EXTRAORDINARILY RARE SMITH CIVIL WAR CARBINE USED BY DR. HENRY M. WHEELER IN NORTHFIELD, MINNESOTA DURING THE JAMES-YOUNGER BANK HOLDUP IN SEPTEMBER 1876.

Revised: 3/9/2011

Correction: We have recently been contacted by another party also purporting to own the original carbine used to kill Clell Miller. Because of this conflicting documentation, we cannot and will not guarantee that our Smith carbine was or was not the actual gun used to kill Miller.

EXTRAORDINARILY RARE SMITH CIVIL WAR CARBINE USED BY DR. HENRY M. WHEELER IN NORTHFIELD, MINNESOTA DURING THE JAMES-YOUNGER BANK HOLDUP IN SEPTEMBER 1876. SN 21020. Cal. 52. Standard Civil War issue Smith carbine with 21-1/2″ oct to rnd bbl, half nickel front sight and short, carbine ladder rear sight. Mounted with uncheckered straight grain American walnut with rnd forearm and sgl band with straight stock & carbine buttplate. Left side of stock has two crisp cartouches. Receiver has usual markings of Mass. Arms and Poultney & Trimble with Smith’s Patent all on the left side. Left side of the receiver is missing the sling bar & ring and it is also missing the hammer screw. This carbine is documented as having been reportedly owned by a Dr. Dampier of Crookston, MN, whose father had reportedly carried this carbine throughout the Civil War. Dr. Dampier was given the carbine by his father and was apparently keeping it in his hotel in Northfield, MN, when on Sept. 7, 1876 the James-Younger Gang staged the attempted robbery of the First National Bank of Northfield. At the time of the robbery a young medical student named Henry Mason Wheeler was visiting in Northfield and happened to be in the vicinity of the bank when the shooting started. The gang had botched the robbery apparently because some members of the gang inside the bank had been drinking and hadn’t waited for the rest of the gang to position themselves as had been planned. They killed the teller which alerted the townsfolk who organized and began shooting at the robbers as they exited the bank. Mr. Wheeler dashed into the hotel across the street looking for a firearm and found this Smith carbine with only 2 or 3-rds of ammunition. He raced upstairs and out onto a balcony where he shot Clell Miller dead and wounded Bob Younger in the elbow. The carbine was apparently returned to Dr. Dampier’s possession and when he set up practice in Crookston, MN, took the carbine with him. On Aug. 10, 1898, according to an article in the Crookston Weekly Times, Dr. Dampier was visited by Dr. Wheeler and the carbine was loaned to Dr. Wheeler who took it back to his medical office in Grand Forks, ND where it was displayed. Dr. Wheeler subsequently gave this carbine to Attorney Frank B. Feetham in about 1915 for legal services or simply as a gift. Dr. Wheeler and Atty. Feetham both lived on the same block in Grand Forks for nearly 40 years, were both Masons, avid gun collectors, shooters, hunters and outdoorsmen and were close friends. Atty. Feetham was the City Attorney during part of this time and Dr. Wheeler was a City Alderman and later Mayor. Both were very active and involved in the early development of Grand Forks. Frank B. Feetham had one son, Laurence R. Feetham, who was born in 1892, grew up in Grand Forks, graduated from the Univ. of ND Law School and was admitted to the ND Bar on June 22, 1914. Laurence Feetham recalled Dr. Wheeler giving this carbine to his father and relating the story of the Northfield Bank Robbery. Larry C. Feetham, son of Laurence Feetham, also stated that this carbine was part of a barter transaction for Frank B. Feetham’s legal services. Laurence Feetham was a first person witness to the barter transaction, which he apparently related to his son, Larry Feetham. This is a storied and immensely historic carbine that, in the hands of young Dr. Wheeler perhaps changed the outcome of the James-Younger botched bank robbery in Northfield, MN. The fact that Dr. Wheeler was in Northfield at the time of the robbery and used a Smith carbine is indisputable, then backed up with the newspaper article of August 1898 where Dr. Dampier is turning over possession of this Smith carbine to Dr. Wheeler is also indisputable. All of the compiled evidence can leave no other conclusion than this carbine is the actual Smith carbine used by young Dr. Wheeler to kill Clell Miller and disable Bob Younger during the Northfield, MN bank robbery. CONDITION: Fine to very fine, all matching. Bbl retains about 95% strong orig factory blue with the fire blued top latch moderately rusted. Receiver retains 75-80% faded case colors, stronger in sheltered areas on right side. Wood is sound with a few minor nicks & scratches and retains most of its orig oil finish with crisp cartouches. Hammer spring is apparently broken, otherwise mechanics are fine, strong bright bore with moderate pitting. Wear & fading patterns on the left side of the receiver are consistent with the sling bar having been removed a long time ago. 4-42039 JR280 (10,000-50,000)

