EXTRAORDINARILY RARE CONFEDERATE ARKADELPHIA RIFLE.

EXTRAORDINARILY RARE CONFEDERATE ARKADELPHIA RIFLE. SN 5. Cal 577. 32-1/2″ bbl. This is without doubt the rarest Confederate production longarm to ever be sold. This is the only complete specimen of this gun known. We have been able to find a lockplate SN 8 in an Arkansas Museum mounted in a sporting rifle. An excavated lock is also known. John Murphy and Howard Madaus in their definitive text on Confederate longarms, Confederate Rifles and Muskets, state “Rifles were made in Arkadelphia, Arkansas for a short time, and then the equipment and workers moved to Tyler, Texas where the rare Tyler (Texas) ordinance works rifles were produced.” Murphy & Madaus did not know of this “find”. From the Spring 2003 Texas Gun Collector Magazine article which chronicles the “finding” of this rarity by Rick Steed and Jamie Deason: “The rifle is 47-3/4 inches overall with a barrel length of 32-1/2 inches, the first six inches, at the breech, are hex shaped. The sights contist of a simple V notch at the rear located seven inches forward of the tang, and a very simple wedge shaped blade .577 caliber with three lands and grooves. The lock is marked CS 1863/ARKADELPHIA,ARK (as seen in photo); the percussion hammer stamped 5 on the right side, and is affixed by two bolts that screw into the plate. To prevent the lock bolts from compressing the left side of the stock, each has an iron washer, with a single “wing” on the left side, between the bolt head and the stock. The barrel is secured in its channel by a crudely made “Enfield style” iron band that is marked 5 on top and a tang, which along with its screw, is also marked 6. The barrel is marked 5 on the top barrel flat. I suppose this, then, must be rifle serial No. 5. With the exception of one small brass plate at the base of the ramrod channel, all furniture is iron and crudely manufactured. There is no provision for a sling but the trigger guard has one hole (not visible in photograph) that could have supported a swivel. The nose cap is sheet iron. Possibly the strangest component of the rifle is the stock, which has no comb at all. It is very crude and shows several cracks and checks that seem to indicate the wood was not properly cured, probably the result of hurried manufacturing. A local collector has a copy of the record book from the arsenal that lists all workers including three slaves listed as carpenters; perhaps these men carved the stocks for the arsenal. Despite the overall crudeness of the stock it shoulders very well. There are two period repairs to the stock in front and behind the lock on the right side. In both cases small chips broke off and were reattached with small square nails. The history of arms production in Arkadelphia is one of necessity. After initial military setbacks in the Trans-Mississippi, most Arkansas Confederate troops and arms were sent east of the Mississippi. This move forced Trans-Mississippi Confederate authorities to operate almost entirely independently of Richmond. In an attempt to arm and equip an army, weapons, cartridges, percussion caps etc were manufactured in Arkadelphia Arkansas. Production figures and other records are not known at this time, so the exact number of weapons produced is not available. Although very little information exists regarding rifles produced in Arkadelphia, we do know that the advance of Federal forces to Little Rock Arkansas forced authorities to move machinery and personnel to Marshall and Tyler Texas. The records of the Tyler Ordnance Works are more complete and these show that the Tyler works repaired a number of Arkadelphia Rifles. These records help establish the connections between the Arkansas operations and those in Marshall and Tyler Texas.” For the person who wants the single rarest Confederate longarm ever sold, they will have to buy this one because another one is likely never to turn up. CONDITION: This gun is in “as found” condition. Metal is dark and brown/black. Markings are discernible and easy to read on lock, as are scattered serial numbers on other parts. Stock is sound, dark with scattered cracks, scratches, paint splatters. Trigger guard is missing one screw. Stock is missing one band. A brass ramrod pipe has been added to back of ramrod channel for probable continued use after the war. A 5″ x 1/4″ sliver of wood is missing from forestock from bolster forward. 8-76244 JS17 (55,000-75,000)

