Description
This fine British manufacturered longarm is a standard .577 caliber Enfield Pattern 1853 Type 1 rifle-musket as carried by hundreds of thousands of Union and Confederate forces in the field. The single-shot muzzleloader in very good original condition and even retains both sling swivels and the original slotted tip ramrod. Of all the British arms, the Pattern 1853 rifle-musket is perhaps the best known and regarded weapon that replaced all earlier infantry models in the British Army. This fine weapon measures a total length of 55” with a 39” long barrel. The lockplate surface is dark plum/gray and exhibits scattered fine rust pitting over the surface. The lock markings are the standard “Victoria Crown” in back of the hammer with clear block letters “1862 / TOWER” in front of the hammer. All mechanics are strong and crisp. The barrel surface has never cleaned and exhibits a dark plum brown patina with spotty light oxidized pitting. This weapon has the standard long range, folding leaf rear sight and the small blade front sight. The gauge and viewer marks appear on the left side of barrel breech and show “viewer stamp / 25 / viewer stamp / 25 / viewer stamp”, which indicates caliber .577.
There are light markings near the triggerguard indicating this was one of the thousands delivered through the firm of Sinclair, Hamilton and Company who supplied arms to both the North and the South. It is literally a tossup as to which side used this weapon as the North purchased about 500,000 and the South, nearly 600,000.
