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Title:MUSKETOON -  U.S. MUSKETOON MODEL 1847 CAVALRY .69
Maker/Manufacturer:SPRINGFIELD ARMORY
Date of Manufacture:1851
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:SPAR 1905
Measurements:OL:104.1CM 41" BL: 66CM 26" 7.4 lbs.

Object Description:

U.S. MUSKETOON MODEL 1847 CAVALRY .69
Manufactured by Springfield Armory, Springfield, Ma. in 1851 - Standard specimen of Model 1847 Springfield Cavalry smoothbore musketoon. Single-shot, muzzleloading, brass mounted, with long sling bar on left side. It is equipped with the swivel ramrod and does not have the chain device. Swivel ramrod brazed to the bottom of the barrel approximately 3/4" from the muzzle. Two bands, with upper band double-strapped. Brass blade front sight on upper strap. Weapon weighs approximately 7.4 lbs. Springfield manufactured approximately 6,703 of these from 1848 to 1859. 630 of these were converted to Artillery musketoons, and 346 were rifled and sighted. Weapon adopted on March 12, 1847.

Markings:
Lock: SPRING/FIELD/1851 behind hammer. Eagle/US forward of hammer.
Barrel tang: 1851.
Barrel: V/P/ Eaglehead.
Nipple booster: C.
Buttplate: 597 (possibly old Museum number).

Weapon loaned to CBS in 1958 for American Heritage production of U.S. Grant.

"This office today approved use by producer of our American Heritage television program of 40 Civil War rifles and and ten sabers from Springfield Armory Museum in accordance with details as arranged by telephone. These weapons will be picked up by a military truck on 16 Oct, and insured against loss or damage while away from the museum and returned there immediately after 30 Oct." - Telegram from Ordnance Office, Washington, D.C.

Exhibit label: "MODEL 1847 MUSKETOON .69 caliber, 1847-1859, c. 10,000 made. Variations on this weapon included Artillery, Sappers, and Cavalry (shown here) models."

CATALOGUE OF THE EXHIBIT OF THE WAR DEPARTMENT AT THE CENTENNIAL EXPOSITION OF THE OHIO VALLEY AND CENTRAL STATES, AT CINCINNATI, OHIO, JULY 4 TO OCTOBER 27, 1888. "PERCUSSION LOCKS - MUZZLE LOADERS. 7. Springfield Smooth Bore Musketoon; calibre, .69; 1851. Brass butt plate. Guard and bands. Ramrod in swivel to prevent its loss on horseback. Long swing swivel."

Notes: The 1847 musketoons made at Springfield were produced in several minor variations for issue to Artillery, Cavalry and Sappers (Engineers). Most were smoothbore, but some specimens were subsequently rifled. A shortage of the Artillery model resulted in the alteration of some Cavalry and Sappers models for Artillery use, but this specimen is in its original configuration.

"As of December 1862, nearly one thousand of these worthless .69 caliber smoothbore Model 1847 Cavalry Musketoons were in field service with the cavalry." - John D. McAulay

"Inspector General Joseph Mansfield conducted a tour of the Western outposts in 1853 and reported that the troops made many derogatory comments about the musketoons. Dragoons told him that when the weapon was carried by a mounted trooper, the ball would simply roll out of the musketoon's barrel. His report also stated that 'there is no probable certainty of hitting the object aimed at,and the recoil is too great to be fired with ease.' Mansfield concluded that the gun was essentially 'a worthless arm,' having 'no advocates that I am aware of.'
A veteran of frontier warfare, Major Gen. Zenas R. Bliss, seconded Mansfield's opinion. In his memoirs, Bliss wrote that 'the most worthless of all arms with which we were supplied was the musketoon,' Lieutenant Colonel W.G. Freeman also agreed: 'There is but one opinion as to the worthlessness of this arm.'
Actually, the musketoon had at least one defender. In 1851, Colonel Henry K. Craig, chief of the Ordnance Department, pointed out that breechloaders (which he referred to as 'broken back guns;) were inferior to the musketoons because they were prone to accidental discharge and other related hazards. He concluded that if the musketoon 'is not a suitable arm for cavalry, I do not know where to look for one that will answer....Although a few volunteer regiments stationed in the Western theater were armed with the musketoon, most musketoons continue to slumber in armories, awaiting a call to arms that never came.'" - William & John Gorenfield, "The Springfield Musketoon Was The Gun Th
LOAN HISTORY:
Army # 0062 - Loaned to George Kennedy, C.B.S. Television, from 8 May 1958 to 16 May 1958.

References:
Ball, Robert W.D. SPRINGFIELD ARMORY: SHOULDER WEAPONS 1795-1968. Antique Trader Book. Norfolk, Va. 1997.
Clark, David C. Ed. ARMS FOR THE NATION. Scott A. Duff. Export, Pa. 1992.
Flayderman, Norm. FLAYDERMAN'S GUIDE TO ANTIQUE AMERICAN FIREARMS... AND THEIR VALUES. 6th Ed. DBI Books, Inc. Northbrook, Il. 1994.
Fuller, Claud E. SPRINGFIELD SHOULDER ARMS 1795-1865. S and S Firearms. Glendale, N.Y. 1986.
Hartzler, Daniel D. & James B. Whisker. THE NORTHERN ARMORY: THE UNITED STATES ARMORY AT SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, 1795-1859. Old Bedford Village Press. Bedford, Pa. 1996.
Madaus, H. Michael. THE WARNER COLLECTOR'S GUIDE TO AMERICAN LONGARMS. Warner Books. N.Y., N.Y. 1981.
McAulay, John D. CARBINES OF THE U.S. CAVALRY 1861-1865. Andrew Mowbray Inc. Lincoln, R.I. 1996.
Reilly, Robert. U.S. MILITARY SMALL ARMS 1816-1865. The Eagle Press. Baton Rouge, La. 1970.

See, "THE SPRINGFIELD MUSKETOON WAS THE GUN THAT ALMOST LOST THE WEST" by William Gorenfeld and John Gorenfeld. Wild West, June, 1998.

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