Muzzleldrs Belgian Lemille marked Ohio

[Urrikane]

Goodmorning everyone!
Here is my latest purchase, a gun cal 69 Lemille Liegi, similar to the French 1857 model, it is particular because it has only the OHIO mark that links it to the civil war

the inside of the barrel is perfect, I tried it with 62 grain, Swiss black powder n ° 2, Minie Ball Lyman 68569, this is the result at 110 yards

 

[JOHN42768]

Great shape. Check the site on other post for any markings

 

[Urrikane]

Thanks @JOHN42768 !!!!

 

[Don Dixon]

On 24 September 1863 the Federal War Department transferred a large number of arms, which had been turned-in to the Columbus, Ohio, arsenal as unserviceable for field use, to the State of Ohio for repair and issue to the Ohio organized militia (The Ohio National Guard). The following French pattern arms were among that issue:

632 Belgian Rifle Muskets, Caliber .69, serviceable, at $9 $5,688.00
38 Belgian Rifle Muskets, Caliber .69, irreparable
2,402 French Rifle Muskets, Caliber .69, want repairs, at $8 $19,216.00
100 French Rifle Muskets, Caliber .69, irreparable
2,346 French Rifle Muskets, Caliber .71, want repairs, at $8 $18,768.00

Those arms which could be repaired were marked with one of two "Ohio" stamps, each in somewhat different fonts, and issued. Your weapon is marked with the smaller font stamp. The transferred arms were normally stamped in two places, once on the top of the wrist, as with your gun, and once on right wrist, behind the counter plate or lock bolts. So, your rifle musket was carried in the last half of the war by an Ohio militiaman.

Following the Civil War, the Ohio legislature disbanded the Ohio National Guard, and directed that its arms be sold, retaining 4,000 French pattern rifle muskets to arm the Ohio militia. Your weapon comes from these lots of arms.

Regards,
Don Dixon

 

[WJC]

That's a beauty! Thanks for sharing!

 

[rob63]

That's a great example, thanks for sharing it!

I'm happy you included the photo of the bore size marking in cm. Is there a second number, or is that the only one? I have two different P53 Enfield's with similar markings, although a different number (14.4), obviously. Consequently, it is of special interest to me.

 

[captaindrew]

Nice piece!

 

[UCVRelics]

Great looking piece and it looks if she still shoots straight.

 

[vmicraig]

 

[Urrikane]

@rob63
I checked, but only that number is present.
marking the caliber in mm is typical of Belgian and Escoffier manufacturers

 

[rob63]

@rob63
I checked, but only that number is present.
marking the caliber in mm is typical of Belgian and Escoffier manufacturers

Thanks for checking, I was just curious.

 

[Peter Stines]

I'll give ye a doller fer it

 

[vmicraig]

Here's the link to an OHIO stamp history -

OHIO Marked Arms | Small Arms & Edged Weapons

A long but detailed read by Donald Hutslar direct from American Rifleman magazine, November, 1968 regarding OHIO marked arms. OHIO stamps were used as markings over a span of 60 years and were included on a large variety of weapons and accoutrements. (picture follows post) A die-stamped OHIO...

civilwartalk.com

 

[Don Dixon]

While the drawings of the "Ohio" stamps are accurate, the American Rifleman article is very dated. The last two stamps are the ones found on the arms issued to Ohio by the War Department in 1863.

Regards,
Don Dixon