.58 caliber. 33" round barrel secured by two flat brass spring-retained clamping bands. NSN. Browned barrel, color casehardened lock, brass furniture, smooth walnut stock. Muzzleloading percussion rifle. Lock marked ROBBINS / & / LAWRENCE / US in four horizontal lines under the bolster and in two vertical lines at the tail WINDSOR, VT / 1850. Breech plug tang dated 1850 as well with the upper left quadrant of the breech stamped with U.S. / L.B.C. / P inspections and the counterpane of the stock, opposite the lock, is stamped with two crisp script cartouches, the SK of arsenal sub-inspector Samuel Knous and the WAT of Ordnance Officer William Anderson Thornton. Saber bayonet adapter ring numbered 909 with the bottom of the barrel numbered to match. Rifle retains the original brass blade front sight, the Colt added rear sight, both sling swivels and an original full-length trumpet-head brass tipped ramrod with good threads. This rifle is one of the 10,411 purchased by Colt from the US Ordnance Department in 1861 for $10 each and which he subsequently resold to them for $18.50 each. The "alterations" that Colt performed were to rebore the rifles to .58 from their original .54 caliber configuration, and although he had offered to re-rifle them, few extant examples show the 3-groove rifling that Colt would have used, but rather nearly all retain the original 7-groove rifling from their .54 caliber round ball original manufacture. Colt also equipped the guns with three-leaf sight that was used on his Model 1855 Revolving Carbines and added a muzzle ring with bayonet lug to accept a brass handled saber bayonet. The rings and the bottoms of the barrels were both numbered to match when the alterations took place. These rifles were issued to a variety of US military units during the early days of the American Civil War and while they survive in reasonably good numbers for collectors to acquire today, rarely do they appear for sale in such fine condition.

Fine. Retains much of the browned finish on the barrel which has dulled, faded and worn, with the bright lacquer brown under the barrel bands indicating how beautifully these guns were finished when they were new. Lock and hammer with much of the vibrant case color, showing some fading and dulling. barrel band springs and screws all retains at least traces of their original blue. All markings remain clear and crisp. Mechanically functional, fine bore with 7-groove rifling and mostly bright with some oxidation and very light pitting. Stock crisp and sharp with some nicks and wear at the obverse wrist from being hung on hooks on a wall. Otherwise the stock shows only scattered bumps, dings and mars. A very fine condition example of a desirable Civil War altered Mississippi Rifle.