Here's a great M1861 Bridesburg contract musket with a great provenance that links it to a Union soldier. This Bridesburg is all complete, and in above average condition.
It is 100% percent correct, and the stamps and proof marks on the all the components are all of Bridesburg manufacture according to Hartzler, Yantz, and Whisker's book The U.S. Model 1861 Springfield Rifle-Musket.
The lock is in great shape with a perfect, untouched patina and good legible lock markings. The mechanics are perfect and the lock holds solid at both full and half cock.
The stock is well above average. There are no chips or cracks anywhere and no burn-out behind the nipple. The cartouches are nice legible. The lock moldings are wonderfully crisp as the stock has never been sanded or cleaned. The butt stock is inscribed with the words John McHugh to James E. McHugh, and the top flat of the barrel is neatly inscribed: "Co. L". Upon discovering these inscriptions we immediately began researching "John McHugh" in the Civil War veteran databases. As you can imagine, our search yielded quite a few soldiers with the name "John McHugh", but luckily for us, the inscription on the butt stock also revealed the name of his son: James E. McHugh. With this in mind, our next step was to research census data to find if any of the John Mchughs had a son named James. As it turned out, only one man from our search results would later go on to have a son named James; and this was John McHugh of the 8th Ward, 22nd District of Philadelphia; married to Ann McHugh, and father to two kids: Mary and James. The census data also revealed more critical information: John McHugh enlisted in the 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry on September 19th, 1861; and the company he enlisted in was Company L (remember the engraving on top of the barrel?).
The next question is why would a soldier in a cavalry unit be issued a full length rifle musket and not a carbine? I'm afraid we're not sure of that ourselves. However, interestingly, the unit history of the 8th Penn. Cavalry reveals that it was originally formed as the the 89th infantry regiment and was later re-organized as cavalry unit and designated the 8th Volunteer Cavalry after arriving in Washington on October 4th, 1861. Perhaps this Bridesburg was issued to McHugh upon his enlistment in the unit when it was still designated the 89th Infantry. This explanation seems likely, as McHugh's enlistment date of September 19th predates the unit's redesignation by about two weeks. Whatever the case, this particular Bridesburg musket clearly had a lot personal significance to McHugh, as he would later have his company engraved on the barrel and inscribe both his and his sons names on the stock to commemorate the passing down of his precious rifle to the next generation.
In addition to the inscriptions, this musket features excellent manufacturer's stamps at the breech and a great speckled, but smooth patina. Both front and rear sights are intact and unmodified. The bore is good with sharp rifling and some scattered "frost pitting".
The furniture is all original and all matching. The ramrod is full length.
This M1861 just screams Civil War history and would make for a great addition to any history buff's collection.
