Presented here, in very good condition, is a Type II Gwyn & Campbell carbine.  One of some 4,000 carbines produced, the .52 caliber, percussion breech-loading Gwyn & Campbell carbine was the invention of businessmen Edward Gwyn and partner Abner C. Campbell, both of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.  Sometimes referred to as the ‘Union Carbine’ or Grapevine Carbine’, the Gwyn & Campbell Type 2 is the most common encountered in the collecting field and was the successor weapon  to the Cosmopolitan Arms Company carbine of Hamilton, OH. The U.S. Ordnance Dept. granted over a dozen contracts to Gwyn & Campbell during 1863 and 1864 for a total of 8,202 carbines.  A number of Federal cavalry units were armed with this weapon and included the 3rd Wisconsin; 2nd and 3rd Iowa; 2nd & 3rd Arkansas; 5th and 8th Ohio; 5th, 6th and 16th Illinois along with other Civil War units.

Weapon is a single shot, falling-block action piece mated to a 20” round barrel that has an octagonal section at the breech.   This specimen exhibits all iron mountings with excellent case colors while the barrel retains all of the original bluing. Bore is excellent

Breech tang and loading door have excellent bluing save for a small area around the screw closest to the chamber.

Hammer has a flat back with a beveled edge and a lever that is not as serpentine as the Type 1 model.  Lever locks into a small claw-like vertical mounted latch on bottom of the stock.  Specimen bears multiple serial numbers. Frame is numbered 2193 while the lever is 1695 and the barrel is 264. Despite the mixed numbers this weapon has been untouched for many years. It is possible it was reconstructed for some reason during or after the Civil War. The strength of the bluing and case colors on this weapon make up for the mismatched numbers

Weapon has maker’s mark of “GWYN & CAMPBELL / PATENT / 1862 / HAMILTON, O.” on the lockplate. Company name is strong but the rest of the marking is faint.  Weapon is also strongly stamped with “UNION / RIFLE” on the obverse side of the frame beneath the nipple area.  A long base rear sight that shows some wear sits on the octagon frame.  Carbine exhibits strong mechanics and is fitted with a sling bar and sling ring.

Wood stock is dark with some minor scratches. There are two crisp inspector cartouches visible on left side of stock near the frame.  Screws are in fine condition.

This Type II Gwyn & Campbell carbine is a fine representative cavalry arm of the Civil War and would definitely enhance any military carbine display or collection.

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