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CALISHER & TERRY CARBINE – 1856 BRITISH PATENT –
STRONG CONFEDERATE ASSOCIATION – AS CARRIED BY J.E.B.
STUART – NICE COMPLETE SPECIMEN: Developed for
the British army in the late 1850’s by the Birmingham
and London firm of the same name, the Calisher and Terry
Carbine is one of the imported firearms associated with
the Confederate Army during the American Civil War -
specifically one is known to have been carried by Major
General J.E.B. Stuart, C.S.A., and another was owned by
Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
Known as both a “Door Bolt” and a “Folding Bolt-action”
system, the Terry Carbine was operated in a very similar
fashion to today’s modern bolt-action firearms. The
handle, which is hinged on the rear right side of the
receiver, is pulled out perpendicular to the axis of the
barrel, rotated 90 degrees up, and pulled to the rear.
The cartridge is inserted through a milled slot in the
right side of the receiver, and the bolt is closed.
Upon being closed, the arm of the bolt handle fills the
loading aperture. The bolt is secured in position by two
rear-locking lugs which engage the milled shoulder in
the receiver. The bolt face has a chamfered head which
seats into the mouth of the correspondingly shaped
chamber. A percussion cap is placed on the nipple, and
when struck by the hammer, ignites the combustible paper
cartridge. A unique positioning of the nipple in
relation to the chamber directs the flame from the
percussion cap into the middle of the cartridge, as
opposed to the rear of the cartridge as in most of the
other contemporary firearms of that period. By igniting
the cartridge in the center of the powder charge, the
charge burned both forward and rearward, and perhaps was
thought to provide a faster and more even burning of the
powder.
The Terry Carbine employed a special cartridge developed
by Terry in 1855 consisting of a combustible paper
cartridge infused with nitrate, containing 55 grains of
powder and a 530 grain conical bullet which is described
in various sources as being both solid and having a
cavity in the base. A greased felt wad was attached to
the base of the cartridge at the rear of the powder
chamber. When the cartridge was fired, consuming the
paper wrapped powder charge and expelling the bullet,
this wad was left behind at the face of the bolt,
sealing the chamber and acting as a gas check. When the
bolt was withdrawn to reload the carbine, the felt wad
remained at the front of the chamber, forward of the
next cartridge loaded. Upon firing the second, and any
subsequent cartridges, the wad was propelled through the
barrel ahead of the bullet and served to lubricate the
barrel and reduce the build up of fouling.
The Terry Carbine was subjected to testing by the
British Army in 1858. The tests were successful and
after making an impressive showing, Calisher and Terry
received an order for at least 1,000 carbines for use by
British cavalry units through the early 1860’s. The
Terry carbines were eventually supplied to other units
throughout the Commonwealth, being used through the
early 1870’s. Calisher and Terry went out of business
in 1870.
The most famous example of a Calisher & Terry Carbine is
the one carried by Major General J.E.B. Stuart who
earned his fame in the Army of Northern Virginia as the
legendary commander of General Robert E. Lee's cavalry.
Stuart was known for his interest in innovative cavalry
equipment, so it is perfectly in character that he
selected a carbine of modern design for that time. The
second most famous Calisher & Terry was found in the
personal possessions of President Jefferson Davis upon
his capture at the end of the War. These two carbines
still exist and now reside (respectively) in the
collections of The Museum of the Confederacy and the
Confederate White House in Richmond, Virginia.
Aside from these two historic and identified guns, as
with so many of the arms that were purchased abroad to
arm the Confederacy, there survives little documentation
as to how many Calisher & Terry carbines were imported
by the South. Due
to the necessity of closely guarding any records of
international arms purchases at the time, the inherent
nature of blockade running, and the characteristic lack
of surviving records from any defeated government or
nation, the lack of a definitive number is not
particularly surprising. Certainly, it stands to reason
that more than two Terry Carbines were brought into the
South, and with the demand for serviceable arms, it is
very likely that those that were imported were placed
into service with the Confederate Army.
This is a well marked example, with the stamping on the
top of the receiver “TERRY'S PATENT .30 BORE.” legible
for the most part, and two fully legible British proof
marks and again, another “30”, indicating the bore size
is stamped on the underside of the barrel. “30 Bore” is
the common English manner of stating the caliber, which
a measure based on the number of round balls of that
particular diameter needed to equal 1 pound, or
translated to the decimal system used in the United
States, the barrel is .53 Caliber. The serial number
“2476” appears on a good number of the individual parts
of this carbine, indicative of the amount of hand
fitting necessary for assembly. The serial number is
engraved on the rear tang of the trigger guard, and
stamped into the barrel channel of the stock. The
matching serial numbers further appear on the bottom of
the barrel, the breech plug, the bolt handle, the rear
of the bolt cap, the inside surface of the lock plate
and on the tip of the original ramrod.
The straight grained stock is obviously one intended for
military use, showing none of the embellishments such as
checkering at the wrist and on the forearm that are seen
on other examples of the Terry Carbine that were
intended for the civilian market. The only marking on
the stock is a small “H” stamped immediately below the
rear trigger guard tang which is consistent with a unit
inventory mark. A number of surviving examples of these
carbines that were placed into service throughout the
British Commonwealth bear unit stampings on the flats of
the butt stock plainly identifying them to Australian,
New Zealand, and South African police and militia units
– all of which would generally preclude those examples
as possible Confederate associated arms. Discovered in
a well established and long standing Texas collection,
and with the simple “H” stamping on the stock, this
carbine presents as one would expect of those imported
during the Civil War.
Worthy of note is the shape of the stock – specifically
the butt stock, which has an obvious, and intentional,
offset from the center line axis of the carbine. This
offset allows the shooter’s eye to immediately line up
the rear and front sights as the carbine in shouldered,
and is further evidence of the inventor’s effort to make
this an innovative design.
This carbine shows some evidence of use, but survived
the passing years in remarkably nice condition. It is
in full form, complete with all the components, to
include the unique full length ramrod which is often
missing from surviving examples, and of particular note,
it still retains the original leather sling.
The barrel is full length,
and is complete with both front and rear sights. The
rear sight is complete with the slide and leaf. The
bore retains very strong rifling with no pitting and
only minimal frosting at the muzzle. The surface of the
barrel, lock and all of the iron furniture is bright
with light, scattered pitting as can be seen in the
photographs.
The unique bolt system is in
excellent condition, and the bolt handle snaps into
place with no play or looseness due to wear. The lock
mechanism is very strong and functions with a crisp
trigger pull and spring action and the lock retains much
of its original dark finish. As noted above, all of the
major parts retain legible, matching serial numbers.
The stock is complete, and
while showing the expected signs of wear and handling,
has no structural damage such as cracks, or breaks. The
wood has a nice, pleasing patina and a beautiful aged
color. The sling is full length with no tears or breaks
and the brass hardware has an even patina. Retaining a
nice russet color with no oil soaking, the leather
surface is overall smooth with only minor flexing and no
crazing or flaking.
This unique and quite scarce Calisher and Terry Carbine
was collected back in the days when such special pieces
were still regularly coming out of family estates, and
even at that time was a special discovery. Overall,
this carbine presents very well and would be an
attractive addition to a Civil War Cavalry collection,
and it is a particularly affordable and credible
representation of the carbines used by the Confederacy.
$3250
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