Original U.S. War of 1812 Springfield Model 1795 Percussion Converted Musket Marked to Philadelphia City Guard - dated 1802

Original item: One of a Kind. The Model 1795 was the first musket to be produced in the United States by Springfield and Harper's Ferry Arsenals, as well as contractor Eli Whitney. It was based heavily on the Charleville musket, Model 1763/66, which had been imported in large numbers from the French during the American Revolution, and which at the time comprised the largest number of muskets in U.S. arsenals at about 20,000 muskets. The Model 1795 was used in the War of 1812, after which shortcomings in both the design and manufacturing process of the Model 1795 led to the development of the Model 1812 Musket at Springfield only, and eventually the Model 1816 Musket muskets at both armories.

Later on, many U.S. Flintlock muskets were converted to Percussion, both at local and national level, as it was a far more reliable ignition system, which also took less time to load. Here we offer a remarkable U.S. M-1795 .69 Caliber Percussion Converted Infantry Musket marked SPRINGFIELD on the Lock Plate in an arc on the rear of the plate, with a Federal Eagle over a script US in the middle. Many of these were contract made, but this example was made at the United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield itself, located in Springfield Massachusetts. During this period there was a wide variety of different markings used on the lock plates. There is some wear and past oxidation to the lock plate, which does not look to have originally been dated, however it still shows a clear 1802 date on the lock plate tail.

The conversion on this example is definitely not typical, as the breech was removed from the barrel, and a new modern style percussion breech added, complete with a bolster and even a cleanout. This was usually only seen at the arsenal level, and in this case there is a faded marking next to the cap nipple cone:-

CITY
OF
PHILAD'A
A. WURFFLEIN

This indicates that the rifle was acquired by the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and then issued to the Philadelphia City Guard during the U.S. Civil War. "A. Wurfflein" was a gunsmith and inspector for the city, who stamped weapons confirmed to be serviceable. His stamp is also seen on imported percussion arms at the time, many of which came from Germany. During the conflict it was always possible that the Rebel forces might make it that far into Union territory. There was also the possibility of civilian incursions, so local guard units were deployed in many cities.

The lock plate shows traces of the original iron flash pan, as well as the holes where the frizzen and frizzen spring originally were, some of which have been plugged. The flintlock hammer was replaced with a percussion hammer, which is very similar to those used by Springfield. The barrel breech has the correct proof marks of V over P (partial) over an Eagle's Head on the left side of the barrel. These markings had been introduced in 1799, replacing the earlier "Liberty Cap" marking.

The barrel length is 43 inches, which is a bit different from the later models. There was no official specification of barrel length for the model 1795, so the lengths varied from roughly 42 to 45 inches, and in this case the overall length is 57 3/4 inches. As is correct there is no rear sight, with a brass front sight on the rear band of the nose cap / muzzle fitting, and a bayonet stud on the top front of the barrel.

The musket is in very nice service used condition, having been cleaned and polished over the years, so the metalwork is now mostly bright steel. The metalwork and stock both show wear commensurate with long service. The lock is fully functional, holding correctly at half cock and firing only at full. The cleanout on the cap bolster is also still able to be removed easily. We checked the bore, and it is clear, showing some dirt and fouling, as well as a bit of corrosion. It also now measures out to about 0.70" at the muzzle, so it definitely has seen use. The musket still has both sling swivels, as well as a ramrod, which looks to be a replacement.

This musket may well have seen service against the British in the War of 1812, and was later used by the Philadelphia Home Guard during the U.S. Civil. War. Now fully cleaned and in a great display condition it is ready to join another U.S. Martial Collection. Chances to own such a nice example of U.S. History do not come by often. This wonderful musket is ready to display!

Specifications:-

Year of Manufacture: 1802
Caliber: 0.69" - worn to 0.73"
Cartridge Type: Ball and Powder
Barrel Length: 43 Inches
Overall Length: 57 3/4 Inches
Action type: Side Action Flintlock
Feed System: Muzzle Loading

History of the Model 1795 Musket:

The Springfield Model 1795 Musket was a .69 caliber flintlock musket manufactured in the late 18th century and early 19th century at both the Springfield and Harper's Ferry U.S. Armories.

The Model 1795 a very elongated musket, retained many of the characteristics of the Charleville on which it was based. It had a 44 inches (110 cm) long .69 caliber barrel, a 56 inches (140 cm) stock, and a total length of 60 inches (150 cm). The original version had the bayonet lug on the bottom of the barrel but this was later moved to the top. Minor changes were made throughout production inclusive of a shorter barrel length of 42 inches (110 cm) on the later Harper's Ferry weapons. Barrels of Harper's Ferry 1795s were serial numbered up to some point in 1812: Springfield Model 1795's were never serial numbered. Springfield began the Model 1812 improvements in 1814, but Harper's Ferry continued on with the production of the Model 1795 until at least 1819 (early 1819 examples still used the M1795 lockplate) and never produced the Model 1812. Eventually, both armories incorporated improvements into the Model 1816 flintlock which were after a few years virtually identical. Most, but not all, parts will interchange on the Model 1816 muskets but the hand-crafted parts, and lack of set standards and patterns on the earlier Model 1795 weapons often means parts will not interchange easily.

Typical of smoothbore muskets, the M1795 had an effective range of about 50 yards (46 m) to 75 yards (69 m). The Model 1795 fired a smaller round than the British .75 caliber Brown Bess, but the Model 1795 also had both a slightly longer range and slightly better accuracy than the Brown Bess musket. This gave the American forces an advantage of range when they faced British forces in the War of 1812.

The War of 1812 had revealed many weaknesses in American muskets. The Model 1812 Musket was created in an attempt to improve both the design and manufacture of the musket. The Model 1816 made further improvements, and replaced the Model 1812. The Model 1812 had borrowed heavily from the design of the French Charleville model 1777 musket, and this design was retained for the Model 1816. The Model 1816 had a 42 inch long .69 caliber smoothbore barrel, similar to the Model 1812, but had a longer lock plate, a shorter trigger guard, and a longer bayonet than the Model 1812. The Model 1816 also had a more straight lined stock. The overall length of the weapon was 58 inches.

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