French 1853 Enfield?

[whitneyrifle]

So, this is internet piece that I am purchasing. At first glance it looks like a standard 1853 Enfield. BUT, upon closer inspection, it is not English made. I am not too sure, is it Liege or St. Etienne?
Interestingly it has an "&" (ampersand) stamped forward of the trigger guard. There has been some experts stating this may be a Confederate cleaned and inspection mark.
Could this be a secondary weapon? With no lock stamp marks visible, it is believed that this may have been a Crimean era model 1853. When I receive the arm, I will pull the barrel and lock, hoping to find some more stampings. Any thoughts and or info on this rifle?

 

[Don Dixon]

The piece is probably Belgian, but not from the following British government contracts. In 1854, during the Crimean War, the British War Office contracted with the "Société pour les armes de guerre" [Society for Weapons of War], the name of an alliance formed between Auguste Francotte, Ancion & Cie, Pirlot Frères, and Renkin Frères, to manufacture 20,000 Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle muskets. The association was commonly referred to in Belgium as the "Society" or the "Société des Anglais" [Society of the English]. The War Office demanded that all parts of the weapons be interchangeable, a requirement which was difficult for the Liege gunmakers to meet, given their artisanal production methods. While the British supplied a small percentage of machine-made parts, the majority were manufactured by local craftsmen and were marked with the mark of each worker. The Enfield rifle muskets manufactured in Liege proved to be only slightly inferior to those produced in England and they had the advantage of being eight to 20 percent cheaper. The War Office consequently continued to contract with the Society until April 1863, with the Liege gunmakers providing more than 150,000 Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle muskets, 25,000 artillery carbines, 30,000 naval rifles, various weapons for support troops, and rifles for volunteer rifle regiments. Supplies of Enfield pattern parts were thus commonly available from craftsmen in Liege.

Regards,
Don Dixon

 

[whitneyrifle]

The piece is probably Belgian, but not from the following British government contracts. In 1854, during the Crimean War, the British War Office contracted with the "Société pour les armes de guerre" [Society for Weapons of War], the name of an alliance formed between Auguste Francotte, Ancion & Cie, Pirlot Frères, and Renkin Frères, to manufacture 20,000 Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle muskets. The association was commonly referred to in Belgium as the "Society" or the "Société des Anglais" [Society of the English]. The War Office demanded that all parts of the weapons be interchangeable, a requirement which was difficult for the Liege gunmakers to meet, given their artisanal production methods. While the British supplied a small percentage of machine-made parts, the majority were manufactured by local craftsmen and were marked with the mark of each worker. The Enfield rifle muskets manufactured in Liege proved to be only slightly inferior to those produced in England and they had the advantage of being eight to 20 percent cheaper. The War Office consequently continued to contract with the Society until April 1863, with the Liege gunmakers providing more than 150,000 Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle muskets, 25,000 artillery carbines, 30,000 naval rifles, various weapons for support troops, and rifles for volunteer rifle regiments. Supplies of Enfield pattern parts were thus commonly available from craftsmen in Liege.

Regards,
Don Dixon

Doing a little more research, it appears the rifle IS French. The rear sight has a distinctive inspector mark of a capital F with a crown inside an oval. Apparently this is a well defined St. Etienne mark. I will include a picture. With the ampersand, is it possible this is one of them?