Internet Antique Gazette » long-guns

Jenks, Alfred & Son, 1861 Percussion Rifle

hcst — Fri, 13 May 2011 10:08:23 +0000

Alfred Jenks & Son, of Bridesburg and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, produced 98,464 of these Model 1861 percussion rifles for the federal government during the Civil War, one of the largest armsmaking contracts of the war.

Henry Winchester Rifle

hcst — Thu, 12 May 2011 14:53:57 +0000

The Henry Rifle, named after its designer, B. Tyler Henry, is one of the scarcest and most sought after Winchester rifles of any period. About 14,000 of these Civil War era rifles were produced between 1860 and 1866. Serial numbers began at #1 and most often found at top of the breach end of the barrel, marked “Henry’s Patent. Oct 16, 1860/Manufact’d by the New Haven Arms Co., New Haven, Ct.” The Henry rifle was designed to use the new rimfire cartridge also designed by Henry. This cartridge replaced with a metallic casing bullet the undependable combination of powder, ball and primer then in use. A number of union army units, particularly from Kentucky and the mid-west states, used personal funds to equip themselves with Henry rifles. The federal government purchased about 1,700 Henry’s for various cavalry units and these are found mostly in the 3,000 to 4,200 serial number range.

Blunderbuss Musket

hcst — Wed, 11 May 2011 14:29:26 +0000

Blunderbuss

The blunderbuss is a now obsolete musket with a short barrel having a flaring mouth. The gun fired a large amount of shot designed to inflict maximum damage at short-range. It was intended for use wherever close-in work was required, as by coach guards or sailors repelling boarders.

The term blunderbuss first appeared in 1654 and is of Dutch origin, being a combination of donder (thunder) and bus (pipe or tube). Seventeenth and eighteenth century usage of the term blunder sometimes meant to cause confusion. A very loud noise was created when the blunderbuss was fired and this, plus the potential for substantial damage to anything in its way, may have caused the blunder term to attach itself to the gun.

Reference note by p4A editorial staff, April 2011.

Norris Civil War Muskets

hcst — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 15:14:47 +0000

Norris made several thousands of these muskets under contract to the state of Massachusetts in 1863 and 1864.