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Item No.:	10359	Price :	$42,500.00
Item :	ORIGINAL, CIVIL WAR U.S. HENRY REPEATING RIFLE, .44 RIMFIRE, 1ST D.C. CAVALRY

Description :

This is an original, Civil War Henry Repeating Rifle made by the New Haven Arms Company of New Haven, Connecticut. This company was the forerunner of Winchester. The Henry was developed from the earlier Volcanic lever action pistols and rifles. It fired a .44 Rimfire cartridge with a metallic case. This was a vast improvement over the Volcanic's self-contained powder, ball, and primer bullet. The Henry was a lever action rifle with a 24" barrel. It used a 15-round tubular magazine that was integral with the barrel. Cartridges were loaded base first from the front of the magazine. There was no forend. There was no loading gate in the receiver as is found on later Winchester rifles. The rifle frame and butt plate were brass, the barrel and lever iron. A small number were made with iron frames. The Henry was a revolutionary design for its time. About 14,000 were made from 1860 to 1866. A number of Union company sized outfits purchased Henry repeaters at their own expense during the war and used them to great effect. Confederate troops on the receiving end of the Henry dubbed it "That damn Yankee rifle you could load on Sunday and shoot all week". The U.S. Government purchased 1,731 Henry rifles between 1862 and 1865. Nearly all early rifles were issued to the 1st District of Columbia Cavalry with later guns going to the 1st Maine Cavalry. This rifle is one of the Government purchased Henrys that went to the 1st D.C. Cavalry. It has the Inspector's initials "C.G.C." on the right flat of the barrel. His inspector's cartouche is faintly visible on the right wrist of the stock. There are sub-inspector's initials on either side of the frame. The rifle is in very good to fine condition. The barrel retains 25-35% of its original factory blued finish, mostly in the machined flute between the barrel and magazine tube. The remainder of the barrel and lever have turned dark brown. The patina is mostly smooth with a liberal sprinkling of rougher rust spots. The frame and butt plate have a great yellow brass patina. There is an old scratch on the right side plate of the frame. The rifle works very well mechanically. The bore is very good. There are a few small pits, but it is mostly shiny with strong rifling along its length. The stock is in fine condition with a few small dings and scratches from use. It has had a clear finish applied in the past. The inspector's cartouche is faint, but it is definitely there. A Henry is a very rare rifle. A U.S. Martial Henry is even rarer! Stock no. 30143

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