1851 Colt Navy .36 Information

Here are the pictures of the musket. There are some markings on it, and I know nothing about it other than it was also passed down throu the family. There are numbers and one on the rear top of the barrel "1835". So, any information on this weapon you might have would be very appreciated.

Thanks
 

Attachments

  • 20240120_125654.jpg
    20240120_125654.jpg
    410.5 KB · Views: 54
  • 20240120_124658.jpg
    20240120_124658.jpg
    341.8 KB · Views: 53
  • 20240120_124612.jpg
    20240120_124612.jpg
    248 KB · Views: 46
Last edited:
More photos
 

Attachments

  • 20240120_124641.jpg
    20240120_124641.jpg
    209 KB · Views: 41
  • 20240120_124816.jpg
    20240120_124816.jpg
    163.6 KB · Views: 45
  • 20240120_124908.jpg
    20240120_124908.jpg
    271.4 KB · Views: 41
Navy Arms got the repro business going in the CW Centennial with the Yank 1851 Colt and Reb Griswold and Grier/Gunnison. The Reb had a brass frame and dragoon barrel, a pretty faithful reproduction of one of the better known Confederate weapons.

The musket is a German piece, imported by both sides to supplement the common Springfields and Enfields.
 
Once commonly referred to as Griswold and Grier. Mr Gunnison was the "mechanic" close to what we would now call a mechanical engineer, Mr Grier was the company lawyer, Mr Griswold's son in law. I know a Grier family with connections to south Georgia; I wonder if they are related. Can't get them to do a family tree search, though.
 
back to the musket

So....is the general consensus that the musket is in fact a period piece?

That sure looks like a set of initials and some type of unit marking on the butt plate.
 
I'm not an expert on these things, but Suhl is and was a German gunmaking center. Googled "1835 Suhl musket" and came up with hits on a 69 caliber military musket. Muzzleloader, yes? Is the barrel rifled? Smoothbore muskets of this caliber were common in many arsenals of that era.

PS: It looks a lot like the Springfield 1842, but unless the armory was buying locks from the Germans, I'm betting it was an import.
 
"Mississippi"

First glance I thought it was a "Mississippi" too, then I saw "Suhl". Not familiar enough with the lock , just saw the brass fittings.

Hey, so there's one correct heirloom for posterity and passdown and another for shooting.......win/win:)
 
Thanks for all the info guys. It was fun reading all the posts and learning about the history. I really appreciate you taking the time to educate me on these weapons. Again, thank you...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top