Auction: Firearms - Fall 2012

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	2077	$0.00	EXTRAORDINARILY RARE CONFEDERATE ARKADELPHIA RIFLE. SN 5. Cal 577. 32-1/2″ bbl. This is without doubt the rarest Confederate production longarm to ever be sold. This is the only complete specimen of this gun known. We have been able to find a lockplate SN 8 in an Arkansas Museum mounted in a sporting rifle. An excavated lock is also known. John Murphy and Howard Madaus in their definitive text on Confederate longarms, Confederate Rifles and Muskets, state “Rifles were made in Arkadelphia, Arkansas for a short time, and then the equipment and workers moved to Tyler, Texas where the rare Tyler (Texas) ordinance works rifles were produced.” Murphy & Madaus did not know of this “find”. From the Spring 2003 Texas Gun Collector Magazine article which chronicles the “finding” of this rarity by Rick Steed and Jamie Deason: “The rifle is 47-3/4 inches overall with a barrel length of 32-1/2 inches, the first six inches, at the breech, are hex shaped. The sights contist of a simple V notch at the rear located seven inches forward of the tang, and a very simple wedge shaped blade .577 caliber with three lands and grooves. The lock is marked CS 1863/ARKADELPHIA,ARK (as seen in photo); the percussion hammer stamped 5 on the right side, and is affixed by two bolts that screw into the plate. To prevent the lock bolts from compressing the left side of the stock, each has an iron washer, with a single “wing” on the left side, between the bolt head and the stock. The barrel is secured in its channel by a crudely made “Enfield style” iron band that is marked 5 on top and a tang, which along with its screw, is also marked 6. The barrel is marked 5 on the top barrel flat. I suppose this, then, must be rifle serial No. 5. With the exception of one small brass plate at the base of the ramrod channel, all furniture is iron and crudely manufactured. There is no provision for a sling but the trigger guard has one hole (not visible in photograph) that could have supported a swivel. The nose cap is sheet iron. Possibly the strangest component of the rifle is the stock, which has no comb at all. It is very crude and shows several cracks and checks that seem to indicate the wood was not properly cured, probably the result of hurried manufacturing. A local collector has a copy of the record book from the arsenal that lists all workers including three slaves listed as carpenters; perhaps these men carved the stocks for the arsenal. Despite the overall crudeness of the stock it shoulders very well. There are two period repairs to the stock in front and behind the lock on the right side. In both cases small chips broke off and were reattached with small square nails. The history of arms production in Arkadelphia is one of necessity. After initial military setbacks in the Trans-Mississippi, most Arkansas Confederate troops and arms were sent east of the Mississippi. This move forced Trans-Mississippi Confederate authorities to operate almost entirely independently of Richmond. In an attempt to arm and equip an army, weapons, cartridges, percussion caps etc were manufactured in Arkadelphia Arkansas. Production figures and other records are not known at this time, so the exact number of weapons produced is not available. Although very little information exists regarding rifles produced in Arkadelphia, we do know that the advance of Federal forces to Little Rock Arkansas forced authorities to move machinery and personnel to Marshall and Tyler Texas. The records of the Tyler Ordnance Works are more complete and these show that the Tyler works repaired a number of Arkadelphia Rifles. These records help establish the connections between the Arkansas operations and those in Marshall and Tyler Texas.” For the person who wants the single rarest Confederate longarm ever sold, they will have to buy this one because another one is likely never to turn up. CONDITION: This gun is in “as found” condition. Metal is dark and brown/black. Markings are discernible and easy to read on lock, as are scattered serial numbers on other parts. Stock is sound, dark with scattered cracks, scratches, paint splatters. Trigger guard is missing one screw. Stock is missing one band. A brass ramrod pipe has been added to back of ramrod channel for probable continued use after the war. A 5″ x 1/4″ sliver of wood is missing from forestock from bolster forward. 8-76244 JS17 (55,000-75,000) Auction: Firearms - Fall 2012 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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