US Springfield Model 1855 Pistol Carbine with Matching Numbered Stock

American Civil War

.58 caliber. 12" barrel. NSN. Bright finish, brass furniture, walnut stock. Single shot percussion muzzleloading pistol carbine with Maynard's patent automated priming lock and captive swivel ramrod. Lock marked U.S./SPRINGFIELD at the front and dated 1856 at the rear, with a {Spread-Winged American Eagle} on the primer magazine door. Breech with small V/P/{Eagle Head} inspection marks and dated 1855 on the tang. No cartouches are present on the counterpane. The rear of the butt cap has the batch mating number 14 on it. Retains the original folding leaf rear sight which is in the dovetail backwards, the musket style front sight, sling ring in butt and sling swivel on barrel band. The pistol carbine is accompanied an original detachable stock complete with the attachment yoke and swivel in the toe. These stocks are less often encountered than the pistol carbine itself. The top of the buttplate tang is marked US and the yoke has the matching batch mating number 14. Matching pistol and stock examples are rarely encountered. The US Model 1855 Pistol Carbine was a European inspired idea that mated an overly long and ungainly handgun with a detachable stock, creating a poorly handling pistol or a short carbine with a wobbly stock. As such, the design was not particularly popular with the men they were issued to. Only 4,021 of these awkward and relatively unpopular pistol carbines were produced at Springfield between 1855 and 1857 and today they are relatively scarce.

This lot is located in Cincinnati.