Springfield used in Civil War?

[Twlunt]

As I've posted before, my Gggrandfather was a US Sharpshooter during the war. The units were disbanded nearing the end of the war and he was transferred to a standard unit. This Springfield is in my house as well as the Target rifle he used as a Sharpshooter. Would this be a weapon used in a regular unit? Based on the age of the weapon it's likely his also. Anything you can tell me about the weapon?

 

[7thWisconsin]

That's a flintlock converted to percussion. You can see the remnant of the pan on the lock and the percussion nipple has been added to the barrel. Converted 1826 maybe? I'd be surprised if those guns were still in service at the end of the war to be carried by your ancestor. It would be an insulating step back from the target rifle and Sharps rifle the sharpshooters carried. Possibly he ended up in a veteran reserve unit that wasn't really expecting combat and just needed a basic gun like that for guarding things.

 

[Twlunt]

That's a flintlock converted to percussion. You can see the remnant of the pan on the lock and the percussion nipple has been added to the barrel. Converted 1826 maybe? I'd be surprised if those guns were still in service at the end of the war to be carried by your ancestor. It would be an insulating step back from the target rifle and Sharps rifle the sharpshooters carried. Possibly he ended up in a veteran reserve unit that wasn't really expecting combat and just needed a basic gun like that for guarding things.

Thanks. That makes sense. He was originally from Maine but settled in Delaware after the war. This Springfield is in his house in Delaware so I'm assuming he brought it. It's possible it was just a gun he owned before the war. Can you tell if it's a military weapon?

 

[7thWisconsin]

Oh it's definitely a military arm. Long, fully stocked, mounts a bayonet. I think he acquired it after the war. A lot of obsolete weaponry was sold as surplus.

 

[Twlunt]

Anything is possible. What type of metal is the barrel? I was curious about getting the rust off and cleaning it up nice

 

[UCVRelics]

Another possibility is, it was the first one he was issued when he first joined up before he became a SS. Do you have his service records so you can see what went on with him?

 

[Grayrock Volunteer]

This musket is a US Model 1822 (Model 1816 type 2). Originally it would have been a flintlock, but it has been percussion altered via the National Armory, aka "Belgian" or "cone-in-barrel" method. Interestingly, this musket shows a 3rd class inspection cartouche which was applied sometime between 1842 and 1848. The interesting part is that, by date anyways, your musket should have been a 2nd class arm. Third class arms were to consist of "all arms made from 1812 to 1820 inclusive". Your musket must have an abnormally sized bore to have made it into the 3rd class section, or may have been unserviceable due to a broken mainspring or something of the like when it was inspected.
Usually 3rd class arms are encountered with patent breech alterations (at least in my experience). This is because they usually survived the percussion alterations of 1845 to 1855 which were the most prolific alteration periods prior to the war. At the onset of the Civil War arsenals across the country were scoured looking for anything relatively serviceable. However, by then the unserviceableness of the cone-in-barrel alterations was evident and the majority of War-time alterations were accomplished with sturdier alterations more capable of handling the breech pressures of being fired.

It's not a very valuable gun, but for someone who really likes percussion alterations (such as myself) it is a very neat piece. I would doubt that your ancestor carried this musket during his service. I would wager that he bought it after the war, possibly as a GAR parade gun given its very good condition.

As for cleaning the rust off, I would start with a microfiber rag with a touch of Rem-oil, or other gun lubricant. Just be sure to keep it off the wood. If you have areas of more severe rust very fine grit steel wool would do the job, but it is best to start small.

Thanks for sharing!
Garrett

 

[Twlunt]

This musket is a US Model 1822 (Model 1816 type 2). Originally it would have been a flintlock, but it has been percussion altered via the National Armory, aka "Belgian" or "cone-in-barrel" method. Interestingly, this musket shows a 3rd class inspection cartouche which was applied sometime between 1842 and 1848. The interesting part is that, by date anyways, your musket should have been a 2nd class arm. Third class arms were to consist of "all arms made from 1812 to 1820 inclusive". Your musket must have an abnormally sized bore to have made it into the 3rd class section, or may have been unserviceable due to a broken mainspring or something of the like when it was inspected.
Usually 3rd class arms are encountered with patent breech alterations (at least in my experience). This is because they usually survived the percussion alterations of 1845 to 1855 which were the most prolific alteration periods prior to the war. At the onset of the Civil War arsenals across the country were scoured looking for anything relatively serviceable. However, by then the unserviceableness of the cone-in-barrel alterations was evident and the majority of War-time alterations were accomplished with sturdier alterations more capable of handling the breech pressures of being fired.

It's not a very valuable gun, but for someone who really likes percussion alterations (such as myself) it is a very neat piece. I would doubt that your ancestor carried this musket during his service. I would wager that he bought it after the war, possibly as a GAR parade gun given its very good condition.

As for cleaning the rust off, I would start with a microfiber rag with a touch of Rem-oil, or other gun lubricant. Just be sure to keep it off the wood. If you have areas of more severe rust very fine grit steel wool would do the job, but it is best to start small.

Thanks for sharing!
Garrett

@Grayrock Volunteer thanks so much! I learned a lot. So glad I joined this forum!

 

[sjw83071]

@Twlunt, you keep saying your house, but I think you mean museum!! Nice posts!

 

[Jobe Holiday]

The bayonet is known as an "L" slot socket, which predates the 1827 Springfield shown.
J.

 

[Twlunt]

The bayonet is known as an "L" slot socket, which predates the 1827 Springfield shown.
J.

@Jobe Holiday im glad you mentioned that. My dad always told me the bayonet was the wrong one for that gun but never elaborated. Maybe he didn't know. We lost Dad last year and man I wish I could ask him more questions. @sjw83071 aint that the truth! I'm very very fortunate! I'll post pics of the house in another thread.

 

[mofederal]

That is a nice Springfield. I like it. Thank you for posting this.

 

[originalrebelyell]

Those early Springfields were still in use by Union soldiers in the early part of the war because that was what they had in the arsenals when the war started . The 1861 Springfields were not around at the start of the war. I don't imagine there were a great number of 1861 Springfields distributed until mid 1861 and some units prob got them even later. Some of the older muskets were used right through the war by Union prison guards and some Union soldiers that were not directly in combat. Also the Confederates got a large number of them out of the arsenals when the war began and they used them right through the war. It is a nice looking musket. Clean the metal with oily rag. You don't want to rub too hard on the metal and take off the age patina on the metal . The wood stock looks good I would not do anything to it. Don't try to take it apart unless you really think you can you could mess up the screw slots if your not careful.

 

[JOHN42768]

Very nice rifle