GDG- 1841 Springfield rifle????

[CWMHTours at aol.com]

No serial numbers.  THNX.  Did not know.   Assumed they did.
 
The Civil War News has advertisements for gunshows all over  the country.  
If there is a convenient show sometime I'd recommend going  down and getting 
at least 3 appraisals from the experts.  Their mouths may  just water if it 
is something interesting.
I'd get more than one opinion as sometimes those people  disagree.
 
A  Loyal Neo-Anti Unionist,
Peter  

 
In a message dated 1/30/2012 12:38:50 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
cameron2 at optimum.net writes:

Esteemed  GDG Member Contributes:
<<  I've had adult friends do the same.  But I've never had anyone tell me 
the 
exact story of the gun.. Nor did  they ever say that ancester carried it at 
Gettysburg, for example.   >>

I've got a couple of Gettysburg guns.  Not carried by an  ancester, however.

<<  Further, I am of the understanding  that at the end of the war the 
Yanks 
turned in their rifles when leaving  the army. The Confs were required, as 
losers, to turn in their weapons as  part of getting paroled.

I am sure that some soldiers were able to get  their rifle home with them 
but I can't see it being that common.   >>

Union soldiers could purchase their musket and accouterments  when 
mustering out.  Some did, some didn't.  My GGGrandfather's  service records show 
that he paid for two muskets when he went home.   Wish I knew what became of 
them.

<<  The Army being the Army  whenever possible they kept pretty careful 
records. If you get the serial  numbers and can locate the records you 
ought to be 
able to trace the  disposition trail of the weapon all the way down to 
regimental level when  the individual soldier received his weapon. After 
that 
anything could have  happened?  >>

CW muskets didn't have serial numbers.   About the only shoulder arms that 
did were cavalry carbines, or rifles based  on carbine actions, such as the 
Spencer or the Sharps.  But even there,  the surviving records are extremely 
limited.  I only know who carried my  Gettysburg guns because the soldiers 
were kind enough to carve their names  into the stocks.

Jim  Cameron


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