1854 Springfield Musket ?? is there any such thing?

[davpet]

guys,
a buddy of mine told me he picked up a Springfield 1854 Musket locally (an old attic find) and can't find any information about it. Is there any such musket with that year as a model number? He paid $400 for it.

thanks,

Dave

[Matt Wolff]

theres the m1842, m1855, m1861 and m1863. Maybe a 1842 with a 1854 barrel/lock date??

[davpet]

matt,
how would I be able to tell my buddy what to look for to see if it was a swapped out barrel/lock w/ an 1854 date?? Any other places to look on the weapon to determine its original configuration??

thanks,

Dave

[Matt Wolff]

well the 42, 55 and 61 have distinct shapes. can you get a photo of the rifle and post it? right from then can tell by looking at it what it is.

[threepdr]

It could be either a Model 1842 smoothbore musket in .69 caliber, or a model 1841 (aka Mississippi) rifle. Either one could have an 1854 dated lock or barrel. Have him check the other markings on the lockplate. Springfield made the Model 1842 musket, but made no M1841 rifles. Harpers Ferry made none of the muskets, but made the M1841 rifles. There were also several contractors who made the M1841 rifle including Remington and Whitney.

Hope this helps

[Teleoceras]

Threepdr:

It could be either a Model 1842 smoothbore musket in .69 caliber, or a model 1841 (aka Mississippi) rifle. Either one could have an 1854 dated lock or barrel. Have him check the other markings on the lockplate. Springfield made the Model 1842 musket, but made no M1841 rifles. Harpers Ferry made none of the muskets, but made the M1841 rifles. There were also several contractors who made the M1841 rifle including Remington and Whitney.

Hope this helps

I need to correct you, the armories at Harpers Ferry and Springfield both made the M1842 Musket.

You can check out both models in the book The Southern Arsenal by Daniel D. Hartzel and James B. Whisker.

[threepdr]

telecoroas,

You are quite right. A brain f__t on my part. It is the Model 1840 that Harper's Ferry never put into production.