Guns International #: 103029184
Seller's Inventory #: 1

• THE VERBAL PROVENANCE ON THIS MUSKET IS THAT IT WAS PICKED ABOUT 20 YEARS AFTER THE BATTLE AND CARRIED HOME BY AN OLD MASSACHUSETTS VETERAN. IT CAME INTO THE MODERN MARKET FROM THE VETERANS FAMILY ESTATE. THAT'S THE END OF THE VERBAL/ASSUMPTION STUFF. EVERYTHING ELSE IS FACT UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE. SORRY, THIS DESCRIPTION IS REALLY LONG BUT IT'S WELL WORTH THE READ SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME.....
• DAMAGE:
• THE BOTTOM 1-1/2" TOE OF THE STOCK HAS OBVIOUSLY BEEN SHEARED OFF BY AN ARTILLERY FRAGMENT WHICH IMPACTED THE BRASS BUTTPLATE AND RIPPED OUT THE BUTTPLATE SCREW AND DROVE THE BUTTPLATE REARWARDS TOWARD THE SOLDIER AIMING THE GUN.
• THE STOCK SHOWS OVERALL SIGNS OF HAVING BEEN SEARED BY FIRE AND THE STOCK IS SPLIT ON THE BOTTOM FROM THE BOTTOM BARREL BAND (3rd FROM THE MUZZLE) TO THE FRONT OF THE TRIGGER GUARD FROM HEAT EXPANSION.
• THERE ARE OBVIOUS SIGNS OF ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE; RUST PITTING, WORM HOLES, OLD STABLE WOOD ROT FROM BEING LEFT OUTDOORS FOR SO LONG.
• SOME IDIOTIC MORON BEFORE ME FORCED THE LOCKPLATE OFF THE STOCK BREAKING THE TWO ORIGINAL SCREWS (WHICH ARE STILL PRESENT ALONG WITH THE ORIGINAL WASHERS). THANKFULLY, THERE ARE NO PRY MARKS ON THE STOCK OR HAMMER MARKS ON THE GUN'S HAMMER. THE IDIOT MUST HAVE BANGED ON THE GUN'S HAMMER (WHICH IS RUST FROZEN IN THE COCKED POSITION) WITH A RUBBER MALLET (OR SOMETHING SIMILAR) UNTIL IT SURRENDERED.
• THE STOCK IS CRACKED THROUGH ABOUT AT THE BARREL TANG. (WHEN I FIRST RECEIVED THE GUN IT WAS WEAK AT THAT POINT AND I HAD TO STABILIZE IT WITH A CLEAR WOOD ADHESIVE SO IT WOULDN'T BE A TWO PIECE GUN.  IT'S NOT REALLY VISIBLE UNLESS YOU KNOW IT'S THERE AND LOOK CLOSELY FOR IT. THIS IN NO WAY DETRACTS FROM THE APPEARANCE OR DISPLAY QUALITY OF THE GUN.
