1861 Tower Enfield

[Story]

I wouldn't care what the bore looks like, I would buy it even if the bore was missing all its lands & grooves and was smooth as a babies bottom

Who said that was a condition of buying?

I was curious on how well it was maintained for my own reasons.

 

[Story]

Story on these is they were captured on a blockaid runner and issued to Mass regiments, Very nice find!

Gov. John Andrew of Massachusetts wasted no time. On April 24, 1861, he dispatched Francis B. Crowninshield to England as his primary negotiator for the purchase of as many weapons as could be found to equip the volunteer troops that the Commonwealth was then raising. Following the recommendation of master armorer Charles McFarland of the Springfield Armory, Gov. Andrew directed Crowninshield to buy 25,000 stands of arms, preferably something comparable to the .58 caliber M1855 Springfield rifle - which McFarland was unable to provide.

Carrying a letter of credit worth 50,000 British pounds, Crowninshield arrived in England on May 6, accompanied by McFarland. They quickly went to work but were alarmed to discover that an agent from the State of New York who had crossed over on the same ship had already laid claim to nearly 40,000 Enfield rifles that were on hand for immediate shipment. The Massachusetts team also faced competition from agents representing both the Confederacy and other Northern states.

*
Once the Enfields arrived at the docks in Boston, the arms were put to immediate use. There were just enough to equip about half of the Massachusetts volunteer infantry regiments recruited by the end of 1861. The 28th was one of 14 three-year volunteer units to be issued the imported weapons. The others were the 2nd, 7th, 10th, 12th, 13th, 16th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 25th and 27th infantry regiments.

Modifications: Stamping & Blueing

As state property, each of these firearms was carefully stamped with a company letter, abbreviated regimental designation, and rack or individual issue number on its brass buttplate. For example, the buttplate of a rifle issued from rack #15 to a member of Co. H in the 28th Massachusetts would be stamped, from left to right:

[screw hole] H 28TH MASS 15 [tang]

There are numerous surviving examples of these Massachusetts issue rifles today. On some, the markings extend around the corner of the buttplate and onto the tang.
http://www.28thmass.org/enfield.htm

 

[MissPauline]

Hey y'all! How would I go about getting a valuation on this riffle?

 

[Cornpone and Molasses]

Hey y'all! How would I go about getting a valuation on this riffle?

I would reach out to Tim Prince at College Hill Arsenal.

 

[David Knight]

I would strongly recommend that you buy Suppliers to the Confederacy -- both Vol. I and II as you will find some very interesting information in Vol. I about Joseph Wilson -- the maker of your rifle. Makers often stamped their name on the belly of the stock as yours is stamped since many used locks made by other firms whose lock plates are simply marked TOWER and the date. Joseph Wilson of 67-70 Great Charles Street, Birmingham was one of the most important gun makers of the era. One of the two authors of the two volumes I recommended is Craig Barry, a frequent and very knowledgeable contributor to this site. These two volumes are readily available and can be found on Ebay.

If you want to see who made the lock on your rifle, you need a hollow ground screw driver that fits the two lock plate screws so that you don't bugger up the metal slots in the screws. Hollow ground screw drivers have the tip ground flat on each side so that both sides are parallel. Normal screw drivers have a carrot shape tapered at the point and this slips around in the screw slots and causes the metal to disfigure. Many lock plates are stamped with the maker on the inside above the main spring. I use a set of different sized hollow ground screw drivers I ground the tips on myself from regular screw drivers and I always put a small piece of scotch tape on the tip so that there is a very tight fit and no metal to metal contact that removes patina as you turn the screw driver. Messed up screw heads are the bane of collectors!

Joseph Wilson was an original Director of the Birmingham Small Arms Company formed in 1861 by 14 small manufactures in Birmingham. They were a major supplier to the British and many other militaries as they were allowed to use the Royal Ordanance factory at Enfield designed. Many Enfields from the 1860's to WWII were made by BSA.