Beschreibung:

.56 caliber, 33" barrel, no S/N. Browned finish, brass furniture, walnut stock. Unmarked lock and barrel on exterior, lock marked "37" on the interior and with assembly mark VIII on the interior of many of the parts. Fixed rear sight and brass blade front sight. Barrel with filled dovetail where a saber bayonet lug may have been installed. Sling swivels, brass tipped Mississippi-style ramrod. Patchbox recess roughly cut and not drilled for a spare cone. For many years these unmarked, southern made "Mississippi" Rifle copies were an enigma, with much of the mystery revealed in the groundbreaking work Confederate Rifles & Muskets by Murphy & Madaus. Numerous small southern makers are identified in this book, who received small contracts to produce rifles for the Confederacy ca 1861-1862 based upon the US M1841 rifle. John Overton of middle Tennessee was one of these contractors and records indicate that he completed and delivered 81 rifles. Overton had been an employee at Harpers Ferry prior to the war and was probably the most experienced of the Tennessee based contractors in the manufacture of military arms. Several other middle Tennessee makers including Cauthorn & Co and Harlan & Mason (later Harlan & Nix) were also contracted with to provide rifles of this pattern. Correspondence recently discovered in the telegrams of the Military & Financial Board of Tennessee reveal numerous contractors and even more numerous issues with the production of these rifles. The biggest being the inability of the makers to build consistent barrels with uniform .54 caliber bores, despite the issuance of gauges for that purpose. The .56 caliber bore of this rifle is a prime example. As Overton had worked as a lock filer at Harpers Ferry, he was the most capable of the makers in the gun lock department. Records indicate that the Tennessee contractors were often forced to exchange parts with each other to make up for their inability to acquire or manufacture the needed parts to produce completed arms. As Overton delivered the most arms of any of the contractors it is often assumed that most extant examples were by him. This gun is clearly of Tennessee Confederate production with a lock that is definitively by Overton, although the balance of the gun may have been assembled by one of the other makers. Only a handful of these unmarked Tennessee made Mississippi rifles are known. They are an essential part of any advanced collection of Confederate made arms. This is one of the finest examples of an "Overton" rifle to be examined by this cataloger. Condition: Very good to fine, particularly for a Confederate made and used rifle. Metal with a thick, evenly oxidized brown patina with some surface corrosion and light pitting around the breech. Lock with similar patina. Mechanically functional, good bore with scattered pitting and strong rifling. Brass with an untouched dark golden patina. Wood crisp with a thin added layer of old varnish, a small chip out behind the tang and moderate gouge behind the hammer with an accompanying small crack. A similar small crack is present on the reverse at the rear lock screw. Scattered bumps and dings are present throughout as would be expected for an early war, Confederate used rifle.