Carbine
Object number94.51.523
Retailer
Burnside Rifle Company
Manufacturer
Spencer Repeating Arms Company
Date1865
MediumFerrous metals; Wood stock; Varnish?
Credit LineTransfer from Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Gift of Albert Bissell
DescriptionWood and metal carbine version of a breech-loading Spencer Repeating Rifle.
Dimensions3 x 5.5 x 36.9999 in. (7.6 x 14 x 94 cm)MarksMarks: "serial # 12241"
Marked at breech: "Model 186(5) Spencer repeating Rifle Pat'd March 6, 1860 Manuf'd at Provindence R.I. by (Burnside Rifle) Co."
Historical NotesTransfer from CMNH; donated to CMNH by Albert Bissell; the carbine version of the Spencer repeater was typically a cavalry weapon during the Civil War. It was not accepted for purchase by the U.S. Government until 1863. The gun used a rim-fire metallic cartridge, seven of which could be loaded into the magazine located in the shoulder stock; this gun was part of an 1865 contract with Burnside Rifle Co. to produce Spencers for the Government;Label TextUnion cavalrymen outgunned their Confederate adversaries using short-barreled, breech-loading Spencer repeaters. Patented in 1860, the lever-action Spencer carbine allowed a cavalryman to fire seven shots from a tubular magazine before stopping to reload.
Related institution
United States Army
Terms
On View
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