Ridgeway Civil War Research Center, A virtual examination of artifacts of the American Civil War
	Civil War Weapons, all pre 1898
	by Harry Ridgeway

Rifled percussion musket, Model 1841, Whitney, 1848, Colt factory alteration 1861, .58cal. . The Model 1841 was the first rifled musket, it is a relatively heavy and short piece. It is often referred to as the Mississippi rifle, because of its use by Mississippi troops under command of Jefferson Davis during the Mexican War. Musket was designed as a single shot muzzleloader, manufactured from 1846 through 1855, originally designed to use the new elongated minie ball, .54cal. In 1861 the government contracted with Colt to convert the barrels to .58 cal which was done by boring out the thick barrel and installing new 6 groove rifling. Manufactured by Whitney Arms, New Haven, Connecticut. Marks: Lock is marked N HAVEN / 1848 behind the hammer, 'E. WHITNEY / US in front, never was an eagle on the lock. Barrel is marked US / [inspector] / VP and [date]. Barrel also marked STEEL, this is Colt mark. Cartouches in the wood on the left side indicate government inspection, additional inspector marks on various parts.Brass buttplate is marked US. Model features: Musket was designed as a single shot muzzleloader, brass buttplate, patchbox, and trigger guard, single brass band, brass nose cap serves as second band, strap hooks on trigger guard and nose cap, small fixed rear sight, ramrod is trumpet head with brass tip and threaded end. The barrel was thick and heavy and originally configured as .54 cal, in 1861 the government contracted with Colt to convert the barrels to .58 cal which was done by boring out the thick barrel and installing new 6 groove rifling. A new folding leaf rear sight was installed and the brass tip on the ramrod was replaced with steel. Research Center: Weapon1303-Musket-Model-1841-Whitney-1848 . Reference: Flayderman 5J-034, as altered 9A-284. Barrel length, 33in. Details click: http://relicman.com/weapons/Weapon1303-Musket-Model-1841-Whitney-1848.html

W0808 ### Rifled percussion musket, Model 1841, Whitney, 1848, Colt factory alteration 1861, .58cal. . The Model 1841 was the first rifled musket, it is a relatively heavy and short piece. It is often referred to as the Mississippi rifle, because of its use by Mississippi troops under command of Jefferson Davis during the Mexican War. Musket was designed as a single shot muzzleloader, manufactured from 1846 through 1855, originally designed to use the new elongated minie ball, .54cal. In 1861 the government contracted with Colt to convert the barrels to .58 cal which was done by boring out the thick barrel and installing new 6 groove rifling. Manufactured by Whitney Arms, New Haven, Connecticut. Marks: Lock is marked N HAVEN / 1848 behind the hammer, 'E. WHITNEY / US in front, never was an eagle on the lock. Barrel is marked US / [inspector] / VP and [date]. Barrel also marked STEEL, this is Colt mark. Cartouches in the wood on the left side indicate government inspection, additional inspector marks on various parts.Brass buttplate is marked US. Model features: Musket was designed as a single shot muzzleloader, brass buttplate, patchbox, and trigger guard, single brass band, brass nose cap serves as second band, strap hooks on trigger guard and nose cap, small fixed rear sight, ramrod is trumpet head with brass tip and threaded end. The barrel was thick and heavy and originally configured as .54 cal, in 1861 the government contracted with Colt to convert the barrels to .58 cal which was done by boring out the thick barrel and installing new 6 groove rifling. A new folding leaf rear sight was installed and the brass tip on the ramrod was replaced with steel. Research Center: Weapon1303-Musket-Model-1841-Whitney-1848 . Reference: Flayderman 5J-034, as altered 9A-284. Barrel length, 33in.

This is the "Ridgeway Civil War Research Center", a research tool for educational purposes only, and is provided at no cost to the reader. Some of the relics listed are retained in the author's collection, most reside in other collections and are not owned by the author. None of the items listed in this section are for sale, please refer to relicman.com sales listings for items offered for sale. This is a work in progress, I list items as I get to them, there are many patterns that are not listed yet, this list will be regularly updated as I get pictures and descriptions for more items. I will also correct mistakes, so if you see any please tell me. All items listed are believed to be authentic to the Civil War or as otherwise described. Any excavated relics have been recovered from private property with owners permission.This information is available for research purposes, pictures may be used by permission only.

All weapons listed on this webpage are strictly manufactured before 1898, and are considered unsafe for actual use. These are antique collectible weapons of the Civil War (most are pre 1865, unless I state otherwise) and actual firing of these weapons is not recommended for any purpose whatsoever! Because these are all "pre 1898" weapons, no licenses are required for ownership, but common sense and good judgment should be applied.

Most information on this page is from:
Flayderman's Guide to Antique American Firearms......
John Thillman series, "Civil War Cavalry & Artillery Sabers...", or "Civil War Army Swords....".

Ridgeway Civil War Research Center, A virtual examination of artifacts of the American Civil War Weapons Research center, weapons, click: http://relicman.com/weapons/Weapon0000-Index.html. Research center, weapons, click: http://relicman.com/weapons/Weapon0000-Index.html.

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Civil War Relicman, Harry Ridgeway, Civil War weapons, Relicman sales catalog. Sale listings click: http://relicman.com/weapons/Relicman-Sales-Weapon0000.html. Sale listings click: http://relicman.com/weapons/Relicman-Sales-Weapon0000.html.