Enfield lock plate markings

[BurtG]

Cleaning up a long forgotten coomplete Enfield lockplate (1862 Tower) I discovered above the mainspring, upside down, "EP" and next to it smaller case "CSA". It's been in my collection since the 1960's and only recently recovered from a box of parts and pieces. "CSA" genuine or not ???? Thanks for any reply.

 

[Miker91]

Cleaning up a long forgotten coomplete Enfield lockplate (1862 Tower) I discovered above the mainspring, upside down, "EP" and next to it smaller case "CSA". It's been in my collection since the 1960's and only recently recovered from a box of parts and pieces. "CSA" genuine or not ???? Thanks for any reply.

Please post a picture. Thanks.

 

[Jeff in Ohio]

I don't think that there is any legitimate marking of CSA on an Enfield that stands for "Confederate States of America" but there are likely legitimate CSA marks that stand for "Charles Scott Alexander" or "Clarence S. Arnold" or some person or company with the initials "CSA." So, it is likely a "real" mark, but it does not mean "Confederate States of America."
No imported arms were marked "CSA" because that would mean that any Union blockade inspection of the arms would result in seizure of the arms and the entire ship!
So, just as no drug smuggler would mark a plastic bag of white power "heroin" before trying to smuggle it into the country, no maker or importer would mark CSA on a British arm before shipping it across the ocean.

 

[johan_steele]

CSA inside a P53 lock? I'm unaware of any such makers mark. The experts @Craig L Barry or @Lanyard Puller might have a better idea but my automatic impression is spurious at best.

 

[Craig L Barry]

Can't say without seeing it, but as has been pointed out...the initials "csa" inside the lock plate does not stand for Confederate States of America. Usually the lock maker stamped initials or their name inside the plate above the mainspring so if it failed inspection or was otherwise defective, the gunmaker who filled the contract would have some recourse. There were dozens of component makers who provided hand made parts and assemblies to the gunmakers that then performed the final assembly and filled the contract. For an excellent and detailed description of the Birmingham system of manufacture with information on all the various parts makers, see John D Goodman's chapter in Samuel Timmins (editor), Birmingham and the Midland Hardware District (London, 1866). Goodman was the Chairman of the Birmingham Small Arms Trade during the US Civil War.

The Birmingham system of manufacture is also covered in some detail in the book Suppliers to the Confederacy pages 54-62.

 

[Lanyard Puller]

Need to see a photo of the "CSA".

Government possessions were usually marked so it could be seen and identified, not hidden on a part.

@Craig L Barry gave the best answer there is. It's not a Confederate mark, but was a worker doing inspections, finishing, or testing.

 

[UCVRelics]

Photos Please.