Civil War Period Unusual Brazilian Light Minie’ Rifle

Civil War Period Unusual Brazilian Light Minie’ Rifle – This rarely encountered, two-band, .58 caliber rifle, the Brazilian Model 1855 Naval Rifle, was manufactured by the O.P. Drissen Company of Liege, Belgium; the rifle is comparable in appearance to the British Enfield two-band rifle and the French Light Minie’ rifle. The lock and many other parts are marked with an anchor with “D” to the left and “C” to the right, previously believed to be a representation of the manufacturer, O.P. Drissen & Co.; recent research now indicates that this marking is a Brazilian Navy acceptance mark and not O P Drissen as originally believed. About 6,000 of these guns were imported into the U.S., by Herman Boker, who affixed a stamped, sheet brass shield, depicting an eagle, to the top of the wrist of the stock via three small, brass pins; Boker sold the guns on the open market, in New York City, in late 1860-early 1861; many of these rifles were purchased by New York State as well as Ohio. The brass shield with the eagle is missing on this gun, although the three small holes left by the attachment pins are visible – the rifles that were imported into the U.S. all had these eagle shields, so this example definitely made its way into the U.S. just prior to or during the war; as many of these rifles found their way into Confederate hands, it is conceivable that a Confederate soldier removed the Union eagle from the stock. A well-known image of a dead, young Confederate soldier, lying in a trench at Ft. Mahone in Petersburg, in April 1865, depicts the young soldier with what appears to be a Brazilian Light Minie’ rifle lying at his side. This rifle remains in overall excellent condition; the firing mechanism is functional, and the barrel is clean and retains most of its original rifling. The original ramrod was apparently replaced during the period of use, with a U.S. Model 1863, tulip head version which has had the threaded end of the ramrod snipped off to accommodate the shorter barrel length and stock of this rifle. The stock remains in fine condition with no cracks or chips. Accompanying this rifle is the original, brass-hilted saber bayonet, which fits on a long, attached lug, on the right side of the gun’s muzzle; the bayonet lug is numbered “3243”. The bayonet ribbed, brass hilt is stamped in several places with the same “D” and “C” on either side of an anchor, as the rifle is; the left side of the blade’s ricasso is stamped “S&K” representing the manufacturing firm “Schnitzler & Kirschbaum” of Solingen, Germany. These rifles were originally intended to be shipped to Brazil to outfit that country’s burgeoning army.

Measurements: Rifle – Overall length – 48”; Barrel length – 32”

Bayonet – Overall length – 28.75”; Blade length – 24”