This is an antique very good
condition, very rare and original Greene Bolt Action, Under Hammer Rifle from
the Civil War.
The Green Rifle is considered to
be the first bolt action rifle that was fielded by the United States
military. U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel
James Durrell Greene, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, patented the Greene Rifle on
November 17, 1857. Greene based his
design on Nicholas Dreyse’s needle-fire, bolt action design of 1838.
Greene’s design was unique in that
it was loaded by simultaneously placed two bullets in the barrel with powder
between the two. When the rifle was
fired, the charge propelled the front bullet down the barrel while
simultaneously forcing the rear bullet back against the face of the bolt,
sealing the breech. When the rifle was
reloaded, the bullet left in the breech would be advanced forward with the bolt
plunger, followed by a new powder charge and another bullet. The hammer is located underneath the action
and has a large ring that acts as a pull ring to cock the hammer. A percussion cap is seated and was fired with
ignition coming from the bottom of the chamber.
The Greene rifle is .53 caliber
with a 36-inch barrel that is secured by three, blued barrel bands. The Rear Sight is adjustable to 800
yards. The rifle weighted 9 pounds, 14
ounces. The serial number was stamped on
the bottom of the bolt.
The barrel is also unique in that,
although it appears round and smooth, it actually is oval in shape, which was
invented by London gunmaker Charles Lancaster. In
1850, Lancaster developed his oval shaped bore design, in which the bore would
be slightly oval shaped and would rotate throughout the length of the barrel
and therefore, a tightly fitting projectile would come out spinning, just like
a rifle bullet. Unlike a true rifle though, there are no grooves and therefore,
no sharp rifling edges, which makes the bore easier to clean. Although it seems counterintuitive to those
used to conventional rifled barrels, reports showed that Lancaster’s design,
and firing evaluations of the Greene Rifle, was extremely accurate.
Initially, the Greene Rifle saw
little interest from the United States when it was introduced in 1859. Not quite 3,000 Green Rifles were actually
purchased by the Imperial Russian Government under the name of Green “Dragoon”
Rifles, and none of those rifles are known to exist. Shortly after the Civil War began, in
December 1861, then Lieutenant Colonel Green of the 17th United
States Infantry Regiment, lobbied the Ordnance Department to have his rifle
purchased by the Army. Green was
eventually successful to a limited extent when he received a contract for 900
Greene Rifles. All 900 rifles were
completed by March 1863 and all were manufactured by the A. H. Waters Company
of Millbury, Massachusetts.
There are some reports that some
Greene Rifles were used by Union forces at the Battle of Antietam in 1862,
although no serial numbers have been identified for those Greene Rifles supposedly
used at that battle. In any event, most
of the 900 Green Rifles ordered by the Ordnance Department were sent to the
Washington Arsenal, and they remained in storage there until November 2, 1869,
when they were sent to New York along with other surplus arms and these rifles
were then issued to New York state militia units. The majority of these Green Rifles were
ultimately destroyed or otherwise disposed of and there are few existing
examples known in the United States today.
Given that nearly 3,000 Greene Rifles were delivered to the Russian
government, surviving Greene Rifles that were manufactured and delivered under
the Civil War Ordnance Department contract will run from just under serial
number 3,000 to around 3,900. As noted,
this rifle is serial number 2981, so it is one of the first US Government
contract rifles.
As noted, this particular Greene
Rifle is in antique very good condition.
The original Bolt is in very good condition, retaining considerable
original blued finish that now exhibits a plum patina in places and areas of
old pitting on the rear of the bolt. The
rifle serial number is stamped on the bolt between the two safety lugs and is “2981,”
so this was probably within the very first 20-30 rifles manufactured under the
Civil War US Government contract. The Bolt
Plunger retains the majority of its original blued finish and operates
smoothly.
The Receiver exhibits a plum patina
with areas of old corrosion, but it still retains the majority of its slightly
faded but original blued finish. The
original Bolt Release Button is present, and its spring remains strong. The chamber remains in the white and is very
clean. The bottom of the receiver where
the bolt sits exhibits some old corrosion, but it also remains in the
white. The receiver tang retains traces
of its original blued finish interspersed with old pitting and is marked
“GREENE’S PATENT / NOV. 17 1857.”
