Muzzleldrs 1862 Tower

NJS

Cadet
Joined
Jan 19, 2020
Hi all. This is my first real post, hopefully it’s going in the right spot! I have a 1862 Tower Musket and am just hoping that someone on here could give me some aditional info on it’s potential history based on the markings. It was bought about 35 years ago by my dad at a old farm estate auction in NW New Jersey. Thanks.
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I don't have my reference book handy, but I believe the SH/G3 stamp means it was purchased by the Confederates ...but whether it was intercepted by the Yankee blockade is a different matter ( I will verify the SH/G3 when I get home). The 25 proofmark on barrel means its .577 caliber. Tower marking on lockplate with no other name means it was manufactured in Birmingham, England (it was not made for the British army; no British army proofmarks on barrel either). But this is off the top of my head. The real expert is LanyardPuller. I should ask you if you want to sell it before he asks you...hahaha....

By the way, this is known as a Pattern 1853 Enfield.
 
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Hi all. This is my first real post, hopefully it’s going in the right spot! I have a 1862 Tower Musket and am just hoping that someone on here could give me some aditional info on it’s potential history based on the markings. It was bought about 35 years ago by my dad at a old farm estate auction in NW New Jersey. Thanks.
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The SH/G3 is believed to be Confederate subterfuge as Sinclair Hartley & Graham with the JC cartouche on the flat supposedly belonging to federal inspector James Chattaway. These marking are actually speculated to be unidentified Confederate viewing marks.
 
Hi all. This is my first real post, hopefully it’s going in the right spot! I have a 1862 Tower Musket and am just hoping that someone on here could give me some aditional info on it’s potential history based on the markings. It was bought about 35 years ago by my dad at a old farm estate auction in NW New Jersey. Thanks.
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Look underneath, around the trigger tang and see if there are any markings in the wood either in front or behind.
 
Hi all. This is my first real post, hopefully it’s going in the right spot! I have a 1862 Tower Musket and am just hoping that someone on here could give me some aditional info on it’s potential history based on the markings. It was bought about 35 years ago by my dad at a old farm estate auction in NW New Jersey. Thanks.
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Welcome from Maryland!
 
Welcome From The Heart Of Dixie. Some of your questions have already been answered. I would love to see underneath the barrel and the barrel channel in the stock. I'm going to defer to our 2 Enfield gurus paging @Craig L Barry and @Lanyard Puller.
 
I checked my reference book and found the following: the SH/G3 is most often accompanied by the J.C. in the oval on the side opposite the lock (just like your musket). It is believed to be the marking of an unidentified Confederate viewer's/inspector's mark (i.e. nobody knows who the viewer/inspector was nor what company he worked worked...maybe some day somebody will unearth a rare document that can solve that mystery).

In your last picture, I can't make out the markings on the stock. Can you tell us what it says or post a better picture?

The R.B on the barrel is interesting, but I don't have any information for you. My Enfield has the manufacturer name and various other markings underneath the barrel, but you would have to take the stock off to see it (don't attempt that until you learn how to properly disassemble the musket...there are some YouTube videos on how to disassemble).

And please forgive my attrrocious manners...I forgot to welcome you to the Forums...welcome!
 
Many, if not all, of the Model 1853s with the Crown over SH/G_ mark and the JC in oval pm the side of the stock also have two letters where your RB mark is on the barrel.
Confederate inspected doesn't mean the sale went through to the confederate buyer (lack of credit sometimes), and doesn't mean it made it through the blockade, but with an early 1862 date, I would guess yours did.
The marks are sharper than often is the case - many a musket has been sanded down to make it look better, and yours has not suffered that - take care of it!
 
Wow! Thanks for the feedback so far. Please forgive me that I have not checked back all week. I will look in some of those other areas that were mentioned and see if there are more marks.
 
I grabbed a few more images. The marking on the bottom of the buttstock looks like W.R. Also, I found a previously unnoticed “JC” mark on the last segment of the stock closest to the muzzle which is the same initials as the mark opposite the lock. It appears to be a pigment/stamp and is not embossed into the wood. There are no markings found on the buttplate, trigger guard, or in wood immediately fore or aft of the trigger guard. The bore does not seem to be rifled, at least by the muzzle, or any rifling is gone. The lock works. The rear sight is also missing.

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