Civil War Auction
Lot 227:
Description
RARE! CIVIL WAR! Sharps.52 PELLET PRIMER 1859 Rifle in excellent vintage condition with some wear. About 60-70% of the finish remains (see photos) The bore is bright and sharp. This scarce Sharps New Model 1859 rifle is in good condition. The Navy had supplemented its 200 Model 1855 Sharps rifles by ordering 900 .56 caliber NM1859 rifles in September 1859 and took delivery from November 1860 through April 1861. On June 4, 1861, they ordered an additional 1,500 rifles through John J. Mitchell, a Sharps sales agent in Washington. One hundred-fifty were to be delivered to each of the navy facilities in Boston, New York and Philadelphia within six days and the remaining 350 to each by June 25. These rifles were in the more standard .52 caliber, which was a bit of a headache for navy supply, and lacked their saber bayonets, which the Navy had to acquire directly from Ames, but were delivered very quickly. The bulk of them were in Navy hands by the end of July (New York had all 500 by August 7) and they are known to have been wide service, being issued to the sloop Iroquois, the St. Lawrence in the Mississippi fleet, to the USS Pensacola, and also to the USS Kearsarge of Kearsarge/Alabama fame. Serial numbers for these rifles fall between 39436 and 42500. This one is 42209 and follows the standard configuration with stud and guide for the saber bayonet, iron patch box, pellet primer etc. All bands, springs, swivels and sights are in place. The barrel is generally smooth brown metal. The maker and patent markings are fully legible: SHARPS RIFLE / MANUFG. CO / HARTFORD, CONN. crisply stamped forward of the rear sight, and NEW MODEL 1859 to its rear, with Lawrence patent markings on the sight base. The receiver is marked on the left, SHARPS PAT. / SEPT 12 1848 with the lettering a bit rubbed on the upper left. The right side is crisply stamped SHARPS PAT. / OCT 5th 1852 behind the hammer and S. LAWRENCE PAT. / APRIL 12th 1859 just above. Rock River Arsenal leather sling with “LHS” stamped on it
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