Do we have a Civil War firearms expert here that can tell me something about this musket, or musketoon? It is a Virginia Manufactory Model #2 according to Flayderman's book, but is much shorter than the lengths listed in his descriptions. Was this gun ever made in a Musketoon model? this piece is 42 inches in overall length and has a 28 inch barrell.
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overall length 42 inches, barrell 28 inches
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It has the bolster conversion from flint to percussion which according to Flayderman was done by four different Richmond gunsmiths in the early years of the Civil War for Confederate use. It has no Confederate markings. Ramrod and middle barrel band spring is missing.
Gun was left behind with a local family by one of Longstreet's soldiers when they left East Tennessee in the Spring of 1864, after wintering
in the railroad village of Russellville east of Knoxville.
I'm a long ways from a civil war expert, but I'm guessing this rifle was cut down after it left the factory. Perhaps even immediate post war to make it easier to pack around.
The gun doesn't appear to have ever been cut down. I think it was made in the shorter musketoon version used by CW cavalry and artillery crews.
According to Flayderman the type II (2)Virginia Manufactory muskets were converted from flint to percussion by the State of Virginia for Civil War use, and the bolster type conversion was done by each of four Richmond firms
I just have not been able to learn if the gun was originally full length and professionally cut down for cavalry use or if it was made as a musketoon in the beginning.
In my experience, cut down guns can usually be detected by evidence of the moving and replacing of the front sight...and by the shortening of the wooden stock. When the front end cap is removed there is no indication of the stock having been shortened on this gun.
Don,
From the pictures I thought the front sight was missing. My only knowledge on this particular model is Flaydermans as well.
timboo, my apologies. The front sight IS missing from my gun. I had it locked away in a safe when I made the original posting and was going from photographs. I had forgotten that I had the front part of another musket of the same type in another picture so that I could see what the ramrod looked like. Now I think you may be right...that the gun was cut down.
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The other gun is still flint in in much worse condition. The two last pictures are from that one...not mine.
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It seems cutting these rifles/muskets down after the war was a fairly common practice. I doubt the loss of the front sight made a huge difference in accuracy, especially on the smoothbores!
These weren't front sights but rather bayonet lugs. Common misconception though.
Good point, you're right about some muskets. But some rifles of that era did have a front sight
timboo, at last the mystery is solved about the shortening of the gun. In the book, Confederate Rifles & Muskets by Murphy and Madaus on page 621 , plate 3 at the top of the page, is the EXACT same gun as mine. The authors state that many of these guns were cut to 28 inch length at the time they were converted to percussion in 1861-62, by the Richmond firm of Samuel C. Robinson. It is further stated that this firm later manufactured a copy of the Sharps Model 1859 carbine in Richmond.
I forgot to mention that it is stated that the guns were cut down for cavalry use. Also the front sight(actually bayonet lug as mentioned above by Doc)is missing from the pictured gun as well as the front sling swivel. It is mentioned in another reference (The Virginia Manufactory of Arms) by Giles Cromwell, that the ram rods on these cut off guns are almost always missing....no further explanation as to why.