the Type I rifled musket was assembled from old-stock parts, with a new (and often unseasoned) black walnut stock. The 39" barrel was rifled with three wide lands and shallow grooves. It included a long-range rear sight, Model 1816 lock and trigger, and three Model 1840 or 1842 barrel bands with springs and sling swivel on the bottom of the middle band.
| GOOD–$800 | FINE–$1,700 |
Rock Island Auction Company
P.S. JUSTICE RIFLED MUSKET, .69 CALIBER, TYPE II, PAPER CARTRIDGE, PERCUSSION.
Made by Philip S. Justice, Philadelphia, 1861. Total production: Unknown.
Overall length: 55". Weight: 7 lbs. 6 oz.
Muzzleloader, single shot.
“P.S. JUSTICE / PHILADA” on lock plate to front of hammer and on top of barrel near breech; on some specimens, a number to rear of bayonet stud and eagle on lock plate to front of hammer.
At least one weapons expert has called the Justice Type II rifled musket perhaps the poorest firearm submitted to the U.S. Ordnance Department in the Civil War, and possibly the only martial shoulder arm of the war with the barrel pinned to the stock, in lieu of barrel bands. The 39" browned barrel was fitted with a long-range rear sight or a fixed, V-notch sight. All furniture was brass, and included a patch box in the butt stock, two ramrod thimbles, and a trigger guard bow with a distinctive reverse curve on the bottom. There were no provisions for sling swivels. The black walnut stock was crudely manufactured, often of unseasoned wood.
| GOOD–$800 | FINE–$1,700 |
P.S. JUSTICE RIFLED MUSKET, .69 CALIBER, TYPE III, PAPER CARTRIDGE, PERCUSSION.
Made by Philip S. Justice, Philadelphia, 1861. Total production: Unknown.
Muzzleloader, single shot.
“P.S. JUSTICE / PHILADA” on lock plate to front of hammer and on top of barrel near breech; on some specimens, an eagle on lock plate to front of hammer.
Of the three types of Justice Rifled Musket, .69 caliber, the Type III appears to have survived in the greatest numbers. Unlike the other two types, it was built entirely of new parts, and included a 39" browned barrel, prominent brass front blade sight, and two-leaf rear sight soldered to the barrel. The barrel was secured to the 52" black walnut stock with three 1/2"-wide, split-clamping oval bands; upper sling swivel on the middle band. The bayonet stud was on the bottom of the barrel, 1" from the muzzle. The furniture was brass, including a patch box and distinctive, reverse-curve trigger-guard bow.
| GOOD–$900 | FINE–$1,800 |
Rock Island Auction Company
U.S. MODEL 1842 MUSKET, PALMETTO ARMORY CONTRACT, .69 CALIBER, PAPER CARTRIDGE, PERCUSSION
Manufactured by Palmetto Armory, Columbia, South Carolina, 1860-1861. Total production: at least 3,700.
Overall length: 57-3/4". Weight: approximately 9 lbs. 3 oz.
Muzzleloader, single shot.
“PALMETTO ARMORY S*C” in a circle around a palmetto tree, on lock plate to front of hammer; “COLUMBIA / S.C. 1852” vertically on lock plate to rear of hammer; “V / P / [palmetto tree]” proof mark on barrel near breech; “SC” on tang of butt plate.
In April 1851 the Palmetto Armory secured a contract with South Carolina to produce 6,000 copies of the U.S. Model 1842 Musket. The armory completed the contract by the end of 1853, on machinery purchased from Benjamin Flagg’s factory in Millbury, Massachusetts, that had previously been used to manufacture the A. H. Waters and B. Flagg versions of the U.S. Model 1842 Musket. The Palmetto Armory version was very similar to the standard U.S. model, with variations in some examples including brass barrel bands instead of iron and a bayonet stud on top of the barrel rather than the bottom. In February 1860, the State of South Carolina contracted the Palmetto Armory to add a fixed rear sight and rifle 3,700 of the Model 1842 muskets then at the Armory. The Armory completed the contract by August 1861. All of the rifled muskets are dated 1852.
| GOOD–$2,500 | FINE–$5,000 |
PRUSSIAN MODEL 1839/55 RIFLED MUSKET, .69TO .72 CALIBER, PAPER CARTRIDGE, PERCUSSION
Made by government armories and several different private gun manufactories, ca. 1839-ca.1860. Total imported: Unknown, but at least 65,000.
Overall length: 57".
Muzzleloader, single shot.
Lock plates stamped with the Prussian crown over place of manufacture such as “SUHL / S & C”, “Potsdam / GT”, “Zella”, or “Mehlis,” which is over the year of manufacture.
Though originally designed as a smoothbore, manufacturers began to turn out rifled versions of the Model 1839 in 1855, hence the designation “Model 1839/55.” The barrel is fitted with a patent breech that accepts a screwed in cone. The U.S. Ordnance Department purchased 65,000 Prussian arms identified as “smooth bore.” There are no known records of Confederate purchases.
At least two variants of the standard Model 1839/55 are known:
Type I: Nearly identical to the standard Model 1839/55 except that it is fitted with a back-action lock. Type I rifled muskets vary in bore from .69" to .715". The union gun dealer, Herman Boker, imported 4,286 of this variant during the Civil War.
Type II: This variant is early identical to the standard Model 1839/55 but measures only 55-1/2" overall and is chambered for a .615"-caliber ball. The Type II has a bayonet stud beneath the barrel in place of the retaining spring. Type II variants are fitted with a long range sight very similar to the type used on the British Pattern 1853 rifle-musket. U.S. importer John Hoey purchased 1,810 Prussian rifles, “caliber .615” on March 6, 1862.
| ALL TYPES: GOOD–$375 | FINE–$1,100 |
James D. Julia Auctioneers, Fairfield, Maine
HANSEATIC LEAGUE MODEL 1840 RIFLED MUSKET, .70 CALIBER, PAPER CARTRIDGE, PERCUSSION
Made by Carl Phillip Crause, Hertzberg, Germany, ca. 1839-? Total imported: Unknown.
Overall length: 55-1/2".
Muzzleloader, single shot.
Lock plate inscribed “Crause of Hertzberg”. Monogrammed “T”, “S”, or “R” have also been observed.
Though originally designed as a smoothbore, most were rifled during the 1850s. The barrel was browned while other iron parts were left bright. It is unknown how many were imported during the war, but it has been reported that 2,680 were transferred to the State of Ohio by the Federal government.