Auction: Firearms - Spring 2011

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
	2319A	$0.00	Revised: 3/9/2011 Correction: We have recently been contacted by another party also purporting to own the original carbine used to kill Clell Miller. Because of this conflicting documentation, we cannot and will not guarantee that our Smith carbine was or was not the actual gun used to kill Miller. EXTRAORDINARILY RARE SMITH CIVIL WAR CARBINE USED BY DR. HENRY M. WHEELER IN NORTHFIELD, MINNESOTA DURING THE JAMES-YOUNGER BANK HOLDUP IN SEPTEMBER 1876. SN 21020. Cal. 52. Standard Civil War issue Smith carbine with 21-1/2″ oct to rnd bbl, half nickel front sight and short, carbine ladder rear sight. Mounted with uncheckered straight grain American walnut with rnd forearm and sgl band with straight stock & carbine buttplate. Left side of stock has two crisp cartouches. Receiver has usual markings of Mass. Arms and Poultney & Trimble with Smith’s Patent all on the left side. Left side of the receiver is missing the sling bar & ring and it is also missing the hammer screw. This carbine is documented as having been reportedly owned by a Dr. Dampier of Crookston, MN, whose father had reportedly carried this carbine throughout the Civil War. Dr. Dampier was given the carbine by his father and was apparently keeping it in his hotel in Northfield, MN, when on Sept. 7, 1876 the James-Younger Gang staged the attempted robbery of the First National Bank of Northfield. At the time of the robbery a young medical student named Henry Mason Wheeler was visiting in Northfield and happened to be in the vicinity of the bank when the shooting started. The gang had botched the robbery apparently because some members of the gang inside the bank had been drinking and hadn’t waited for the rest of the gang to position themselves as had been planned. They killed the teller which alerted the townsfolk who organized and began shooting at the robbers as they exited the bank. Mr. Wheeler dashed into the hotel across the street looking for a firearm and found this Smith carbine with only 2 or 3-rds of ammunition. He raced upstairs and out onto a balcony where he shot Clell Miller dead and wounded Bob Younger in the elbow. The carbine was apparently returned to Dr. Dampier’s possession and when he set up practice in Crookston, MN, took the carbine with him. On Aug. 10, 1898, according to an article in the Crookston Weekly Times, Dr. Dampier was visited by Dr. Wheeler and the carbine was loaned to Dr. Wheeler who took it back to his medical office in Grand Forks, ND where it was displayed. Dr. Wheeler subsequently gave this carbine to Attorney Frank B. Feetham in about 1915 for legal services or simply as a gift. Dr. Wheeler and Atty. Feetham both lived on the same block in Grand Forks for nearly 40 years, were both Masons, avid gun collectors, shooters, hunters and outdoorsmen and were close friends. Atty. Feetham was the City Attorney during part of this time and Dr. Wheeler was a City Alderman and later Mayor. Both were very active and involved in the early development of Grand Forks. Frank B. Feetham had one son, Laurence R. Feetham, who was born in 1892, grew up in Grand Forks, graduated from the Univ. of ND Law School and was admitted to the ND Bar on June 22, 1914. Laurence Feetham recalled Dr. Wheeler giving this carbine to his father and relating the story of the Northfield Bank Robbery. Larry C. Feetham, son of Laurence Feetham, also stated that this carbine was part of a barter transaction for Frank B. Feetham’s legal services. Laurence Feetham was a first person witness to the barter transaction, which he apparently related to his son, Larry Feetham. This is a storied and immensely historic carbine that, in the hands of young Dr. Wheeler perhaps changed the outcome of the James-Younger botched bank robbery in Northfield, MN. The fact that Dr. Wheeler was in Northfield at the time of the robbery and used a Smith carbine is indisputable, then backed up with the newspaper article of August 1898 where Dr. Dampier is turning over possession of this Smith carbine to Dr. Wheeler is also indisputable. All of the compiled evidence can leave no other conclusion than this carbine is the actual Smith carbine used by young Dr. Wheeler to kill Clell Miller and disable Bob Younger during the Northfield, MN bank robbery. CONDITION: Fine to very fine, all matching. Bbl retains about 95% strong orig factory blue with the fire blued top latch moderately rusted. Receiver retains 75-80% faded case colors, stronger in sheltered areas on right side. Wood is sound with a few minor nicks & scratches and retains most of its orig oil finish with crisp cartouches. Hammer spring is apparently broken, otherwise mechanics are fine, strong bright bore with moderate pitting. Wear & fading patterns on the left side of the receiver are consistent with the sling bar having been removed a long time ago. 4-42039 JR280 (10,000-50,000) Auction: Firearms - Spring 2011 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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