• MARKINGS: THE GUN IS PROFUSELY MARKED WITH NUMEROUS CONFEDERATE STAMPINGS. tHERE IS A "JS ANCHOR" STAMPING ON THE BOTTOM OF THE STOCK WRIST AS WELL AS A TINY, ALMOST INVISIBLE BSA STAMP. THERE IS A MEDIUM AS WELL AS A SMALL  S.C. STAMP INDICATING SOUTH CAROLINA OWNERSHIP ON THE OBVERSE FACE OF THE STOCK. THE 40" BARREL, WHICH IS PART OCTAGONAL AT THE BREECH AND THE REMAINDER ROUND IS MARKED WITH BIRMINGHAM PROOF MARKS, 25 * 24 BORE MARKINGS SHOWING THAT AFTER RIFLING IT MEASURED AT .58 CALIBER, AND A "C" WITHIN A DIAMOND. MANY EXPERTS BELIEVE THAT THIS LAST MARK AND THE UNUSUAL BARREL CONFIGURATION INDICATE THAT THESE GUNS (WHICH I BELIEVE ARE EXCLUSIVELY ALL IN THE EARLY SOUTH CAROLINA SHIPMENTS) WERE DIVERTED FROM A SPANISH MILITARY RIFLE CONTRACT TO THE CONFEDERACY FOR PROFIT. THE LOCKPLATE IS MARKED "TOWER and 1862" WITH A VERY TINY STAMP TOWARD THE FORWARD END THAT I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH AND I CAN'T MAKE OUT. THE RAMROD IS ENGRAVED WITH AN INVENTORY CONTROL NUMBER. IT'S HARD TO MAKE OUT COMPLETELY DUE TO RUST PITTING BUT RECENTLY I DETERMINED WITH CERTAINTY THAT THE NUMBER IS "230". THERE MAY BE A SYMBOL AFTER THE "0" WHICH I INITIALLY THOUGHT WAS AN "A" . THE "A's" IN THESE ENGRAVINGS LOOK LIKE INVERTED "V's. BUT NOW I'M NOT CERTAIN THERE IS ANOTHER SYMBOL THERE AT ALL. TIM PRINCE AND I HAD AN EMAIL CONVERSATION REGARDING THR NUMBERS AND HERE ARE HIS REMARKS; PLEASE NOTE THAT TIM HAS NEVER PERSONALLY INSPECTED OR APPRAISED THIS GUN. IT WAS MERELY AN EMAIL CONVERSATION WITH A COUPLE PHOTOGRAPHS. 
• Rex, I can't decipher the numbers on the ramrod from the attached photos, so I will defer to your analysis since you have the rod in hand. If it is 233/A then the rod is a replacement from the period and from a different gun. The 40" marked barrel SC guns were numbered from 1 to 1,000. The only guns that had letter suffixes were the 2nd and 3rd groups of 10,000 bought by the CS central government as part of the 2nd Sinclair, Hamilton & Co contract. Those guns are numbered 1-10,000, 1A-10,000A and 1B-10,000B. There was more than one SC contract, thus the different types of SC markings, with some of the guns delivered by Barnett, which were CH/1 marked instead of JS/Anchor marked and were stamp numbered in the toe of the buttplate rather than engrave numbered on the tang.Your gun is an extremely cool relic. I would also very much like to know what the buttplate number was, but it was most assuredly between 1 and 1,000.
• Best Regards,
• Tim Prince.
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• THERE ARE NO MANUFACTURER MARKS THAT I CAN SEE. IF THE STOCK EVER HAD ANY OF THE CRYPTIC MANUFACTURER LETTERS LIKE "B,K" OR ANYTHING IT WOULD HAVE BEEN CARRIED AWAY WITH THE BUTTPLATE (WHICH WOULD HAVE HAD AN ENGRAVED INVENTORY CONTROL NUMBER MATCHING THAT OF THE RAMROD.
• INTEGRITY: DESPITE HAVING SEVERE BATTLE DAMAGE THE ONLY PIECE MISSING FROM THE GUN IS THE BUTTPLATE WHICH WAS CERTAINLY MANGLED AND IS EITHER STILL IN THE GROUND AT THE SITE TODAY OR WAS BURIED WITH THE SOLDIER, IMBEDDED IN HIS SHOULDER. ALL THREE BARREL BANDS ARE PRESENT AND THE THREADED ENDS ALL HAVE THOSE MUSHROOM SHAPE END PROTECTORS. BOTH SLING SWIVELS ARE PRESENT AND RUST FROZEN. THE TYPE II REARSIGHT IS PRESENT AND COMPLETE (NUMERALS ON THE LEFT SIDE)' ALSO RUST FROZEN. THE RAMROD IS PRESENT AND RUST FROZEN. TRIGGER AND BRASS TRIGGER GUARD ARE PRESENT, EVEN THE ORIGINAL NIPPLE PROTECTOR IS THERE, OF COURSE NO LEATHER INSERT!
