Product Description
POTTS & HUNT P1853 Enfield LONDON Commercial Rifle-Musket CIVIL WAR Antique
English MILITARY PATTERN Commercial Rifle
Here we present an antique Potts & Hunt Commercial Pattern 1853 Enfield Percussion Rifle-Musket, made in London, England circa the early 1860s. The Enfield 1853 rifle-musket was used by both the North and the South in the American Civil War and was the second most widely used infantry weapon in the war, surpassed only by the Springfield Model 1861 Rifled Musket. The Confederates imported more Enfields during the course of the war than any other small arm, buying from private contractors and gun runners. It has been estimated that over 900,000 P53 Enfields were imported into America and saw service in every major engagement of the war.
One of the London based arms makers that has always had a strong Civil War association was the firm Potts & Hunt. The firm of Potts & Hunt was established in London in 1854. The lineage of this gunmaking firm went back to Thomas Potts, who operated the firm from 1828 through 1847 and was succeeded by his son, Thomas Henry Potts in 1848. In 1854, Thomas H. Potts and Thomas Hunt formed a partnership known as Potts & Hunt, and that partnership remained in business beyond the end of the Civil War in 1867, when the partners split up and went their own ways. Research shows that much of Potts & Hunt’s commercial production of Enfield rifle muskets that were manufactured in the early 1860s was sold to both Confederate and U.S. buyers during the course of the American Civil War, though these Potts & Hunt rifles have historically been characterized as “probably Confederate”.
The Pattern 1853 was Britain’s adopted rifle from 1853 until the Snider system was adopted to transform arms into breech-loaders. In addition to its use around the world with the British military, this was one of the most popular arms for the infantry during the American Civil War.
The overall condition is good. Dark patina. The action is strong. The bore is untouched with good rifling. The stock has a chip at the fore end cap, a slender and stable split along the grain between the lock and rearmost barrel band, a small repair to a chip around the barrel tang, and a split at the toe; otherwise whole and sound.
Own the original! This is a legitimate antique and not a reproduction.
Barrel is 33 inches.
Caliber: .577 Percussion
Overall condition as seen in photos.
Very Fast. Very Safe. FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE. Delivered directly to your door by express mail!
Guaranteed AUTHENTIC & Includes CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY.
www.ancestryguns.com
$1800
#230674