RARE PHILADELPHIA Made M1861 Rifle-Musket RICE PA US CIVIL WAR Antique 1862 NEW JERSEY Marked Musket Contracted by JOHN RICE

Product Description

RARE PHILADELPHIA Made M1861 Rifle-Musket RICE PA US CIVIL WAR Antique 1862

NEW JERSEY Marked Musket Contracted by JOHN RICE

Here we present an antique New Jersey Marked “Philadelphia” Civil War U.S. Model 1861 Contract Rifle-Musket, made circa 1862-63 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The consensus is that these muskets were contracted for by the U.S. Ordnance Department from Philadelphia native John Rice.

On November 21, 1861, Rice obtained a contract with the U.S. Government to produce 36,000 U.S. Model 1861 rifle-muskets at the rate of $20.00 per stand. Like many other contractors seeking out these small arms contracts early on at the onset of the war, Rice planned on relying on contractors to supply him with parts, and his workers would only assemble and deliver the guns. Research indicates that the only thing Rice was interested in making were the stocks. After having issues getting the materials needed to produce the guns, Rice was unable to deliver the guns as agreed upon by the Ordnance Department. And, according to Ordnance Department records, no deliveries were ever made under Rice’s contract. That said, correspondence from Rice suggests that he had sufficient parts on hand to produce between 500 and 1,500 rifle muskets during the early summer of 1862. The question that now comes is what happened to those parts? Noted author & researcher George Moller’s theory that the Philadelphia locks, and whatever parts Rice had available were purchased by Addison M. Burt who was one of the two contractors manufacturing arms at the Trenton Locomotive Works. He and James T. Hodge both produced muskets there, and muskets with locks marked “Trenton”, “Philadelphia” and “Windsor Locks’ have been attributed to Burt and guns with locks marked “Bridesburg” and “Windsor Locks’ have been attributed to Hodge as well. Other researchers say they were sold to Alfred Jenks & Sons. Strangely, Jenks delivered 464 Model 1861s to the Ordnance Department in November of 1862 that were not part of his small arms contract, leading one to believe these were part of the Rice “Philadelphia” muskets.

There are several other theories on what happened to the Rice “Philadelphia” locks, but one thing is for sure, and that this is a difficult musket variation to find, and the “Philadelphia” locks are extremely scarce and that no more that 500 to 1,500 of the lock were ever marked in that fashion, with the actual number being more likely in the 500-1,000 range.

The overall condition is very good. Patina throughout. The action is excellent: strong and crisp. The bore is dim with good rifling. The stock is solid and shows clear inspection markings. There is also a stamped name and date that has been partially effaced that appears to read: “CLYDE CAMPBELL SEPT. 22. 44”.

Own the original! This is a legitimate antique and not a reproduction.

Barrel is 40 inches.

Caliber: .58 Percussion

Overall condition as seen in photos.

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$2500
#247383