1862 LA Co. Enfield - Smithsonian Collection

[LibertyHallVols]

I thought members might enjoy seeing what a mint London Armory Company Enfield looks like.

This piece is in the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington DC:

http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_414637

Enjoy!

[Tyler Underwood]

Re: 1862 LA Co. Enfield - Smithsonian Collection

Beautiful weapon Wick!

Did you happen to notice that the muzzle was scuffed up a little from the bayonet socket?

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: 1862 LA Co. Enfield - Smithsonian Collection

The detail of the rust-blue on the barrel is fantastic!
Also, notice the appearance of the case hardening on the lock and hammer. Not the decorative "swirls" you see on "high end" flip-lever guns… more similar to the even finish on, for example, the hammer and trigger of a WW2 Smith & Wesson "Victory" model. Function, not decoration!

http://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService?id=NMAH-ET2012-13937&

When you look at the shape of the side panels and other contours of the stock, the round-eared washers for the lock screws, and other details, I think it is clear that it is a much shorter path from a Parker-Hale to a LACo for those who want to do a defarb.

[44th Miss Inf]

Re: 1862 LA Co. Enfield - Smithsonian Collection

I have an 1860 date LAC that I will post pictures of next time I get it out of the safe.

[LibertyHallVols]

Re: 1862 LA Co. Enfield - Smithsonian Collection

I have an 1860 date LAC that I will post pictures of next time I get it out of the safe.

Would love to see that! Thank you!

[Enfield]

Re: 1862 LA Co. Enfield - Smithsonian Collection

Interesting that it has Palmer bands instead of Baddeley bands, which were introduced on RSAF guns in 1861 (and so, should have been on L.A.Co. guns as well). But perhaps the L.A.Co. did not change over until sometime in 1862. I've seen 1861-dated L.A.Co. P53s with Palmer bands, and 1862-dated L.A.Co. P53s with either Palmer or Baddeley bands. 1863-dated L.A.Co. guns seem to have Baddeley bands (although there are probably exceptions to all of these).

Geoff Walden

[44th Miss Inf]

Re: 1862 LA Co. Enfield - Smithsonian Collection

Here are pictures of my 1860 LAC. Geoff I believe I sent you pictures years ago, but if you would like anymore, let me know. Sorry wasn't able to get good light today.
Quick history of the gun; it is a "Volunteer" weapon I bought in London in the late 90s. Barrel is marked "Blanche & Sons, 29 Gracechurch St, London" It had a sheet medal flash shield, that sadly US customs made me take off and kept, for some unknown reason.
It had been cleaned during its service, but I took a picture of the bottom of the barrel near the end showing the bluing. Also, notice the nipple protector chain piece, and the escutcheons are round, not square.

[Craig L Barry]

Re: 1862 LA Co. Enfield - Smithsonian Collection

The issue of if/when LACo exported P53s with Baddeley patent bands is an interesting one. LAC used Baddeley bands to fill their War Dept contracts, as they were specified but there is some debate if they filled other commercial contracts with Baddeley bands, or continued to use existing supplies of Palmer type bands. William O. Adams is one well known Enfield expert and collector (and one with with many LACs) in particular that is of the opinion that LACs with Baddeley bands were not shipped to America during the US Civil War in any appreciable numbers.

There is at least anecdotal evidence that Baddeley bands were recently found dug at a late war Georgia battlefield (see antique arms website where it is mentioned). Subsequent discussions with Bill Adams led to conceding the possibility that very few P53s contained in the final shipments from LAC *may* have been imported with Baddeley bands in early 1865. I have never found Bill Adams to be incorrect concerning anything factually related to the Civil War-era P53 Enfield, especially where LAC is concerned. At any rate, as far as the barrel bands go, it appears the Palmer type were most commonly encountered on the CS contract arms, not the Baddeley patent bands.

I have done some research on Baddeley, and there is a chapter on him in the upcoming book Suppliers to the Confederacy: More English Arms and Accoutrements from David Burt and me due out later in 2015. Fascinating individual, literally wrote the book on making gun powder and died of diphtheria in 1861. For more information as well as the citations for most of the above statements, see the article in the archives here on barrel bands: http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/...-Craig-L-Barry

Lastly, being a LAC machine made P53, it is going to have the round eared lock plate washers, not the commonly encountered commercial type III squared-off variety, regardless of what type barrel bands are on it. The Windsor type II P53s made by Robbins & Lawrence in the 1850s had round eared washers, which is merely a function of how the stock making machinery cuts the mortises for the lock plate screws.

[Enfield]

Re: 1862 LA Co. Enfield - Smithsonian Collection

Thanks, Virgil, you did indeed send me pics of the gun several years ago.

Here is an L.A.Co. P53/3 dated 1862, with Baddeley bands, that Tim Prince identified as a U.S. import gun. I have seen this same marking on several other L.A.Co. P53s. Myself, I don't know if it a British mark or a U.S. inspector's mark. Tim said he couldn't identify the inspector.

http://www.collegehillarsenal.com/shop/product.php?productid=1131&cat=0&page=2

Naturally, making judgments about extant London Armoury Co. P53s – regardless of barrel band types – is problematic, in the absence of good provenance of use in the Civil War. I’ve only ever seen a handful of L.A.Co. P63s with any genuine Civil War association. I’ve seen many more L.A.Co. P53s that most likely arrived in the States post-1865, and had nothing to do with the Civil War.

Geoff Walden

[Craig L Barry]

Re: 1862 LA Co. Enfield - Smithsonian Collection



Lt Col John Fraser Luddington Baddeley 1825-1862

[Tim Prince]

Re: 1862 LA Co. Enfield - Smithsonian Collection

To me, the most interesting thing about the barrel bands is that they are on the gun backwards, indicating disassembly and reassembly by someone who did not know better....
For what is is worth, the 1862 dated Kerr Rifle I have for sale (LA CO produced) has Baddeley bands and is certainly a commercial gun, not a British government contract gun.

[Enfield]

Re: 1862 LA Co. Enfield - Smithsonian Collection

Hey Tim,

But, don't you see that all the time? :)

I gave up trying to advise museum and collection curators to open up the case and put the barrel bands on the right way ... I was wasting my time. Especially NPS sites ... I think someone in the NPS went around years ago and put all the Enfield barrels bands on backwards. :)

I just received The Book yesterday ... WOW! It will take me a LONG time to go through all of that. I will just say here, that the photos are amazing!

Geoff Walden

[Craig L Barry]

Re: 1862 LA Co. Enfield - Smithsonian Collection

Long range target rifles like Kerrs & Whitworths had Baddeley patent bands. And yes, screw heads facing the wrong way in museums, often see that with the swivels as well.