In 1860 27-year-old inventor Christopher Spencer was a machinist employed in Hartford, Connecticut by the Sharps Rifle Company. Working on his own time he perfected the revolutionary shoulder arm that bore his name. The Spencer carbine consists of a wooden shoulder stock with an integral straight grip, metal receiver, wooden forend and a long-running section of exposed barrel with three barrel bands joining it to the forend. The external hammer is offset to the right (to the consternation of left-handed shooters.) There is a flip-up sight ahead of the receiver, with a standard front sight just aft of the muzzle. The trigger is beneath the grip handle, and the lever doubles as a trigger guard. Sling loops under the shoulder stock and second barrel band permit attachment of a shoulder strap. Barrel lengths of various models of the rifle ranged from 20 to 30 inches.

The gun is chambered for the unique .56-56 rimfire cartridge, which is loaded through the gun’s butt and fed from a seven-round internal tube magazine located in the buttstock. The magazine tube is spring-loaded at its rear, with the cartridges aligned in single file and fed into the firing chamber in turn. The magazine is locked into place within the butt by a rotating release/catch that must be positioned 90 degrees off center for removal of the tube. By working the lever the shooter reloads the chamber while simultaneously ejecting spent casings downwards. The hammer is manually cocked. After familiarizing themselves with the gun, soldiers could consistently maintain the then-revolutionary firing rate of 14 to 20 rounds per minute. The Spencer’s muzzle velocity of 1000 feet per second not only gave it impressive stopping power, but an effective range of 500 yards–a substantial battlefield reach.

After patenting his design in 1861 Spencer lobbied hard, long and ultimately successfully to introduce his gun to the Federal military. He first arranged to sell a contract to the U.S. Navy in June 1861 after carrying out a demonstration for Commander John A. Dahlgren, who looked on with growing enthusiasm as the inventor fired his gun after burying it in sand, immersing it in salt water and, over the course of the two-day trial, firing a carbine 250 times without cleaning it and with no drop-off in accuracy. Due to limited funds, however, and the fact that rifles are not in great demand during naval battles, Dahlgren ordered just 700 of Spencer’s carbines.

Word of this new weapon was beginning to spread, though. Federal General James H. Wilson had also attended the demonstration, and in a letter to the Union Army’s chief of ordnance he gushed, “There is no doubt that the Spencer carbine is the best firearm yet put into the hands of the soldier, both for economy of ammunition and maximum effort, physical and moral.”

A few Federal units fighting at the battle of Antietam had just been issued Spencers, and despite the rifle’s performance being generally laudable, some troops reported having trouble with its extractor, causing jamming. Spencer acted immediately to address this problem, and swiftly corrected it.

Finally, on August 18, 1863, he managed to secure a personal audience with President Abraham Lincoln. When the president bench-fired the rifle in a vacant lot outside the White House he was impressed. Lincoln fired seven rounds into a wooden board at 40 yards, hitting the crude bull’s-eye with the second shot. His only complaint was that the carbine had to be removed from the shoulder between shots in order to cock the hammer. Otherwise he had nothing but praise, and presented a piece of the shattered board to Spencer as a memento. For the rest of his life this was the inventor’s prized possession.

Following this presidential endorsement the Union Army purchased 13,171 Spencer carbines and set up facilities to manufacture its distinctive ammunition. Adoption of the rifle was unavoidably delayed because manufacturing plants had to be constructed. The tide of battle had already turned against the Confederacy before the Spencer’s widespread introduction, and most Federal forces continued to use older arms. Still, this new carbine was a huge technological leap. Union commanding General Ulysses S. Grant called it “the best breech-loading arm available.” By the end of hostilities 100,000 had been manufactured. This number was too small for the gun to have made the impact of which it was capable. Some officers and enlisted men, unwilling to wait for slow, small deliveries, personally purchased the rifle, paying for it out of their own pockets.

This Spencer Carbine is in great condition with very little wear or damage overall.  Although there is some evidence of refinishing, all metal remains smooth and free of rust and pitting, with a deep blued finish throughout. The 20” barrel features a great bore with deep rifling.

The elevated flip-up sights work as new, and the magazine tube follower is in excellent shape with a strong coil spring.  All mechanics work as designed with a smooth action and tight lockup of the hammer in all cocking positions.  The serial number “28182” is stamped on the receiver while the thin original manufacturer’s roll mark stamp is mostly worn away.  It would have said “SPENCER REPEATING   /  RIFLE CO.  BOSTON, MASS.  /  PAT’D  MARCH 6, 1860” in three lines. The two-piece wood stock and foregrip are in excellent condition with no cracking or chipping.

If your collection is missing a Spencer Carbine, you will be hard pressed to find one in such a nice condition.  It would display beautifully and make a perfect addition to any catalogue of Civil War weaponry and memorabilia.  [cm][ph:m]

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