1816 HARPERS FERRY- MACON ALTERATION

1816 Harpers Ferry Musket - Macon alteration.  SOLD

This musket is a later 1816 model dated 1837 on the lock and 1838 on the barrel.  It was made at Harpers Ferry and is marked on the lock and has the Harpers Ferry inspectors Marks in the wood opposite the lock.  There is an assemblers mark "7" stamped in many of the parts including the screws.  Before interchangeable parts, the would be a mark placed on the parts to keep all of the parts together as they moved through manufacturing and finishing.  

The barrel has NJ marked showing ownership by the state of New Jersey.  During the war weapons were collected from the battlefields in Virginia.  In late 1862 Richmond sent a about 4000 muskets to Macon Georgia for repair and refurbishment.  The weapons were gathered from battlefields in Virginia and needed work.  These weapons were intended to be shipped to the Trans Mississippi for use there. The battlefield pick-up needed various types of repairs.  Often the barrel was shortened such as with this example.  The barrel band placement was revised and the upper band was retained.  Also the barrel was turned to accept a bayonet.  Refer to the chapter on the Macon Arsenal in Confederate Rifles and Muskets by John Murphy. The four examples discussed three were 1842 and one was a converted 1840 flint musket.  This example comes with a 1816 bayonet that has been with it a long time.  The patina on the muzzle shows the bayonet was mounted on this musket for some time.  

The bayonet is a 1816 flint bayonet.  It has the 16" blade and is an arsenal made bayonet with the alphanumeric stamping on the socket. This is a letter number combination used at the arsenals to link the bayonet to the musket it fit. 

SOLD