Civil War .69 Caliber Musket / SOLD

Civil War .69 Caliber Musket - Inventory Number: RIF 009

This large caliber rifled Belgian musket has excellent cartouches, inspector, and sub-inspector marks.  The musket is rifled and used the large size, .69 caliber minie balls.  The buttplate is iron and the ramrod is trumpet head shaped.   The musket has three bands secured by springs, the forward band serves as a sight, and there are two strap hooks affixed to the bands.  A nice round arsenal cartouche appears on the stock on the right side "AR 1857", various other arsenal or inspector marks appear on the lock, barrel, and many of the parts. The lockplate is marked, "S23" beneath a crown.  Nice honest example. 

The Piedmontese model 1844/60 was the percussion musket to be adopted by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. Although it retained an older form of a flint lockplate, the weapon was designed as a percussion musket. In 1860 the barrel was rifled with four grooves to use a Minie type projectile. These particular muskets were manufactured at the State Arsenal at Torino, Italy and in Liege, Belgium.

The weapons imported by the Federal government were produced in Liege by three firms. The arms manufactured by August Francotte Company bear the cypher on the lockplate, AF surmounted by A crown. There is also a circular cartouche located on the right side of the stock marked A. Francotte-Liege.

Essentially, this weapon is a copy of the French model 1822 Infantry Musket with two distinctive features, A small knob on the hammer spur and a rear sight screwed into the breech. In 1862 8,176 of this model were imported into the U.S at the cost of $11.51 per musket.

Inventory Number: RIF 009 / SOLD