Dug Sharps Silver Plated Four Barrel Pepperbox Derringer – Excavated at the 1862 Camp of the 10th Massachusetts Infantry at Harrison’s Landing

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Dug Sharps Silver Plated Four Barrel Pepperbox Derringer – Excavated at the 1862 Camp of the 10^th Massachusetts Infantry at Harrison’s Landing – We have had several examples of Civil War period dug pistols and muskets, but this is the first Sharps pepperboxes that we have had or even seen. This unique pistol was excavated in the late 1960s or early 1970s in the camp of the 10^th Massachusetts Infantry, at Harrison’s Landing. The 10^th Mass. had just been enmeshed in multiple episodes of heavy fighting to include the Siege of Yorktown, Seven Pines, Fair Oaks, White Oak Swamp and Malvern Hill. These unusual, sophisticatedly designed, four-barrel pepperboxes were manufactured by Sharps, beginning in 1859. The C. Sharps Company initially produced a single shot, breech loading pistol and quickly followed that up with a “pistol rifle” design. In 1859, Sharps received a patent for what would be the most successful design and the biggest money maker for his new venture, a four-barreled pepperbox pistol. Sharps produced the guns in a wide range of variations, based upon their caliber, and their frame size. The guns were manufactured in .22RF, .30RF and .32RF, and over the next few years, Sharps produced thousands of these easily concealable personal protection cartridge guns. Many soldiers, both Union and Confederate, carried these small weapons. In 1862, Sharps entered into a partnership with William Hankins, and for the next four years the firm of Sharps and Hankins concentrated on manufacturing percussion breechloading carbines and rifles for the US army and navy. In 1866, the partnership was ended, and Sharps returned to working under the C. Sharps & Company name, continuing to manufacture his 4-shot pepperbox pistols. Sharps remained in business making these handy little guns until 1874, when he passed away and the business was closed.

This pistol is a .22 cal., 3” barrel, Model 1A; it has a silver-plated frame, with the following stamped, in a circle, on the right side:

“C. SHARPS

PATENT 1859”

Stamped on the left side of the frame is:

“C. SHARPS & CO.

            PHILADA, PA.”

The serial number is stamped on the bottom of the grip frame – “645”, which is quite low, indicative of this being an early production example. The grips are checkered thermoplastic. The frame is brass which was silver-plated. The pistol remains in overall, very good, dug condition – there are a couple of small nips out of the grips; the barrel is rusted, but not flaking; the hammer will accompany the pistol, but has become detached. This is a very rarely dug pistol which was once carried by a soldier in a significant Union infantry regiment. The 10^th Mass. was billeted at Harrison’s Landing from July 2 to August 16, 1862.