M1855 Springfield Rifle Musket

Joined
Sep 2, 2013
Location
North Dakota
I took the plunge recently and purchased a used but not abused M1855 rifle musket. The lock plate is dated 1859. The finish on all the metal parts suggest to me that they have been together for a long time. Because of pitting from firing, the barrel date is gone. The V and P are present, but must have been stamped by a limp-wristed inspector. Only with a good imagination would I say that any portion of the eagle head remains. Pitting extends into that area. After I received the weapon, I began Web searches for the M1855. Looking at photos from auction and dealer sites I realized that the rear sight on what appear to be original 1859 and 1860 versions of the M1855 is slightly different from what is on the barrel of my rifle. Searching this forum I found a nice list describing the 4 variations of Springfield Armory sights from 1855 to 1865. My rear sight is the third variation, the one with the protective hump or "ear" like the rear sight found on the M1861. My concern is that either the rear sight is a replacement of the original or that the original 1859 dated barrel was replaced with a M1861 barrel and sight. After looking through pictures in Hartzler, Yantz and Whisker's book on the M1861, I have pretty much convinced myself that the barrel on my rifle is not a replacement that was removed from a contract manufactured M1861. My question for the experts is whether there is any discernible difference in a barrel from the M1855 series of rifle muskets manufactured at Springfield and those of M1861. My hope is that the barrel is the original "1859" dated with only the rear sight replaced. I took the barrel out of the stock. The only other markings on the barrel other than the V and P are letters stamped on the vertical portion of the breech plug tang and letters, numbers and symbols stamped on the breech end of the barrel that surrounds the hole the plug is screwed into. Any insight into my dilemma would be greatly appreciated. Maybe I've driven myself crazy from collecting M1 rifles and carbines where the obsession with originality boils down to finish, drawing numbers, parts codes, etc, etc. Thanks for humoring me, Regards, Chuck Russell
 
M1855 & M1864.jpg
The majority of parts on an M1855 Rifle Musket were interchangeable w/ the M1861. She's had more than 150 years to have parts replaced. Being an M1855 she almost certainly saw service. I have an M1855 manufactured circa 1980 from disassociated Bannerman parts and love it.
 
Congratulations on your purchase! I love the Model 1855 because it is the one gun that was in use from the beginning to the end of the war and the difficulty in finding them in any kind of condition proves the point.

There is a way to tell the barrel of a Model 1855 from a Model 1861. There was a slot cut for the 1858 pattern rear sight to prevent lateral movement. This slot was eliminated on the Model 1861 when the sight was changed. This same slot is also useful in identifying original Richmond Armory rifle muskets since they used the earlier pattern rear sight. That is a problem I can only wish that I had!

Here is a photo of the slot I am talking about. Obviously, you will have to remove the rear sight to see if it is there.
1855 slot.jpg
 
Congratulations on your purchase! I love the Model 1855 because it is the one gun that was in use from the beginning to the end of the war and the difficulty in finding them in any kind of condition proves the point.

There is a way to tell the barrel of a Model 1855 from a Model 1861. There was a slot cut for the 1858 pattern rear sight to prevent lateral movement. This slot was eliminated on the Model 1861 when the sight was changed. This same slot is also useful in identifying original Richmond Armory rifle muskets since they used the earlier pattern rear sight. That is a problem I can only wish that I had!

Here is a photo of the slot I am talking about. Obviously, you will have to remove the rear sight to see if it is there.
View attachment 20791
Wow, Rob63. That's the kind of information and picture that needs to be in a book. Very much appreciated. Now I need to figure out how to remove the M1861 sight with the odd screw head. Reminds me of the dilemma of removing/installing the slot-less screws that are found with the early M1873 Springfield rifle and carbine rear sights. Thanks, again. Let the sleuthing begin.
 
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That's a really nice problem you have! All I have are my "smoke poles" here, the .69 caliber smoothbores, M.1842, M.1840, and M.1816/22; at least I'm satisfied that they too saw use, at least at the beginning of the war.

Welcome to the forum!
 
Wow, Rob63. That's the kind of information and picture that needs to be in a book.
The information is in a book; Confederate Rifles and Muskets by Murphy and Madeus. The book covers the differences between the Model 1855, the Model 1861, and the Richmond rifle-muskets in the chapter about the Richmond Armory since the Richmond Armory used the machinery for manufacturing the Model 1855 that was captured at Harper's Ferry. There are also differences in the stocks of the 3 models in the lock cutouts. I fear, partly from what I have read and partly from what I have observed, that there are a number of collectors out there that own Richmond guns that are actually just a Model 1861 with a Richmond lock substituted. Richmond production was halted before the end of the war due to a lack of stocks which resulted in a fair number of surplus locks available after the war.
 
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Wow, Rob63. That's the kind of information and picture that needs to be in a book. Very much appreciated. Now I need to figure out how to remove the M1861 sight with the odd screw head. Reminds me of the dilemma of removing/installing the slot-less screws that are found with the early M1873 Springfield rifle and carbine rear sights. Thanks, again. Let the sleuthing begin.

Dixie Gunworks, Lodgewood, S&S all sell the tool for removing the Springfield rear site.
 
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