Nice Ballards. The model 1860 Spencer is 52 cal the so called 56 / 56 cartridge was used, this meant that the side of the cartridge fitted over the bullet was straight, however the bullet and bore are smaller at approximately .52 caliber. The straight cartridge used for the Model 1860 carbine was replaced on the model 1865 Spencer with a new tapered cartrige, referred to as 56 /52 or 56 /50, the actual bullet was either .52cal or .50cal
The Ballard was a secondary US martial carbine from the Civil War era, which is most often encountered without military inspection marks of any kind. The Ballard Carbine was a breech loading, metallic cartridge breechloader that was invented by Charles H Ballard of Worchester, Massachusetts. His invention was issued US Patent #33631 in November of 1861. As Ballard was an inventor and not a manufacturer, he sought a way to market and sell his invention with an eye towards collecting patent royalties, instead of investing in a manufacturing facility to produce his guns. This lead to a partnership with the New York sales agents Merwin & Bray, who represented Ballard's invention, received contracts for his guns, and then subcontracted the production of the guns to other established arms makers. With the Civil War well under way in the winter of 1861-1862, Merwin & Bray found a ready market for the well designed, single shot rim fire carbines and rifles covered under Ballard's patent. They then negotiated the manufacturing contracts with Ball & Williams of Worchester, MA and Dwight, Chapin & Co. of Bridgeport, CT. After the conclusion of the Civil War three other makers produced arms under Ballard's patents, but they are not relevant to this discussion. Between 1862 and 1865 Ball & Williams produced some 15,600 "small bore" carbines and rifles under Ballard's patent. Of this production about 5,000 were sporting rifles in a variety of calibers, about 4,000 were military rifles (in both .44 and .46 rim fire) and the balance of 6,600 guns were military style carbines in .44rf. The majority of the 6,600 carbines were eventually delivered to the State of Kentucky for use by their cavalry. The US Ordnance Department contracted for 5,000 of the carbines in January of 1864, but only 1,509 of the guns were delivered, accepted and marked with Ordnance Department acceptance marks. The Ordnance Department rejected 600 additional carbines that were delivered for inspection, and Ball & Williams forfeited the balance of their US government contract in order to deliver the guns to the State of Kentucky at a higher price! The majority of the 1,509 US accepted guns (about 1,200) were sent to arm the Vermont State Militia, following the Confederate raid on St. Albans, VT on October 19, 1864. Nearly all of the remaining carbines produced were sold to the state of Kentucky, with an additional 500 being sold to the state of New York. Ballard military carbines were issued, to and saw service with the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 12th & 13th Kentucky Cavalry (US), as well as the 4th Kentucky Mounted Infantry. The carbines also saw some service with the 2nd Iowa Cavalry and 7th Ohio Cavalry. However, a much rarer martial variant of the Ballard carbine exists. The firm of Dwight, Chapin & Company of Bridgeport, CT, produced these very scarce guns. In the fall of 1862, Merwin & Bray received a contact from the US Government for 1,000 Ballard patent rifles and 1,000 Ballard patent carbines. Unlike the arms being produced by Ball & Williams, these guns were to be manufactured in a larger caliber, 56-56 Ballard. This was the same cartridge, with a different name, as the currently issued 56-56 Spencer (sometimes called 56-52). Ball & Williams were overloaded with their contracts for .44 and .46 Ballards, and could not take on any more orders. As a result, Merwin & Bray contracted with Dwight, Chapin & Company to produced the guns. According to most sources, Dwight, Chapin & Company delivered only 115 of the 56-56 Ballard carbines by September of 1863, and the company subsequently failed. At this time, Ball & Williams bought both the finished and unfinished guns and parts at auction, and proceeded to try to complete the contract. Most sources note that they managed to assemble an additional 1,000 carbines and 635 rifles in 56-56 Ballard, and most sources note that all by 35 of the rifles ended up being sold to the State of Kentucky. The guns finished by Ball & Williams are only marked with the Merwin & Bray and Ballard patent marks, and do not bear any Ball & Williams markings. Additionally, the guns and receivers that originally had Dwight, Chapin & Co markings had those marking removed prior to their sale by Ball & Williams. It appears, however, that at least a few of the carbines that were finished by Ball & Williams and delivered to the US military, as this example bears US military inspector cartouches, but is serial numbered 607, well past the 115 carbine deliveries that are noted in most references. The Ballard Carbine, in its primary Civil War configuration, was a single shot, breech loading, .44 RF (.44-33-250) carbine with a 22" octagon to round barrel. The Dwight, Chapin & Co produced examples were chambered in 56-56 and had a 20" fully round barrel. The gun used a simple dropping block action that was actuated by a combination triggerguard/under lever. While most cavalry carbines of the era were produced with a sling bar and ring, most Ballards were manufactured with a pair of sling swivels, one on the single barrel band and one in the toe of the buttstock. Some carbines had a third swivel on the reverse of the buttstock as well. The guns had a simple manual extractor system to remove the spent cases. Pulling a small, spring-loaded lever located under the gun to the rear, actuated the extractor. The US Ordnance Department started to sell off the obsolete carbines within months of the end of the war. The first of the federally purchased Ballard carbines to be offered for sale were 67 guns in inventory at the Allegheny Arsenal. The guns were offered at public auction on January 18, 1866 with a reserve price of $3.00 each, and did not sell. However, more than 400 Ballards were sold from the St. Louis Arsenal in April of 1869 for between .75" and $3.00 each. In October of 1871, Kentucky sent many of their state owned Ballard carbines to the New York Agency, where they were categorized as "100 " New, 996 - Cleaned & Repaired and 645 - Unserviceable." In October of 1882, the firm of Schuyler, Hartley & Graham purchased over 1,600 surplus Ballard carbines from the US Government at prices that ranged from $1.50 each to $4.00 each. In 1901, there were still some 495 Ballard .44 carbines in inventory at the New York Agency, and in June of that year they were sold to Marcus Hartley & Co. for .86" each. Interestingly, Hartley owned a large chain of sporting goods stores and had purchased the Remington Arms Company in 1886.
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