I recently received some more material for my Civil War firear in the field information file fr my North Carolina correspondent and battlefield researcher Skip Riddle. Skip discovered a story the Worcester, Mass., Palladium newspaper of April 2, 1862, describing two weapons captured by Massachusetts troops from “the Rebels in North Carolina.” One firearm was described as a “breech loading rifle made at Harper’s Ferry in 1836.” The gun, obviously a Hall carbine, was accompanied by “a cartridge box nearly full of ball cartridg The second weapon, described as “taken at Newbern,” was “manufactured in Windsor Vt.,” which indicates that it was a Model 1841 “Mississippi” rifle made by Robbins, Kendall and Lawrence. The latter gun had “upon it the evidences of blood both above and below a space upon the breech where the hand of the bearer was manifestly upo it—showing that someone had either been wounded or killed.” Skip, an assiduous researcher, advised that he had discovered that one company of the 2nd North Carolina Cavalry carried
Halls during the Battle of Newbern. The regiment, originally
ed the 2nd N.C. Cav. prior to th battle. Two companies were dismounted and deployed to assist infantry units defending positio near the railroad. One of these was the company armed with Halls, and the other company was likely armed with Model 1841 rifles. It is probable, then, that captured arms, probably better described as “battlefield pickup were acquired by Union soldiers in the aftermath of the battle.
Several months ago, I discuss the N.J. Quartermaster General’s
manufacturers to arm the state’s newly organized “Rifle Corps”
of an email conversation on Civil War small arms with expert Kenneth Smith-Christmas and Bill Adams, my resident Enfield scholar, the subject of Fenian guns came up. The Fenians were the Irish American branch of the
Irish Republican Brotherhood. The end of the American Civil War led to a step up in both organizations’ activities, both in Ireland and in the United States, where the Fenians were recruiting Irish veterans of bo sides to launch an invasion of Canada, to “twist the lion’s ta and complement a rising in the homeland. The U.S. government, still angered at British suppor of the Confederacy during the conflict, looked the other way as the Irishmen planned their operation. One theory posits th Secretary of State Seward was actively supporting the Fenians behind the scenes.
The Irish needed arms, and there were plenty available in the wake of the war. The Fenian were able to openly buy quantities of Civil War surplus arms and ammunition, even though the government was aware of their probable plans, and the fact th politicians were also courting them for their votes added to t sense of empowerment.
Spencers, the Fenians purchased Bridesburg rifle muskets from Alfred and Barton H. Jenks, who had, at the outset of the Civil War, converted their cotton and wool manufacturing facility in the Bridesburg section of Philadelphia, Penn., into a rif musket factory, adding another factory building during the war
to become a major small arms contractor. At the close of the Civil War, Jenks had, Kenneth
noted, between four and five thousand rifle muskets in stock for repair. At least 700 of the
and probably more, had been rejected for service by Federal inspectors at least as assiduou as those at the N.J. state armo Kenneth added that “all of the
Fenian Bridesburg R-Ms and Fenian Bridesburg/Needham conversion rifles that I have seen, either in person or onlin are “parts” guns, or rebuilds, although some of them are in excellent shape. However, most of them, like all four of mine, made up of disparate mix-andmatch parts, or new parts and obviously well-used, and heavil pitted, parts.” Apparently the Fenians did not have the same quality of inspection that the or Federal governments had, and Jenks took the opportunity to g rid of what may be generously called “old stock.” Following the failure of their1866 invasion of Canada, the U.S. army confiscated the
Fenians’ muskets, but two years later returned them to the orga nization, allegedly “upon their giving bonds that no unlawful use should be made of them.” Apparently the Fenian leadershi decided that if they were conve ed into breechloaders, that bon would no longer apply. Kenneth’ mention of the Needham conversions refers to many returned
Works factory where the Trenton marked rifle muskets were assembled during the war. Here th guns were converted to breech loaders using the Needham method, ironically developed by a British inventor. Following the failure of the 1870 Fenian incursion into Canada, a newspaper described the conversions
as “altered into breech loaders in some cheap way, with a cast iron breech pin, which did not Joseph G. Bilby received his and MA degrees in history from Seton Hall University and serve
stand much firing.” Interestingly, P. J. Meehan, the editor of the New York Irish American newsas a lieutenant in the 1st Infa
sistant Curator of the New Jers paper, was a major stockholder National Guard and Militia Muin the Trenton company, which seum, a freelance writer and hi might have influenced the site of torical consultant and author o the conversion work. The cost of editor of 21 books and over 400
You can still find original Fe- 150 Committee edited the award nian marked pieces in both muz- winning New Jersey Goes to War. zle and breech loading versions His latest book, New Jersey: A on the collector market, and they Military History, was published are indeed unique historical sur- by Westholme Publishing in 2017 vivors of a forgotten episode He has received an award connected to the Civil War in for contributions to Monmouth American history. Fenian mark- County (NJ) history and an Awar ings vary, and include cartouches of Merit from the NJ Historical of a small shamrock and/or “IR” Commission for contributions or “IN” for “Irish Republic” or to the state’s military history “Irish Nation.” He can be contacted by email at
a Fenian Needham conversion is a stock split under the second barrel band, which facilitated the Digital Issues of CWN by
A Long and Bloody Task The Atlanta Campaign from Dalton through Kennesaw Mountain to the Chattahoochee River May 5–July 18, 1864
Davis’ narrative history of the Atlanta Campaign is divided into two paperbacks from Savas Beatie’s Emerging Civil War Series. Volume One, A Long and Bloody Task, carries Sherman’s
forces from Dalton in northwest Georgia to the Chattahoochee River. There the
relieve its army commander, Joseph E. Johnston, and replace him with Gen. John B. Hood. Paperback, 192 pages.
All the Fighting They Want The Atlanta Campaign from Peachtree Creek to the City’s Surrender July 18–September 2, 1864
With the Yankee army five miles outside of Atlanta, Hood promised not to give up with city without a fight— which is all President Jefferson Davi asked. Davis’ companion volume, All the Fighting They Want, describes Hood’s efforts to defend Atlanta. Its
mortal blow to Confederate hopes for independence and a big boost to Lincoln’s hopes for presidential reelection. Paperback, 192 pages.
To order a signed copy from author Stephen Davis