Grandfather's 1861 Pattern 1860 (?) short Enfield

wcjones

Cadet
Joined
Dec 26, 2017
Hi All,
I'm a newbie, so not sure where to post this and I thought why not here. I recently was going through some belongings of my grandfather, and came across an old rifle that had been in his home as long as I remember. Story was that his grandfather brought it home from the Vicksburg campaign. I am not knowledgeable about these things, but I did a bit of research that suggested to me this was a relatively early pattern 1860 short rifle, and that maybe it is not as common as other Enfields. If you all could point me in the right direction, I'd be happy to post pictures showing the markings on it. I'd be most grateful if somebody could tell me something about it. Thanks in advance, regards,
Bill
PS: 33" inch barrel, 5 rifles, SHC2 stamped on lock and stock, 1861 tower marking, no brass
 
Thanks, here are a couple photos. If more, or different, are helpful just let me know. I don't know much about the bayonet, except that it fits like a glove and it was not one that came with this rifle originally.


IMAG4349_sm.jpg

IMAG4368.jpg IMAG4363.jpg IMAG4352.jpg IMAG4362.jpg IMAG4354.jpg
 
Very nice piece, actually a pattern 1858 or what we call today a 2 band Enfield. I'm sure one of the weapons experts will see this before long that can tell you more about all the markings.
 
A fine looking P58 with sword bayonet, welcome to the forum.
 
Hi all,
I'm looking for a bit of information regarding a rifle that has been in my family for a very long time. As a newbie - I posted this originally in the newbie forum and it was suggested that I might want to post to this forum as well.

Not sure about etiquette in this regard, but here is the link to the original post

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/grandfathers-1861-pattern-1860-short-enfield.142191/#post-1733333

Thank you all kindly for any information you might have.
-Bill
 
Welcome from freezing South Carolina.
Your rifle is an iron mounted Pattern 1860 infantry rifle, withour any doubt. I've got a big Honey Do list to complete this morning, but will get back to you asap. {Deciphering the marks, "PDL" etc} Please do one thing...Look on the belly of the stock between the trigger guard and the butt plate... you're searching for the remains of a stamped number in the wood...
Did your relative serve in Louisiana of Mississippi by chance?
 
Welcome from freezing South Carolina.
Your rifle is an iron mounted Pattern 1860 infantry rifle, withour any doubt. I've got a big Honey Do list to complete this morning, but will get back to you asap. {Deciphering the marks, "PDL" etc} Please do one thing...Look on the belly of the stock between the trigger guard and the butt plate... you're searching for the remains of a stamped number in the wood...
Did your relative serve in Louisiana of Mississippi by chance?

Yes sir - the story is that he brought it back from the vicksburg campaign. Eventually lived in illinois, which is where this rifle has been for last hundred years. I'll look for the number and get back to you. One of the photos above shows that region of the stock, showing the SHC2 mark, and another I can't quite make out. In that photo, I don't see a number, but I'll take a look and see if there are numbers closer to the butt plate
 
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This rifle does appear to be a P1860 as you have noted. For those who are unfamiliar with the differences between the P1858 and P1860 note the following:

P1858
Brass Mounted
Rear sling swivel suspended at front of trigger guard
P1860
Iron Mounted
Rear sling swivel suspended via screw behind rear of trigger guard plate

Both rifles feature rear sights marked for 1,100 yards, although some have been encountered with 1,250 yard sights. Both bores a rifled with a 5 groove progressive depth rifling. The barrels of both models are thicker than the earlier P1856 rifles, and weigh about a pound more than the P1856's barrel.

The SHC stamp you showed looks to be a SHG2 stamp, meaning this gun was furnished by Sinclair, Hamilton, and Company. This would indicate that the rifle was supplied to the Confederacy. I'm sure that someone more familiar with Enfield pattern arms can add more.

Very neat gun! Thank you for sharing.

-Garrett
 
Welcome! I see you are already engaged in discussion- keep it up! Love new perspectives!
 
Welcome From The Heart Of Dixie. If you could post the photos over at the Weapons & Ammo forum we can take a look and I sure we can answer all your question. One thing I need you to look as is the stock. Look very closly and send any photos of an marking you find. BTW the PDL is Peter D Luneschloss.
 
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