Civil War Auction
Lot 269:
Description
Richardson & Overman Gallager .50 Rifle in very good vintage condition with wear and oxidation. The bore is very good with light frosting. Comes with an original leather cavalry sling in VERY good condition.
Here we present an antique Civil War U.S. Contract Richardson & Overman Gallager Patent Cartridge Carbine manufactured during the time of the Civil War. Only around 5,000 “Final Model” Gallager patent cartridge carbines were produced by Richardson & Overman in Philadelphia. This carbine was invented by South Carolina native Mahlon Gallager, who licensed the design to Richardson and Overman of Philadelphia for production. On August 31, 1861, the first Gallager was sold to the U.S. Army. 22,728 Gallager carbines were purchased during the Civil War and saw extensive use as a cavalry arm with the Union troops. Both percussion and metallic cartridge versions of the Gallager carbine were manufactured, but extraction problems with both cartridge types made this rifle somewhat unpopular with the troops that used it. A major fault of these carbines was the absence of a suitable extractor. The case had to be extracted with a knife or some other sharp tool. When the trigger guard lever is lowered, the barrel slides out from the frame and tips downward to receive the cartridge. The Gallager carbine was known to be used by the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th Ohio, the 13th Tennessee and the 3rd West Virginia cavalries. C&R Eligible S/N:20160
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