Old muskets and a civil war (?) sword

[stanjam]

I was in chat the other night and I promised to show some of the antique guns I own. First is the 1795 musket made by the Springfield Armory. This is the first version of the very first gun produced in America. I can't find the pic of the stamp (which proves it is the first edition), but I will look for it. Unfortunately it was converted from a flintlock to a percussion. They may be a large pic and may take time to load. If so I will edit them later.




Next is another old gun. Probably a bit more recent, but I have had no luck finding out what it is:




Last is the sword. I believe this is a civil war cavalry sword, but I am not sure. If you have any idea let me know!





If you have any ideas on these, let me know. Hope you enjoy them. My father currently has them, but they will end up in my collection. He did some oil burner work for someone once as a favor and the gentleman wanted to give him something, but could not pay. My father expressed interest in the collection and the guy just gave them to my father! I am sure he must have had no clue what he had! The first gun was manufactured in 1795, the first year that the Armory produced its own guns, and like I said, this is the very first musket produced by the US government. I am very proud to have this weapon! It's condition is not great, as it has a crack in the stock, and the stamps on it are worn, but it is a great piece none the less!

[markmopar]

I sent the pics to my brother. He runs a gun shop that specializes in antique military firearms.

[markmopar]

his reply:

"I would need to know what the name on the lockplate under the hammer says as well as any markings on the top, sides or bottom of the barrel. Is the barrel rifled or smooth? From what I can see it appears to be a percussion muzzleloader from around the 1830 to 1865 period. It is possible a replica made in the 1960's as well. Lemme know. "

[stanjam]

his reply:

"I would need to know what the name on the lockplate under the hammer says as well as any markings on the top, sides or bottom of the barrel. Is the barrel rifled or smooth? From what I can see it appears to be a percussion muzzleloader from around the 1830 to 1865 period. It is possible a replica made in the 1960's as well. Lemme know. "

Which gun is he talking about? The second one? That is the one I have no idea about. Well, I have very little knowledge about. I can try and get more info next time I see it.

[markmopar]

yes, the second one.

[mojjax]

The first gun looks like a Brown Bess . That sword is very nice ! Thanks for posting them

[dcinffxva]

The Springfield is patterned after the French "Charleville" musket, which was what France supplied to the Colonials during the Revolutionary War. It doesn't appear that yours has a date on it, but is marked "Springfield" on the lockplate, which makes it 1799-1803 time frame. The muskets made from 1795-1798 were all unmarked. If you look on the top of the buttplate, there should be a year, which will tell you specifically when that one was produced.

I know this is an older post, but I just found it

hope the info helps. Take close photos of the lock on the second one, and I might be able to help you there.

[stanjam]

The Springfield is patterned after the French "Charleville" musket, which was what France supplied to the Colonials during the Revolutionary War. It doesn't appear that yours has a date on it, but is marked "Springfield" on the lockplate, which makes it 1799-1803 time frame. The muskets made from 1795-1798 were all unmarked. If you look on the top of the buttplate, there should be a year, which will tell you specifically when that one was produced.

I know this is an older post, but I just found it

hope the info helps. Take close photos of the lock on the second one, and I might be able to help you there.

I have some other photos of it, but I can not find them. I may take more in the future. Can not find any dates on the gun. Some of the writing only comes out clearly in photos.

The book I read at the armory has the "Springfield" stamp on the gun as curved, with later dates not curved like this one is, which leads me to believe this is indeed a 1795. I have been lazy about this, but the armory wants me to send them photos so they can try to confirm the date this gun was made. The 1795 in their armory also has the curved "Springfield" stamp. I live about 5 minutes from the armory, which was how I discovered that we had one of their early rifles. I could be mistaken on this, as the research I did was rather quick. I need to devote more time on this.

You could be right. My memory on this may be off. The 1999 rings a bell for some reason.

[dcinffxva]

I just re-checked my references (US Military Flintlocks and Muskets by P. Schmidt, and Flaydermans Guide to Antique American Firearms by N. Flayderman) and narrowed the range by a year from 1799-1802. On the plus side, since the earliest ones were unmarked, there are none that have been positively identified.

I'm gonna guess that yours is going to have a 1799 date on the top of the buttplate, which would place it in the batch of being the earliest IDENTIFIABLE Springfields. Also, the first 15,000 of the 25,000 total produced had permanently attached bayonets. The earlier guns had 44 1/2 inch barrels (give or take a little), but many of them (if not all) had the bayonets removed by shortening the barrel.

Definitely a very nice piece, even though converted. Just the thought of that musket being around while George Washington was still alive makes it an amazing piece of history. It would be a prize in anyones collection. Having an aging father myself, I hope you don't inherit it anytime soon, and wish him the best of health.

[stanjam]

I just re-checked my references (US Military Flintlocks and Muskets by P. Schmidt, and Flaydermans Guide to Antique American Firearms by N. Flayderman) and narrowed the range by a year from 1799-1802. On the plus side, since the earliest ones were unmarked, there are none that have been positively identified.

I'm gonna guess that yours is going to have a 1799 date on the top of the buttplate, which would place it in the batch of being the earliest IDENTIFIABLE Springfields. Also, the first 15,000 of the 25,000 total produced had permanently attached bayonets. The earlier guns had 44 1/2 inch barrels (give or take a little), but many of them (if not all) had the bayonets removed by shortening the barrel.

Definitely a very nice piece, even though converted. Just the thought of that musket being around while George Washington was still alive makes it an amazing piece of history. It would be a prize in anyones collection. Having an aging father myself, I hope you don't inherit it anytime soon, and wish him the best of health.

OK, that makes sense. Thanks for the info. I will look once more for the date when I see it next. I am pretty sure it is a 1799 as well. Hope it served our country well!

[capndan151]

Cool sword!

[TheRockCollector]

Cool!