right for the rifle. The stock of the rifle is in about
GOOD+ to NEAR VERY GOOD condition. The stock has been cleaned, resulting in some minor smearing of the R.S.A.F. storekeepers’ roundel on the stock, but it does not appear to have been sanded. The rifle retains relatively good lines and edges, with any rounding or softening of the lines appearing to be the result of the cleaning. The single biggest issue with the stock is that it has been spliced at the rear most band. The forend has been replaced from the rear band forward. The splice is not readily apparent unless the bottom barrel band is moved or the barrel is removed from the stock. The repair is so well done that it may be arsenal work. The forend is actually dovetailed into the main portion of the stock with a spline in such as was as to make it as strong (if not stronger) than when it was a single piece of wood. This quality, and the fact that the wood matches so well, suggest the repair is from the period of service and may have been around the time the gun was sold out of service. An additional indication that this was a British military repair is that the forend is drilled in the correct location and with the right size hole for the “bar on band” upper barrel band (which is no longer present). If the stock was only being restored to make the gun look presentable or salable, then there would not have been any need to do this extra work. This suggests the original “bar on band” upper band was still with the rifle when the stock was repaired, and was subsequently lost after the fact. As would be expected, the rifle shows the usual bumps, dings, bruises and mars that are typical of a 19th century military gun stock that saw actual issue, service and use.
Overall this is decent, is somewhat well used, example of a fairly rare
British Pattern 1863 Whitworth Military Rifle. For most collectors a British military Whitworth rifle or a civilian military match rifle is as close as they will ever get to owning the nearly mythical Confederate Whitworth. This is decent displaying example that is in good mechanical shape, and will probably shoot pretty well if you want to experience what a Whitworth can do. These military rifles don’t come up for sale often, and when they do, they often bring strong prices. While this one is not a minty museum piece, it is a truly affordable example and is one that would be fun on the range, without having to worry about dinging up a $10,000 high condition Whitworth.