Standard Catalog of Civil War Firearms. John F. Graf

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       U.S. MODEL 1842 MUSKET, PALMETTO ARMORY CONTRACT, .69 CALIBER, PAPER CARTRIDGE, PERCUSSION

      Manufactured by Palmetto Armory, Columbia, South Carolina, 1860-1861. Total production: at least 3,700.

      Overall length: 57-3/4". Weight: approximately 9 lbs. 3 oz.

      Muzzleloader, single shot.

      “PALMETTO ARMORY S*C” in a circle around a palmetto tree, on lock plate to front of hammer; “COLUMBIA / S.C. 1852” vertically on lock plate to rear of hammer; “V / P / [palmetto tree]” proof mark on barrel near breech; “SC” on tang of butt plate.

      In April 1851 the Palmetto Armory secured a contract with South Carolina to produce 6,000 copies of the U.S. Model 1842 Musket. The armory completed the contract by the end of 1853, on machinery purchased from Benjamin Flagg’s factory in Millbury, Massachusetts, that had previously been used to manufacture the A. H. Waters and B. Flagg versions of the U.S. Model 1842 Musket. The Palmetto Armory version was very similar to the standard U.S. model, with variations in some examples including brass barrel bands instead of iron and a bayonet stud on top of the barrel rather than the bottom. In February 1860, the State of South Carolina contracted the Palmetto Armory to add a fixed rear sight and rifle 3,700 of the Model 1842 muskets then at the Armory. The Armory completed the contract by August 1861. All of the rifled muskets are dated 1852.

       PRUSSIAN MODEL 1839/55 RIFLED MUSKET, .69TO .72 CALIBER, PAPER CARTRIDGE, PERCUSSION

      Made by government armories and several different private gun manufactories, ca. 1839-ca.1860. Total imported: Unknown, but at least 65,000.

      Overall length: 57".

      Muzzleloader, single shot.

      Lock plates stamped with the Prussian crown over place of manufacture such as “SUHL / S & C”, “Potsdam / GT”, “Zella”, or “Mehlis,” which is over the year of manufacture.

      Though originally designed as a smoothbore, manufacturers began to turn out rifled versions of the Model 1839 in 1855, hence the designation “Model 1839/55.” The barrel is fitted with a patent breech that accepts a screwed in cone. The U.S. Ordnance Department purchased 65,000 Prussian arms identified as “smooth bore.” There are no known records of Confederate purchases.

      At least two variants of the standard Model 1839/55 are known:

      Type I: Nearly identical to the standard Model 1839/55 except that it is fitted with a back-action lock. Type I rifled muskets vary in bore from .69" to .715". The union gun dealer, Herman Boker, imported 4,286 of this variant during the Civil War.

      Type II: This variant is early identical to the standard Model 1839/55 but measures only 55-1/2" overall and is chambered for a .615"-caliber ball. The Type II has a bayonet stud beneath the barrel in place of the retaining spring. Type II variants are fitted with a long range sight very similar to the type used on the British Pattern 1853 rifle-musket. U.S. importer John Hoey purchased 1,810 Prussian rifles, “caliber .615” on March 6, 1862.