Civil War Auction
Lot 230:
Description
Starr Arms .56 21″ Carbine in good to very good vintage condition with wear and a cracked stock at the wrist. The bore’s rifling is sharp with freckles. 10-20% of finish remains. Issued to the Federal cavalry during the Civil War, this weapon is a fine example of a Starr carbine, which is a breech loading, .54 caliber percussion weapon produced by the Starr Arms Company of Yonkers, New York. The Starr carbine resembled the more famous ‘Sharps’ carbine of the time but the Union cavalrymen did not think as highly of the Starr as they did the Sharps. The first shipment of 1000 Starr percussion carbines was delivered to the Ordnance Department in September 1863, and in total over 20,000 such weapons were ultimately purchased by the US government.
Manufactured between 1862 and 1865, the Starr percussion carbines were all .54 caliber breechloaders fitted with a 21” long, round tapered barrel. The carbine employed a split breech, drop block mechanism that allowed the trooper to insert a linen cased cartridge into the chamber of the breech. The upward motion of the operating lever / triggerguard closed the breech and ignition was activated with the striking of a percussion cap by the external hammer. The weapon measures 37½” long and weighs 7 lbs. and 6 ounces. The iron lock plate and frame were casehardened and the barrel blued.C&R Eligible S/N:nsn
Share this lot:
