Product Description
CIVIL WAR Antique JAMES H. MERRILL .54 CAVALRY Saddle Ring Carbine UNION
Issued to NY, PA, NJ, IN, WI, KY & DE Cavalries
Here we present an antique James Merrill First Type Carbine, made circa 1862 in Baltimore, Maryland. These were made by the company of James H. Merrill in Baltimore, Maryland (a very divided state leading up to the war), with a total production of 14,500. The carbines were produced in two versions, which were the First Type and the Second Type. The First Type included a brass patch box in the stock and had the breech lever secured by a flat, knurled latch. The Second Type was produced without the patch box and had the breech lever secured with a rounded, button type latch.
These carbines are known to have been allocated to the following Union cavalry regiments: NY 1st, 5th and 18th; Pennsylvania 11th, 17th, and 18th; NJ 1st; Indiana 7th; Wisconsin 1st and 3rd; Kentucky 27th; and finally the Delaware 1st. They are also known to have been used by Confederates as they were available before the war or as they would capture them. Confederate ammunition for these carbines was made at the Richmond Laboratory on Brown’s Island in Virginia. It is telling about how many of the carbines the South may have fielded to justify a significant operation making ammunition at the lab.
As an interesting side-note, the Confederate States Richmond Laboratory was the site of the worst home-front disaster in Richmond for the entire war when careless handling of percussion caps caused the several hundred thousand percussion primers, cannon friction primers and 10 lbs. of gun powder to explode, killing at least 44 and seriously injuring 25 more in the small building.
The overall condition is hard used. Patina throughout. The action is strong. The bore is in good condition with nice rifling. The wrist has been repaired. There are two splits forward of the barrel band. There is some graffiti on the left side of the butt stock. Numbers match.
Own the original! This is a legitimate antique and not a reproduction.
Barrel is 22-1/8 inches.
Caliber: .54 Percussion
Overall condition as seen in photos.
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$1700
#244581