Quaker gun/Cadet gun

MarylandLine

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I picked this gun up this past weekend. It has a partial wooden barrel, the end of the barrel is metal. 1863 Norwich lockplate. Not sure if this was put together by Bannerman. Any advice from the forum?
 

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Interesting. Can you post some photos of the wooden part of the barrel. Looks as if it may be a cadet musket for drill purposes only.
 
Bannerman's, W. Stokes Kirk and Hartley & Graham were just a few of the companies that got into he surplus business after the war. Bannermans is arguably the best known of the bunch and listed entire pages of "Cadet Rifles" in their catalogs. Many were listed by manufacturer, such as "United States Springfield Muzzle-Loading Cadet Rifle" or "US Springfield Breech-Loading Cadet Rifles". He had a habit of labeling Springfields, Sharps, and Remingtons, but would simply list other manufacturers as "Breechloading Cadet Rifle" or something nondescript. The prices usually averaged between $2.75 and $5.85 for shooters and were sold as individuals or in cases of 20. Wooden barrel drill guns were far less pricey. As noted in "Civil War Guns" by Edwards, after WW1 the prices dropped and apparently shooters could be had for as little as 29 cents (Smith carbines, for example).

A common description used by Bannerman's for these Quaker/cadet rifles with wood barrels usually red something like this: "Cadet Quaker guns, made with wood barrel, for use of cadets in military schools and the Boys Brigade. Weight is about 3 lbs, length 42 inches. Gun has serviceable lock which fires percussion caps.; has cast iron bayonets; has tin covering over the end of the muzzle to stand the wear of bayonet. We have these guns with barrel finished in imitation of bright steel, and our price is $1.00 each. Guns with blue finished barrel in imitation of the present service rifles, our price is $1.10. We have malleable iron butt plates that we fit to the guns if desired at .10 cents each extra. All the manual can be executed with these guns except loading. We have full set of equipments at 75 cents per set, consisting of leather belt; brass military buckle, wool lined cap pouch and scabbard for bayonet."
 
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Definitely Bannerman, these cadet guns were purchased all over the country to give to groups of young boys to drill with, not necessarily military schools, but anyone that had something of a cadet program before the boy scouts. I've read more than a few references to church's having groups of young boys conduct military drill, probably not to militarize them, but to teach them discipline.

All that aside, and related to the subject of drilling young kids in military discipline, I recall reading, (I'll have to look through my notes), of Oliver Winchester's widow donating something like a dozen old Volcanic carbines they found in storage at the Winchester factory new in the box to a local group or church for the boys to drill with around the early 1900's. Plus selling the rest to their employees for .50 cents a gun.
I gotta go re-read that now.
 
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