Guns International #: 101557387
Seller's Inventory #: 20197

Category - Civil War Rifles - Antique Rifles - 1500-1850

Category
Civil War Rifles
Antique Rifles - 1500-1850

Very Rare RICHMOND VIRGINIA Manufactory CONFEDERATE Conversion 1814 Musket Richmond, VA Musket Made in the Only State Run Armory!

Description:
Very Rare RICHMOND VIRGINIA Manufactory CONFEDERATE Conversion 1814 Musket

 Richmond, VA Musket Made in the Only State Run Armory!

Here we present a Rare Antique Richmond Manufactory Civil War-time Conversion Musket, originally made in Richmond, Virginia circa 1814 and likely converted just prior to or during the American Civil War.

The year was 1798. America was still facing many uncertainties on all fronts. Naval conflicts from England and France were constant threats. The harassing of U.S. ships interrupted firearm supply routes that caused concern for the US federal government. There was a great need to supply the states with weapons for local militias. With the supply being so low, many states attempted to import arms on their own firearms through the open market in Europe. But this was expensive and shared the same risks. Some states relied on the slow-moving federal armories, and waited for what they could get, when they could get it. Virginia though, didn’t have time to wait for gifts from the federal government, they had a better idea in mind! After jumping through a few hoops, plans for the Virginia Manufactory of Arms had begun. Virginia was the only state to operate a local armory.

In 1802 the first state owned firearm factory began production under superintendent, John Clarke. The factory produced not only firearms, but swords and bayonets all the way up until 1821 when production ceased. By this time, many other sources of firearms were being more readily produced and the armory was no longer necessary. That and—according to Giles Cromwell—Virginia went through a period of stagnation due to economic factors in the state that lasted from about the time the Manufactory closed and when the Civil War began. When the Civil War began, records show that virtually none of the Virginia Manufactory muskets had been converted at all. From October 1, 1859 to November 1, 1861 over 44,000 Virginian long arms were issued from stores, all still in their original flintlock configuration. No other flintlocks are recorded as having been distributed after this last date, and Cromwell suggests that this was the beginning of a campaign to cycle these muskets back through for update and conversion to percussion.
These, like other Southern and Confederate arms of the war, were obsolescent weapons subject to extremely hard use such that few exist today. This one may look crudely adapted and worn because it is; but that makes it all the more amazing that it is yet available to be preserved as an artifact of the Civil War and the State of Virginia.
There was a short revival period of the factory during the Civil War, but in 1865 a fire destroyed the interior and it was never rebuilt. In recent years, a Federal Bank and a packaging company have completed construction over top of the Manufactory’s original site leaving no traces of the country’s earliest state-owned firearm factory. All we have left to remember this part of history by, are a few public records and the products the factory produced. Luckily, we have one of those few muskets here!

The overall condition is good. The action functions properly. The bore is smooth and dark. “1814” is the date on the lock. “VIRGINIA MANUFACTORY” is engraved in the center of the lock. There is a repair to the stock to the rear of the lock. The markings atop the barrel are something like “W. RAUSS/NY”. This is a solid example of a very rare Virginia Manufactory musket likely used during multiple conflicts including late in the War of 1812.

Own the original! This is a legitimate antique and not a reproduction.

Barrel is 33 inches.

Caliber: .69

Overall condition as seen in photos.

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ancestryguns

$4550

#20197
 

SOLD

Antique: Yes