1853 Enfield

Joined
Aug 19, 2019
Location
Upstate, South Carolina
Hello from South Carolina- I just joined yesterday. Thank you for having me. My great aunt passed away in 1991 in Union County, SC. While settling her estate, my uncle obtained a musket out of her attic. The story goes it was my aunt’s great grandfather’s or great great grandfathers. In 2006, my uncle passed away. He left me the musket. I put it in the back of my safe and forgot about it. In the past 5 years or so, I have really gotten into metal detecting (Garrett AT Max); specifically, CW camps & troop movement areas. Last week I found a very “toasty” hammer that looked familiar. After studying it, I realized it looked like the hammer from the musket in the back of my safe, so I pulled it out. Interestingly enough, it’s an 1853 Enfield. The barrel is pretty toasty with very few marking legible. My next move is likely to be disassembly to determine additional markings to assist in learning more about this particular musket. Here’s my questions; I’m 99% sure this is an 1853 Enfield but would like confirmation. There is a #15 on the brass butt plate and a #15 on the brass trigger guard. What do these #15’s mean? Lastly, is the ram rod correct for this musket? Oh yeah…..in the pics I’ve included a couple of CW items I’ve acquired recently most interesting is a CW commemorative metal dated 1915 Richmond, VA and a Confederate States of American 500 dollar bill. Thank you so much for your help with this.

side view 1.jpg


side view.jpg


side trigger area 2.PNG


side trigger area 1.jpg


side trigger area.jpg


trigger guard.PNG


buttplate.PNG


buttplate 1.jpg


rear site.jpg


bore and ram rod.PNG


barrel markings.PNG


misc.jpg
 
Greetings from Spartanburg.

Yes, it's a Pattern 1853 Type 3 Rifle Musket made by Barnett, a London maker.

The ramrod is from something else and not correct for a P53.

It is also very dirty, and a gentle clean would do it a lot of good.

The "15" is most likely a rack number. It is not a Confederate inventory/control number. Barnett did stamp these numbers on the butt plate sometimes, but in a different area from where yours is located.. All the rest of the piece looks intact and original.

Drop me a PM {conversation} if you need any more help. I'll be on the road for the next few days.
 
Hello @GreatBarracuda and welcome to CivilWarTalk - the best place on the internet for Civil War discussion. I wish I had a Barnett Enfield sitting forgotten in the back of my safe. :D Very nice.

Looking at the images you provided, is this a marking stamped in the stock on the side opposite the lockplate? And if so, could you take a closer up picture of it for @Lanyard Puller @Jobe Holiday et al? Thanks!
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Hello @GreatBarracuda and welcome to CivilWarTalk - the best place on the internet for Civil War discussion. I wish I had a Barnett Enfield sitting forgotten in the back of my safe. :D Very nice.

Looking at the images you provided, is this a marking stamped in the stock on the side opposite the lockplate? And if so, could you take a closer up picture of it for @Lanyard Puller @Jobe Holiday et al? Thanks!
View attachment 322404
I looked close at the area you are referring to. Unfortunately, this does not look like a marking but only a only a ding in the wood.
 
Welcome to the forums from the host of the Stonewall Jackson Forum and another firearms enthusiast - like others here, I would be proud to have an unquestionable Civil War-used Enfield like yours for my collection!
 
Tell us more about this guy.
I don't know much about him at all other than his name was Rufus Urbam (or Urban) Evans. Rufus was my great great Grandfather. From what I can tell, he lived his entire life before and after the CW in Union County South Carolina. I have been able to determine he was born in 1833 and died in 1924. It appears he enlisted in Summerville, SC in 1861 at the age of 27 and appeared on muster roll in April 1862. I have zero information pertaining to his movement while in service.
 
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