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<p><b>Photographs throughout Ad:</b></p><p><b>
<font size=3D"+1"><font color=3D"black">Offered for auction from a recent estate sale = in New Hampshire is the following an Original </font><font color=3D"brown"><font size=3D"+2"></font>= ;</font></font></b></p><p><b><b>&= lt;font size=3D"+1"><font color=3D"brown"><font size=3D"+2">U. S. MODEL 1865 SPENCER INDIAN WAR CARBINE - BURN= SIDE RIFLE CO. PROV. R.I.</font></font></font></b></b></p>&l= t;p><b><b><font size=3D"+1"><font color=3D"brown"><font color=3D"black"></font><font size=3D"+1"></font><font color=3D"black">= ;It is being offered as I received it from an estate sale. </font></font></font></b></b></p><p&= gt;<b><b><font size=3D"+1"><font color=3D"brown"><font color=3D"black">
</font></font></font></b></= b></p><center><b><b><font size=3D"+1"><font color=3D"brown"><font color=3D"black"><img src=3D></font></font></font><= /b></b></center><b><b><font size=3D"+1"><font color=3D"brown"><font color=3D"black">
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b></p><p><b><b><font
size=3D"+1"><font color=3D"brown"><font
color=3D"black">Below a brief summa=
ry of
the Model 1860 and Model 1865 Spencer Carbine as offered for auction.
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gt;<b><b><font
size=3D"+1"><font color=3D"brown"><font
color=3D"black">This is an exceptional example of a U. S. Cont=
ract
Model 1865 Spencer Carbine, manufactured by the Burnside Rifle Co. Providen=
ce,
Rhode Island. These carbines =
were
issued to U. S. Cavalry regiments on the frontier and saw extensive service
until they were replaced by the Model 1873 Springfield Trapdoor Carbine to =
save
money on cost of cartridges due to the Spencer being able to shoot without
reloading 7 rounds and the Springfield Trapdoor 1 shot before reloading.<p>To eliminate the possible waist of ammunitio=
n the
Model 1865 was equipped with the Stabler Cut of=
f as
installed on this Spencer. The
carbine has a folding leaf rear sight with spring to hold sight in place wi=
th
900 yard center sight notch. =
The
sling bar, ring and sling swivel on stock are present as photos
show.<p>The Spencer Metal finish on the Carbine Barrel, Breech, sight=
and
barrel band etc have a good portion of the blueing remaining
as photos shows. There is fading of the bluing with old age patina turning a
brownish appearance as photos also show. I have taken photos in the direct
sunlight and indoors to shows differences. I had a customer one time at the=
Big
E (Gun Show) in
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The Magazine tube is i=
n very
good condition as photos show. The stock is of American Walnut as photos sh=
ow,
no cracks in stock but does have old age nicks and dings including a couple=
of
recent handling nicks which show up as a light spot on the stock. Under the Ordnance Sup-inspection =
mark
“J.L.C” stamped on the left side of the barrel flat just ahead =
of
the receiver a small piece of the forearm about ¼ x 1/8 inches has
chipped of as photos also show.<p>The top =
of the
received is marked “MODEL 1865” followed by SPENCER REPEATING R=
IFLE
CO. - Pat D March 6, 1860 - Manuf’d at Pr=
ov.
R.I. - by Burnside Rifle Co. =
The
serial number of “15,581” is stamped on the top of the
received. Two script Ordnance
inspection marks are stamped on the left side of the stock behind the sling=
bar
mount as photos show. Single =
letter
Ordnance sub-inspection marks are stamped on most major components. The barrel length is “20R=
21;
inches. Rifling excellent as photo shows. <p&=
gt;The
Model 1865 Spencer Carbine appears to be all original and functional. It does not appear to be sanded or
refinished in anyway. I belie=
ve
original condition. A few dings from use in wood present as mentioned above,
some blueing fading or worn and faded to a brow=
nish
patina color.<p>
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This is an excellent example of an important U.S. Cava=
lry
carbine that saw extensive use on the post-Civil War frontier. <p>Bel=
ow
in depth description of the Spencer M1860 and M1865 as offered for auction =
and
a disclaimer to be signed an returned with payment as noted.<p>This item is pre 1898 antique and ma=
y be
shipped to your address. I require a document signed with a photo of driver=
s license. The doc=
ument
states that you are over 18 years of age, not a felon, that you are allowed=
to
own this firearm in you local. Sold as a collectors item only,
before shooting must be taken to a gunsmith for review and that I as seller=
are
not responsible for the end use of this firearm.<p>I accept personal
check, bank check and money orders.
I will hold personal check 10 days prior to shipping. I will ship Priority Mail insured =
at
$59.95.<p>
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Below additional information on the Spencer Model 1860 (Civil War) and the Model 1865 (Indian War Period) Spencer as offered for auction.<p>
The Spencer 1860 was an American lever action rifle.
