Confederate Captured Merrill Carbine

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Description

Here's an example of a widely used, but rarely encountered Civil War Carbine - the Merrill. This unusual breechloader was produced in Baltimore and features a unique toggle lever at the breech which allows a .54 caliber paper cartridge to to be loaded. While more than 14,000 of these carbines were produced the Merrill ultimately lost out to more "traditional" falling block breechloaders like the Sharps and Burnside; making this gun somewhat of a rarity in modern times.

This particular example is in excellent condition. The stock is in beautiful shape with no cracks or chips and nice sharp edges; indicating that this carbine was never refinished or sanded.

Further adding to this gun's provenance as a combat-used weapon is the Confederate "Captured and Reissued" stamp found on the belly of the weapon's butt stock. The practice of collecting, repairing and re-issuing battlefield-collected weapons is described in thorough detail in Steven W. Knott's excellent book, "Captured & Collected" Confederate Reissued Firearms. The Confederate Army's desperation for modern weaponry lead to the creation of special ordnance teams to salvage usable arms from battlefields after the fighting had ended. By 1864, the Confederate government had also begun to pay civilians for weapons that were collected from battlefields. Special premiums were even paid for cavalry carbines; so it's no surprise that this Merrill was turned in. These captured arms were sent to one of four repair shops; Richmond being the largest. The weapons were repaired and approved for reissue with the application of single initial stamped on the stock. This inspector's stamp corresponded to the name of shop's head Ordnance officer. In the case of Richmond, the Ordnance Officer in charge of the repair and reissue of battlefield-captured guns was Louis Zimmer. Zimmer's inspection stamp can be found on the belly of this carbine's butt stock in the form of a letter "Z".

The lock is also in great shape with smooth half and full cock and good markings. The breech block is all complete and locks up tightly.

The barrel is full length and both front and rear sights are original (somewhat of a rarity for Merrills). The bore is in very good condition with sharp rifling and minimal rust and pitting.

The furniture is all original and in great condition

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