Palmetto bayonet

[David Fox]

Have acquired an original Wm. Glaze Palmetto .69 calibre musket, susequently rifled by Glaze in '61. It's the subtype fitted for an M.1835/40 bayonet (lug on the bottom). I've seen numbers of M.1816 bayonets surcharged "WG/SC" or just "SC" over the years, but never a bayonet so marked for the bottom lug Palmetto. Any insights, Comrades?

[Curt Schmidt]

Hallo!

Just some brief general background for those who don't know...

On April 15, 1851, the Palmetto Armory received a contract from South Carolina for 1,000 percussion rifles based on the M1841 Rifle, 6,000 muskets based on the M1842 Musket, 2,000 M1842 pistols, and 1,000 sabres based on the M1840 dragoon and light artillery patterns. Glaze's previous partnership with Thomas Radcliffe had ended in March, and Glaze was looking for business.
The contract was amended to eliminate half of the pistols and replace the artilery sabres with dragoon sabres.

However, South Carolina seemed not to have been too fussy about how closely Glaze's muskets and rifles matched the U.S. ones.

And around January 1861 he started making percussion alterations of M1822 muskets. And offered South Carolina "50 or 60 eighteen inch bayonets and 140-150 sixteen inch..."

The bayonets he provided varied much as well. Aside from minor deviations, Glaze made his muskets with M1835 type bayonets lacking locking rings mortised for bottom bayonet studs. There are also Glaze "SC/WG" surcharged U.S. M1822 bayonets (whoch would appear to indicate that Glaze was able to get his hands on U.S. stuff shipped to SC under the Miitia Act of 1808 which included a bunch sent for the 1830's Nullification Crisis.

And last, since the M1822 was not interchangeable parts, there are variations on the location of the bayoent stud which made M1822 bayonet (apart from their slot mortising) have varying socket lengths.

Curt

[gsusat]

David

Congrats on finding the nusket.

Curt is correct. Bayonets were made for the Palmetto 1842 that had both bottom and top lugs. And they did not have the locking ring. Do not know why muskets were made with lugs both up and down. I have had one of each. Both were marked SC only on the 18" blade and the talk amoung the bayonet guys is that the ones for the musket had only the SC. Not sure where they get that or if they are trying to look for some consistancy that may not be there.

It is a hard bayonet to find. But several dealers are into bayonets and would be a good source for one.

[David Fox]

Thanks. I'll haunt Google and the CW relic shows. Where would life be w/o The Hunt?