Designed by Christopher Spencer, the Spencer was the world's first military
repeating rifle, with over 200,000 examples of the Spencer produced in the =
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At first, the view by the Department of War Ordnance Department was =
that
soldiers would waste ammunition by firing too rapidly with repeating rifles,
and thus denied a government contract for all such weapons. (They did, howe=
ver,
encourage the use of carbine breechloaders that loaded one shot at a time. =
Such
carbines were shorter than a rifle and well suited for cavalry.) More accur=
ately,
they feared that the Army's logistics train would be unable to provide enou=
gh
ammunition for the soldiers in the field, as they already had grave difficu=
lty
bringing up enough ammunition to sustain armies of tens of thousands of men
over distances of hundreds of miles. A weapon able to fire several times as
fast would require a vastly expanded logistics train and place great strain=
on
the already overburdened railroads and tens of thousands of more mules, wag=
ons,
and wagon train guard detachments. The fact that several Springfield
rifle-muskets could be purchased for the cost of a single Spencer carbine a=
lso
influenced thinking. However, just after the Battle of Gettysburg, Spencer =
was
able to gain an audience with President Abraham Lincoln, who invited him to=
a
shooting match and demonstration of the weapon on the lawn of the White Hou=
se.
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Notable early instances of use included the Battle of
Hoover's Gap (where Col. John T. Wilder's "Lightning Brigade" of
mounted infantry effectively demonstrated the firepower of repeaters), and =
the
Gettysburg Campaign, where two regiments of the Michigan Brigade (under Bri=
g. Gen.
George Armstrong Custer) carried them at the Battle of Hanover and at East
Cavalry Field. As the war progressed, Spencer’s were carried by a num=
ber
of Union cavalry and mounted infantry regiments and provided the Union army
with a firepower advantage over their Confederate adversaries. At the Battl=
e of
Nashville, 9,000 mounted infantrymen armed with the Spencer, under the comm=
and
of Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson, chief of cavalry for the Military Division of=
the
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One of the advantages of the Spencer was that its ammu=
nition
was waterproof and hardy, and could stand the constant jostling of long sto=
rage
on the march, such as
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In the late 1860s, the Spencer company was sold to the=
Fogerty Rifle Company and ultimately to Winchester
Even though the Spencer company
went out of business in 1869, ammunition was manufactured in the
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The fall of 1864 and the early months of 1865 saw three
major changes to the Spencer carbines being delivered on existing Army cont=
racts,
resulting in a nomenclature change to the Model 1865. In November 1864, the
Ordnance Dept. directed that the carbines be chambered for the new standard=
rimfire round, .56-50, replacing the .56-56. The new =
.56-50
ammunition could chamber in the older M1860 carbines, but the earlier .56-56
would not chamber in the new carbines. The .56-50-chambered guns were stamp=
ed
on the receiver “Model 1865,” and the barrel length was shorten=
ed
to 20 inches.<p>
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One final improvement was the March 1865 incorporation=
of
the Stabler cut-off
attachment, which was invented by Edward Stabler of
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On June 27, 1864, the Burnside Rifle Co. entered into a
contract with the Ordnance Dept. to manufacture 30,500 .52-cal. M1860 Spenc=
er
carbines with deliveries completed by Aug. 31, 1865. With the changes direc=
ted
to be made to the carbines, deliveries did not start until April 15, 1865, =
and
they continued until the end of October, with a 30,496 M1865 Spencer carbin=
es
being delivered. Six additional carbines were delivered as samples, prototy=
pes
and models. Of this number, 14,494 were equipped with the Stabler
cut-off and 16,008 without.<p>
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The company paid Spencer Repeating Rifle Co. a royalty=
of 50
cents for each carbine delivered to the Ordnance Dept., and $1 was paid for=
the
4,000 Spencer carbines sold to military individuals and civilians.<p>
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The Spencer factory manufactured nearly 23,000 M1865 S= pencer carbines, of which 12,502 were equipped with the Stabler cut-off. In the post-war period, Spring= field Armory retrofitted about 12,000 M1860s to incorporate M1865 features.<p>
The .56-50-cal. M1865 Spencer carbines manufactured by= the Burnside Rifle Co. and the Spencer Repeating Rifle Co. weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces with 20-inch barrels, and they had an overall length of 37 inches. T= he Burnside receivers were stamped:<p>
MODEL 1865, SPENCER REPEATING RIFLE, PAT’D MARCH 6,
1860, MANUFACTURED AT PROV.R.I.,BY BURNSIDE RIFLE CO. as is this Spencer
Carbine offered for auction.<p>The Spencer factory carbines had the both the M1860
stamping and the M1865. A saddle bar and ring was located on the buttstock’s left, and sling swivels were locate=
d on
the barrel band and underside of the buttstock.=
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In
1871, Springfield Armory converted 1,109 M1865 Spencer carbines manufacture=
d by
Burnside into rifles, replacing the carbine barrels with 32-inch-long stand=
ard
M1868 Springfield rifle barrels and fore-ends secured by two barrel bands. =
The
converted rifles retained the carbine’s saddle bars and rings on the =
left
side of their buttstocks. It does not appear th=
at those
converted rifles were ever issued.<p>
The
years after the Civil War saw the U.S. Cavalry assigned to various outposts=
on
the frontier, and in 1866, four additional cavalry regiments were organized=
for
frontier duty, with the last two being the U.S. Ninth and 10th Cavalries,
better known as “Buffalo Soldiers.” They, along with the rest of
the Army, tried to maintain order and protect against hostile Indian attack=
s.
The M1865 Spencer carbine was the standard in post-war service and remained=
in
service into the middle 1870s.<p>
One
of the largest Indian raids into
Two
years later, Captain Jack and his Modocs moved =
into
the lava beds of
Spencers were replaced by the .45-70 Gov’t Model 1873