Civil War Auction
Lot 234:
Description
Unusual, Civil War Era Smith 1857 .50 Break Open Carbine in good vintage condition with wear and oxidation throughout. Lock up is tight and the bore is very good (though a little dirty). Stock has a chip at the wrist. . The Smith Carbine was a 0.50 caliber breech-loading rifle patented by Gilbert Smith on June 23, 1857 and successfully completed the Military Trials of the late 1850s. It was used by various cavalry units during the American Civil War. It was unique in that it broke apart in the middle for loading, and that it used rubber cartridges which sealed the gases in the breech. The downside was that these cartridges were difficult to remove. It was one of the many “capping breech loader” firearms that bridged the gap between percussion and cartridge firearms.
The carbines were built by three companies: Massachusetts Arms Company of Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts (this rifles mfg); the American Machine Works in Springfield , Massachusetts; or the American Arms Company in Chicopee Falls. The name of the distributor for the manufacturer, Poultney & Trimble of Baltimore, Maryland, is stamped on this carbine’s receivers. “WL” stamped on the wrist’s wood. C&R Eligible S/N:20590
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