The Pinfire Revolver

The pinfire revolver is a weapon developed in Europe in the early to mid 19th century.   As the name suggests, the weapon utilizes a brass cartridge using a protruding pin as a firing mechanism.   When loaded,  the firing pin extended  out of the top of the cylinder.  Upon squeezing the trigger, the hammer falls forward and down to strike the firing pin.  Pinfires were made in a variety of sizes and configurations.   Some appeared fit for military or police use,  others for use by 19th century thugs and petty thieves.

Pinfires were imported by both the North and the South during the U.S. Civil War, many being privately purchased by officers and enlisted alike.   However, the pinfire pictured above is a post Civil War example.  While manufactured after the Civil War, this pistol strongly resembles its earlier cousins.  It is an 8mm revolver with a 4 inch barrel and may be fired by double action (squeezing the trigger advances the clyinder, cocks the hammer and releases it) or single action (depressing the spur on the hammer with the thumb advances the cylinder and cocks the hammer, squeezing the trigger releases the hammer).  The cylinder is marked "The Guardian Model of 1878."   It has a lanyard ring which indicates  military or police use was intended.  However, this common pistol could have been used  by anyone.

This pistol is currently in my collection.

An 18th Century British Short Sabre

The short sabre is an 18th century infantry officer's weapon which has a  blade typically measuring in the two foot range.   Blades are usually slightly curved, but some are found with a straight blade.  The guards range from plain and utilitarian to extravagant.    Grips are of a variety of materials -- polished wood, shagreen (fish skin), bone, ivory, etc.

This sword is of British origin.  The blade is marked "Harvey" indicating its manufacture by a well known 18th  century maker located in Birmingham, England.   The steel guard is of a four slot type, meaning that there are four, segmented openings in it.  The pommel (the butt of the sword) is urn shaped and gadrooned (refering to the grooves cut into the metal).  The branches of the guard are flamboyant (wavy pattern).  The grip is bone and bears two strands to twisted copper wire bordering a strip of copper tape.    This sword is elegant, but certainly made for field use.   It had a leather scabbard with metal hardward matching the metal of the hilt, but it is long gone.  Most likely the sword was carried by an over the shoulder leather belt.

While there is no provenance for this sword indicating any particular use,  it is typical of the type that were carried by British (or American) officers during the era of the American Revolution.    French and Hessian officers carried swords that are distinctly different.   At this time, there was no "official" sword pattern for British officers.  The regulations called for an officer to carry a sword fit for use with the metal fittings matching the color of the uniform lace.   That is, silver lace meant a steel hilted sword. Gold lace meant a brass or gilded brass hilted sword.   The regiment's colonel decided upon the sword, but I have a feeling that in active service a wide variety of swords  were carried.

I purchased this sword  directly from a dealer in England.  It is no longer in my collection and I  regret having parted with it.

The Burnside Carbine

General Ambrose Burnside is famous for a few things.  Fruitless charges against fortified positions at Fredricksburg in December of 1862, being stymied by a smaller Confederate unit while trying to cross a creek for a good portion of the day at Antietam earlier in 1862 and for his long whiskers that traveled down his face from his ears joining up under is nose -- sideburns.   Prior to the war, he was an officer in the Burnside Rifle Company of Providence, Rhode Island.  That company developed the .54 calibre Burnside carbine. 

A carbine is a short rifle intended to be used by mounted soldiers.    As such, it needed to be loaded from horseback, a difficult proposition when armed with a full length musket measuring nearly 5 feet.   Early percussion carbines were shortened muskets.  The soldier still had to load the charge at the muzzle, seat the projectile in the barrel, remove the ramrod, ram the charge and projectile, return the ramrod, prime the weapon by placing a percussion cap on the cone and full cock the weapon before he could fire.  The whole time he is balancing himself on the back of a horse amidst the din of battle.  It didn't take long for  firearms inventors to devise a way to shorten the process and make more rapid firing possible.   Hence, the breach loading carbine.

The Burnside is not the first breach loading carbine.  It is, however, the third most issued carbine in the Civil War behind the Sharps and the Spencer.  It fired a unique cone shaped, metallic cased round and was produced in five models dating back to 1857.  The most common model of the Burnside carbine required the soldier to half cock the weapon's hammer, release the breach by operation of a lever inside the trigger guard (which causes the breach to drop  back and down away from the barrel), insert a round, close the breach, prime, full cock and fire.

Union forces were the primary users of the Burnside.  While the Confederates  captured many a Burnside, it was not a popular arm in the South.  This is most likely because of the Burnsides' specialized round.   As the Burnside round is flared at the projectile (forming a gas seal at the barrel), firing the carbine by loading loose powder in the breach and inserting a round in the barrel didn't work so well.  Too much gas escaped from the improperly sealed breach to be effective.  Thus, the poor Southern trooper who was supplied with a Burnside carbine would have to rely on captured ammunition or wait to pick up or be issued a more universal weapon such as the Sharps or Maynard.

While the Burnside proved a reliable service weapon, it did have its faults.   Earlier models had a breach that fully dropped down and was somewhat difficult to load and quickly return.   Those issues were corrected by a double hinged mechanism that resulted in the above described action. Also, late 3rd and early 4th model Burnsides saw the implementation of a guide screw added to the right side of the receiver and a channel cut on the right side if the breach. This feature ensured that the brea h would easily and quickly return to firing position.   One design flaw that proved a nuisance is the lack of an ejector mechanism to remove spent cartridges from the breach.  Consequently, the soldier had to remove the cartridge by hand.

The carbine pictured above is mine.  It bears serial number 2833 and is a transitional 3rd/4th model.   It has the earlier style hammer, but the double-hinged breach drop mechanism and the guide screw.  

What exactly am I talking about?

A bit of history.  Okay, kinda lame, but its what I thought about a few weeks ago when I started posting pictures and information on Facebook about what I like to do -- collect militaria.  I'm a lawyer by trade.   I've been practicing for nearly 20 years.   I've been collecting militaria for nearly 30 years. I like the militaria better.   Over my years of collecting, I've had swords, firearms, uniforms, headgear, badges and accoutrements from several nations.  The items I have owned ranged in date from 1680 to 1945.   It has been a pleasure to own and study them. Unlike most collectors, I do not keep a large number of items in my collection.  I have typically collected in one historical era and moved to the next.  Currently, my area of interest in the U.S. Civil War.   Is about my third or fourth time to cycle through this period.  However,  I can say that the 18th and 19th centuries (including the U.S.Civil War) and  the WWII era catch my interest.

What I plan to do with this blog  is to discuss one item per post.   Some will be from my collection (current or past) and some will not.   The discuss will center around what the item is, its origins,intended purpose, design features and, if possible,  what the item may have seen.   You see, that is what really interests me -- what this sword or firearm might have seen and who could have used it.   Some collectors like the pristine.  Not me.  I like a firearm or edged weapon that wasn't crated up.  The more dings and wear the better.  To me, the more story there is to tell.

Anyway, that's the plan.