CS Numbered 1853 Enfield Rifle Musket
CS Numbered 1853 Enfield Rifle Musket
SOLD
With the start of the war, the south sent people to purchase weapons in Europe. In England contracts were made for Pattern 1853 Enfields. Sinclair, Hamilton & Co. entered into several contracts to furnish Enfields to the south. Their contracts typically were for 30,000 longarms to be delivered in a 6 month period. The second contract included longarms that were individually numbered. There were 5 subcontractors who furnished different numbers of longarms. Each of the Enfields had a engraved number on the brass buttplate tang, a single letter stamped in the wood in front of the buttplate tang - indicating which subcontractor supplied it - and a JS over an anchor stamp in the wood behind the triggerguard. The JS represented the initials of John Southgate who was the viewer. The 5 furnishers were E. P. Bond - marked "B"; Parker Field and Co - marked "F"; and James Kerr - marked "K" from London and from Birmingham C. W. James - marked "J" and W. C. Scott & Sons- marked "S". The first 10,000 were numbered 1-10,000 and the second 10,000 had an "A" suffix and numbered from 1-10,000 and then a "B" suffix was used for the last 10,000. This contract covered the period from October 1861 through April 1862. Some B suffix gun in the 3 digit number range survive with a history of being used at Shiloh. This contract was with the Confederacy. Some individual states contracted for state purchases as well.
This Enfield is a complete solid example of numbered guns that arrived in the South in late 1861 to early 1862. This example is number 2185 and has a "S" stamp in the wood in front of the buttplate tang. It is one of the 8000 furnished by W. C. Scott and Sons. The barrel is full length with a grey brown patina. Proof marks are visible near the breech. There is light pitting on the barrel with the breech and bolster having heavier pitting. The barrel does have the original rear sight. I have dropped a light down the barrel. While there is pitting, the rifling is visible for most of the length of the barrel. The lock is a brown patina with clear markings - Tower and 1861 . The lock functions and the hammer shows evidence of much use. The stock is full length and shows wear and dings and some initials. The stock does have the "S" mark in front of the buttplate tang. The JS Anchor is visible though is shows wear. In the picture there is a circle around the JS Anchor mark. The roundel is also visible on the right butt. The word MAKER is in the center. There is some burnout behind the bolster. The furniture is original and complete. The ramrod is original but does not have a number. All in all, this is a complete marked example of a numbered enfield that saw much use. SOLD