Richmond Confederate Rifle Muskets

aka Confederate Springfields

In 1861 Harpers Armory was captured by Confederate forces. In their retreate the Union Army attempted to destroy the Armory by setting it a fire. Tough they succeeded in destroying thousands of rifle muskets & rifles almost all of the arms making tools & machinery were salvaged along with numerious parts and sent south. The rifle manufacturing equipment went to Fayettville, N.C. while rifle musket machinery went to Richmond Va. At first the State of Virginia assembled rifle muskets from parts salvaged from Harpers Ferry, then manufactured new muskets using captured tool & dies. The lockplates had the destinctive "high hump" for the model 1855 Maynard tape priming system, but without being milled out for the internal parts and designated type I . These were stamped with the DATE vertically on the tail and RICHMOND VA forward of the hammer. Virginia then transferred the works to the Confederate government and they contnued to manufacture the "high hump" type II which added C.S. above RICHMOND VA. When these dies finally wore out the workmen created new dies with a "low hump", type III, that were marked the same as the "high hump" type II. Due to the use of captured parts furniture variations are common. Type I muskets have iron furniture and barrel bands, types II & III have iron trigger assembly & barrel bands but have a copper alloy nose cap and buttplate marked C.S.A . Richmond Armory also manufactured carbines & rifles as well as refurbishing captured arms. The arms manufactured there were the equal of rifle muskets manufactured anywhere in the world.

Richmond Lockplate Type I & II	Richmond Lockplate Type III

caliber .58	caliber .58
Model 1861 High Hump	Model 1861 Low Hump
No. Supplied Unknown	No. Supplied Unknown
Mfg: State of Va & CSA.	Mfg: CSA