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

Breechloader, Spencer seven shot rimfire carbine, Model 1865, 56/52 cartridge, cavalry model fitted with saddle riding bar, .52cal. . Spencer Model 1865 carbine was manufactured by Burnside Rifle company, Providence Rhode Island. Approximately 34,000 were produced, serial numbers ran from 1 to 34000. The straight cartridge used for the Model 1860 carbine was replaced with a new tapered cartrige, referred to as 56 /52 or 56 /50, the actual bullet was either .52cal or .50cal. Burnside introduced 3 groove rifling, otherwise most of the Spencer design details were followed. Spencer Model 1865 was manufactured by Burnside Rifle company, Providence Rhode Island. Mark on top of frame: SPENCER REPEATING RIFLE / PAT'D MARCH 6, 1860 / MANUF'D AT PROV.R.I. / BY BURNSIDE RIFLE CO. Additional vertical stamping MODEL / 1865. . Serial number on rear of frame. Cartouches on the left side on the butt are typically weak, additional inspector marks on the receiver, and barrel. The Model 1865 featured a shorter barrel, 20 inches, versus 22 inches. In addition the smooth thumbstall on the magazine was replaced with a ridged thumbstall, and the hammer was redesinged with a bevel to narrow the striking surface. Most were fitted with the Stabler cutoff, which effectively converted the repeater back to single shot, this slowed the shooting but reduced jams. Research Center: Weapon2455-Breechloader-Spencer-Carbine-Model-1865 . Reference: Flayderman 9B-089. Barrel length, 20in. Details click: http://relicman.com/weapons/Weapon2455-Breechloader-Spencer-Carbine-Model-1865.html

W1438 ### Breechloader, Spencer seven shot rimfire carbine, Model 1865, 56/52 cartridge, cavalry model fitted with saddle riding bar, .52cal. (sn# 16738) . Spencer Model 1865 carbine was manufactured by Burnside Rifle company, Providence Rhode Island. Approximately 34,000 were produced, serial numbers ran from 1 to 34000. The straight cartridge used for the Model 1860 carbine was replaced with a new tapered cartrige, referred to as 56 /52 or 56 /50, the actual bullet was either .52cal or .50cal. Burnside introduced 3 groove rifling, otherwise most of the Spencer design details were followed. Spencer Model 1865 was manufactured by Burnside Rifle company, Providence Rhode Island. Mark on top of frame: SPENCER REPEATING RIFLE / PAT'D MARCH 6, 1860 / MANUF'D AT PROV.R.I. / BY BURNSIDE RIFLE CO. Additional vertical stamping MODEL / 1865. . Serial number on rear of frame. Cartouches on the left side on the butt are typically weak, additional inspector marks on the receiver, and barrel. The Model 1865 featured a shorter barrel, 20 inches, versus 22 inches. In addition the smooth thumbstall on the magazine was replaced with a ridged thumbstall, and the hammer was redesinged with a bevel to narrow the striking surface. Most were fitted with the Stabler cutoff, which effectively converted the repeater back to single shot, this slowed the shooting but reduced jams. Research Center: Weapon2455-Breechloader-Spencer-Carbine-Model-1865 . Reference: Flayderman 9B-089. Barrel length, 20in. Serial number, 16738.

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.