Confederate restocked M1842

[Package4]

I travel a little in my line of work, which happened to take me near Upperville, VA, last Friday and of course I had to stop in and see Cliff and Brett at CSArms. I asked if there was anything that "Russell" (buddy of mine, since I no longer collect longarms) couldn't do without. Cliff immediately told me about a M1842 he had on consignment that was speculated to have been a pick-up off a battlefield and repaired in Richmond.

We know that the arm was repaired in Richmond due to the telltale markings, but the battlefield pickup is speculation. How else would a perfectly good "metal wise" '42 need to be restocked? According to Murphy and Madaus, 1,225 such were Richmond Armory "constructed" US M1842 muskets. The stocks were reportedly requested of the Macon Arsenal in November of 1862.

A number of arsenal reworked arms have come to the attention of collectors with a block "F", "Q", "Z" and "W" stamped either in front of the trigger guard or on the flat, opposite the lockplate. At present, supposition is that these are arsenal restocks.

The object of this thread, is one such weapon, there is a very firmly stamped block "Q" stamped just forward of the trigger guard. The stock appears to be heavier than the typical Springfield stock and there are no cartouches on the flat even though the stock is relatively sharp and crisp.

There is also a file mark from the tang through the barrel, indicating that the plug had been removed and then reassembled to match the mark. The ramrod is of the M1842 style though the fit is incredibly tight, another indication of restocking, it takes a rag, channel locks and a hammer to remove the ramrod.

I am waiting for "Russell" to take the piece apart to see if there are other distinguishing marks underneath the barrel. Many times a star, roman numerals or even Arabic numerals indicate arsenal reworking.

 

[UCVRelics]

Nice piece. But I don't have a clue on the markings of a reworked CS. Maybe @Lanyard Puller or @Craig L Barry has a clue.

 

[captaindrew]

Beautiful piece! What are they asking for it?

 

[Jobe Holiday]

My cousin has a Confederate re-stocked M-1842. All parts are marked with three horizontal dots as "Bench Marks" to keep all the original parts together while it was being restocked. The definitive identification comes from he stock itself. The stock looks every bit like a standard M-1842 stock to the average person. Upon close inspection the stock shows there is no radius at the back end of the barrel channel shoulder, and more importantly the ram rod spoon was eliminated. A very rare musket to add to a collection.....too bad it was his collection and not mine!
J.

 

[WJC]

What a beauty! Thanks for sharing the photos and information!

 

[Stone in the wall]

Thanks enjoyed the photos and story.