• THE ASSAULT WHERE I BELIEVE THE GUN WAS DAMAGED: WAS MADE ON THE LAST DAY OF THE BATTLE, LATE IN THE DAY BY A VERY LARGE CONTINGENT OF CONFEDERATES, MOSTLY SOUTH CAROLINA TROOPS. THEY ASSAULTED LOG BREASTWORKS OF HANCOCK'S CORPS AND THE BREASTWORKS CAUGHT FIRE. FEDERAL TROOPS BEHIND THE BREASTWORKS SAID THE CONFEDERATES LOOKED LIKE DEVILS JUMPING THROUGH THE FIRE AND SCREAMING THE REBEL YELL. THEY WERE STOPPED COLD BY A BATTERY OF ARTILLERY IN THE REAR OF HANCOCK'S MEN ALONG WITH MUSKET FIRE FROM THEM. I READ A COUPLE OF BOOKS ON THE BATTLE AND THIS IS THE ONLY ACTION WHERE SOUTH CAROLINA TROOPS WERE HEAVILY ENGAGED, THERE WAS A LARGE FIRE AND ARTILLERY WAS USED. THERE WAS COMPARATIVELY LITTLE ARTILLERY USED AT THE WILDERNESS DUE TO THE TERRAIN. FORTUNATELY THE FAMOUS CIVIL WAR SKETCH ARTIST ALFRED WAUD DID A SKETCH OF THIS VERY ASSAULT WHICH MEANS THAT HE WITNESSED IT IN PERSON BECAUSE HE ONLY DREW THINGS THE ACTUALLY SAW. I AM INCLUDING IN THIS SALE A FRAMED HAND COLORED COPY OF HIS SKETCH WHICH MEASURES 12-3/4" X 18-3/4". THERE WILL BE NO EXTRA CHARGE FOR SHIPPING THE ARTWORK.
• I'M NOT GOING TO MAKE THIS DESCRIPTION ANY LONGER BY GIVING BACKGROUND ON THESE RARE, UNUSUAL, UNIQUE ENFIELD MUSKETS OR THE BATTLE. THERE IS PLENTY OF REFERENCE MATERIAL OUT THERE TO LOOK AT IF YOU CARE TO.
• CONCLUSION: I AM FAIRLY CERTAIN THAT THE SOUTH CAROLINA SOLDIER CARRYING THIS WEAPON WAS KILLED WHILE AIMING IT. HE WAS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EXPLOSION, HAMMER COCKED. THIS FACT LED ME TO WONDER IF THE MUSKET WAS STILL LOADED? I RAN A RAMROD FROM A DIFFERENT GUN DOWN THE BARREL AND IT STOPPED A COUPLE INCHES FROM THE BREECH. THEN I ASKED THE COLUMBUS OHIO BOMB SQUAD TO  X-RAY THE BREECH TO BE SURE. YEP, YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE A ROUND (LOADED BACKWARDS!) IN THE BREECH. THIIS SHOWS HOW INTENSE AN ACTION THE SOLDIER WAS ENGAGED IN!  THE ROUND IS INERT NOW, HAVING BEEN EXPOSED TO THE ELEMENTS LAYING ON THE GROUND IN RAINWATER AND PROBABLY SNOW FOR 20+ YEARS.
• THE GUN DISPLAYS NICELY  AND DRAMATICALLY! EVEN GIVEN THE DAMAGE IT LOOKS PRETTY NICE AND WHAT A STORY IT TELLS! EVERY CIVIL WAR WEAPONS COLLECTION SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST ONE BATTLE DAMAGED EXAMPLE AND THIS ONE IS A VERY RARE ENFIELD ON TOP OF THAT!
• THAT'S IT! I'M FINALLY THROUGH BLABBING BUT I THINK ALL THIS INFO IS IMPORTANT TO THE PROSPECTIVE BUYER. THANK YOU FOR BEARING WITH ME.
• IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN POSSIBLY PURCHASING THE MUSKET PLEASE EMAIL OR CALL ME. I HAVE LOTS MORE PHOTOS AND SOME RELATED ITEMS AVAILABLE.
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• REX
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