During the war in the Crimea, the British Government ordered thousands of Pattern 1853 Enfield rifles from gun makers in Liège, Belgium. The start of the US Civil War provided a continuing market for these weapons as buyers for both sides scoured Europe for available arms.

This particular Belgian Enfield is untouched and has not been cleaned. The barrel has a nice plumb patina with areas of light surface pitting on the top. The breech area has moderate to heavy pitting with light surface rust. Proper front sight is present at the muzzle and the rear sight is complete with its flip-up leaf. The sliding notch on the sight leaf is frozen. Sight and base have minor pitting and light surface rust. Left side of the breech is clearly stamped with the Liege mark and a crown over an indistinct letter. The bolster still holds the original nipple which is dirty and shows some surface rust at top. The bore is dark and dirty with some surface rust. Rifling is faint due to the buildup of dirt.

The lock plate and hammer match the barrel in appearance with light to moderate pitting, dirt and surface rust. The lock is blank but for a small mark far forward. The mark consists of a star over an indistinct number with the letter “G.” Action works properly

The stock is solid. It does have the usual dings, dents and scratches with some minor loss to the wood surface just behind the nipple but nothing major. The area around the lock screws does show a good bit of scratching and there is a carved letter “C” in this area. The rest of the stock shows usual wear.

The nose cap, buttplate, trigger guard, lock screw escutcheons and all three barrel bands are brass and all have a dark patina. Both sling swivels are also present. Ramrod is present but frozen in the channel.   [ad] [ph:L]

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