Exceptional USA Civil War Sharps Carbine.

This rare and excellent USA Civil War carbine is the US M1862 Navy Carbine as manufactured by the firm of Sharps & Hankins of Philadelphia was one of the more interesting and unique arms to see service with the US Navy. Between 1862 and 1865 about 8,000 of these breech-loading carbines were produced. The carbines were produced in .52 rimfire and had a unique sliding breech system for loading and unloading the gun. The gun also incorporated several “firsts’ in US military firearms design. The most important of which was that it incorporated a separate firing pin within the receiver, instead of it being mounted on the face of the hammer. This modification was adopted after the initial deliveries in 1862 of Sharps & Hankins naval rifles and carbines. The Sharps & Hankins was also the first US military used weapon to include a hammer safety mechanism that prevented the hammer from contacting the face of the firing pin. The final ground-breaking feature was the use of a spring-loaded extractor that automatically removed the spent cartridges from the breech when the carbine was opened. The gun was covered by no less than four separate US patents, three of which were unique to the patent application for the carbine. The carbine had a 24” barrel and was rifled with 6 grooves. One of the other odder features was the use of a leather shroud around the barrel, which was intended to help protect the barrel of the carbine from deterioration due to the salty and highly corrosive environment in which naval small arms saw use. The idea did not work particularly well, and appears to have encouraged, rather discouraged the degradation of the metal barrel. Today, these leather covers are often found in very rough condition (or entirely missing) from many of the surviving examples. Of the 8,000 “Naval” pattern carbines produced, the Navy purchased 6,686. The guns saw extensive use during the American Civil War, in many cases with the Brown Water Navy, which were the gunboats that worked to support the infantry on the river ways of the south, especially in the Western theatre of operations. The carbines were issued to many US Navy vessels, seeing service in the small-arms inventory of no less than forty-eight boats and ships.

Overall, this is a really nice looking and 100% complete example of a relatively rare US Navy carbine. The gun is in much better condition than they are usually encountered in, with a fine leather barrel shroud, good markings, and a nice action. This is one of those fewer common carbines that is missing from many Civil War carbine and long arm collection and would be a nice addition to any Civil War naval display.
An investment quality Civil Ware artefact that would be difficult to improve on.

Code: 50674