October 30 - November 2, 2018 Firearms, Militaria, & Sporting
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/31/2018
This interesting gun is the product of Bilharz, Hall & Co of Pittsylvania Courthouse, Virginia. This is the same company that produced the Rising Breech carbines. The first 350 of these were made with brass nosecaps, the balance of production having pewter nosecaps. Based on the model 1855 Springfield rifled carbine. This particular gun differs from the seldom encountered standard versions in the following ways: The gun does not have a nose cap; the band spring is facing forward as opposed to facing the rear of the gun; there are no sub-assembly numbers marked on the inside of the lock; approximately .69 caliber smoothbore as opposed to .58 rifled. The initial sample of the Bilharz, Hall & Company muzzle loading carbine was submitted for examination and review at the Richmond Armory in early March of 1863. Major William Downer, in command of the armory at Richmond at that time, wrote a detailed report about the Bilharz sample musketoon on the 4th of March 1863. In general he found the overall workmanship of the gun to be “rough”. He specifically noted a number of what would appear to be minor flaws, such as the angle of the buttplate, the sharpness of wood corners, etc., as well as some major flaws such as a tumbler made of iron and the use of common wood screws to secure the buttplate and some furniture to the gun’s stock. He found fault in the design of the captive ramrod (and suggested some improvements) and complained that the stock had no “tip” (forend cap). His biggest complaints, however, were that “The barrel is not finished smoothly, either inside or out. The inside should be improved in boring…” and in reference to the iron tumbler noted that it “…is not casehardened, rendering the lock very rough, and liable to get out of order very soon.” Interestingly after castigating the gun on many points, he concluded by saying: “The general finish of the arm is rough, but with the exception of the tumbler, I see nothing to prevent the usefulness of it in the field. If the improvements and alteration mentioned are made, I should think that forty-five dollars would be a reasonable price for the arm.”. This gun is not marked with the "CSA" marking as is commonly found but rather has the marking "P/ C S" on the left side of the barrel. It's important to note that while this style of marking is not pictured in Murphy's book, it can be found in "Confederate Longarms and Pistols" by Hill & Anthony. These marks are of the same font style as found on the Rising Breech carbines. Also of interest, is that the barrel band has a split area on the bottom to capture the ramrod and certainly looks to be original. The numbers on the rear of the barrel and breech plug are unfortunately illegible due to pitting. This is an interesting gun that is certainly real and saw hard use. CONDITION: This gun shows heavy use and remains in original "as found" condition, free of restoration or cleaning. Even patina overall with areas of light to moderate old rust. Markings are clear. The lock screws are replacements, but of the period. The lock is slightly at fault, although a careful cleaning would probably fix that. Wood shows heavy burnout above the lock. Severe pitting in the metal around the nipple and where the barrel meets the breech plug from use. The stock has a 7 inch crack on the left side by the front lock screw, and a 3 inch crack at the rear lock screw. Period nail repair to wood at rear/top of lock. There are some chips out around the lock which does not seat perfectly in the wood. Bore is rusty.
Caliber/Bore
.69 Smoothbore
Manufacturer
Billarz Hall & Co.