November 15 & 16, 2022 Extraordinary Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/16/2022
There are rare guns, and then there are those that are so exceedingly scarce that they fall into the "once in a lifetime" category. Columbus percussion carbines are scarce in their own right, but this .58 caliber Confederate Columbus carbine is 1 of 3 known maker marked examples known to have survived the rigors of war and 160 years of attrition, which places it firmly in the latter category. The Columbus Museum notes: "Of the many firearms manufactured in Columbus during the Civil War, perhaps the rarest model is the Columbus Armory carbine. This weapon was produced by John D. Gray, a native of England, who emigrated first to South Carolina and then Georgia to build railroad lines. By June 1861, John D. Gray and Company had opened a factory in Columbus known as the Columbus Armory. Gray wrote to Colonel Josiah Gorgas, Chief of Ordnance, to solicit a government weapons contract, stating that he was currently "turning out about six guns per day" as a trial run but could increase his "machinery and force" to produce "five to six hundred per month." Gray was contracted by the Ordnance Department at Knoxville, Tennessee, to produce 200 rifles and 1,000 carbines, but all evidence suggests that he only delivered 183 guns, at the rate of $45 per weapon. The wooden stock on this weapon was quite likely supplied by Gray's furniture factory in Graysville, Georgia, a town named in his honor in Catoosa County. At some point in 1863, the Columbus Armory was leased by the Confederate government, but although Gray began calling his business the "Government Works" in advertisements, production actually shifted to focus on household items such as kettles, skillets, axes, and shovels, which he advertised to private individuals for "Confederate Money or exchange for country produce." In the definitive work "Confederate Carbines and Musketoons", by John Murphy M.D. and research by Howard Madaus, a nearly identical example is shown (Plate 2, pgs. 122), and states it is the only example known. Carbine is 39 1/4" overall length with a 24" barrel. Barrel is inspector stamped near the breach: "PRO. / FCH". There is a single digit at the bottom of the barrel that is either a "3" or possibly a "5". 2 brass bands hold the barrel with original springs intact. Forward of the hammer, lock plate is marked "COLUMBUS ARMORY". This marking is identical to the excavated lock plate shown in Murphy's book and serial numbered "7" that was found in a Confederate camp in northeastern Mississippi. Internally on this example, the lock and hammer are serial numbered "19". Left side of stock exhibits, lightly carved, period initials "W.J." CONDITION: Finish is some blue turned smooth brown with mottled dark grey overall. Some heavy pitting mostly concentrated around the nipple, hammer face, and bolster areas consistent with age and use. Brass parts are a deep mustard yellow patina. Stock has handling marks throughout with small crack near lock retaining plate screw, and repaired cracks at both wrist and front edge of lock mortise. Mechanically fine. Bore is dark. BRM.
Caliber/Bore
.58 Percussion
Manufacturer
Columbus Armory