The original Barrel is present,
and it is in very good condition. The
exposed portion of the barrel retains the majority of its original, though
faded, blued finish with more pronounced wear at the muzzle with evidence of
old pitting concentrated at the front and rear portions of the barrel. As noted, the Greene Rifle used an oval bore
to impart rotation on the bullet instead of traditional rifling. The bore still has a mirror finish, testimony
to the ease of cleaning this type of barrel. The original one-piece Front Sight is still
tightly dovetailed to the top of the barrel and it retains the considerable
original blued finish.
The original adjustable Rear Sight
is present, and it retains traces of its original, though slightly faded, blued
finish with the balance exhibiting a plum patina with old pitting throughout. The right side of the rear sight base is
graduated to 400 yards. The elevation
leaf is graduated to 800 yards and it retains traces of its original blued
finish. The elevation leaf slide is
adjustable for windage and it and the binding screw retain 98% of their
original blued finish. The rear of the
elevation leaf has a part number “1000.”
The rear sight base spring and screw retain traces of their original
blued finish.
The Rear Barrel Band retains traces
of its bright blued finish, but the majority of the band now exhibits a plum
patina with areas of old pinprick pitting.
The rear band has the serif “U” stamp on the right side. The adjacent band spring retains considerable
original blued finish. The Middle Barrel
Band retains 75% of its bright blued finish and it has a serif “U” stamp on the
right side. The original Sling Swivel is
present and is riveted to the lug on the bottom side of the band. The adjacent middle band spring exhibits a
mixed blued and plum patina. The Upper
Barrel Band retains traces of the original blued finish, but it largely now exhibits
a plum patina with old pitting on the sides.
The upper band spring retains traces of its original blued finish.
The Trigger Guard Plate exhibits a
mixed plum and pewter patina with old pinprick pitting throughout. The Rear Sling Swivel remains tightly riveted
to the stud at the rear of the guard plate and it still rotates freely. The Trigger Guard Bow exhibits a plum and
pewter patina and has considerable pitting on the outer surfaces. The original Trigger still retains 60% of its
original color case-hardened finish. The
Trigger Release is still crisp. The
Hammer retains 90% plus of its slightly fading color case-hardened finish. The hammer has a two-position sear, and the
release remains crisp. The Hammer Screw
still retains the vast majority of its bright blue finish with an unmarred
slot. The original square-sided
percussion cap nipple is present, and it is clear to the chamber. The large fence around the nipple still
retains considerable original blued finish.
The original stock is in fine
condition throughout. There are a few
small dings and scratches, but no cracks or chips are noted. The stock retains its original oil
finish. There is a serif “L” inspection
stamp on the bottom of the stock wrist to the rear of the trigger guard plate
and an identical “L” stamp forward of the fence on the bottom of the
stock.
The original Butt Plate is present,
and it exhibits a plum and pewter patina throughout with areas of corrosion
staining. The Butt Trap Door is present,
and the spring remains strong. Both Butt
Plate Screws are present, and both have unmarred slots with the majority of the
bright blue finish remaining.
The original Ramrod is present,
and it remains correctly in the white with the exception of the front portion,
which now exhibits a plum patina with old pitting present. The trumpet head has the transverse hole for
attaching cleaning wipes, and it is slightly cupped at the end. Even though Greene Rifles were breech
loading, they could still be muzzle loaded in an emergency if the bolt somehow
got stuck. There was actually a
provision developed by Greene whereby the rifle was to be loaded at the muzzle
if the rear bullet somehow got jammed in the breech. The end of the ramrod is threaded for a
wiper. The ramrod stows tightly in the
stock.
There were only 900 Greene Rifles
manufactured for the Union Army during the Civil War and the vast majority of
these were destroyed or lost after the Civil War. There are few surviving examples of the
Greene Rifle and they are highly desirable as the first example of a service
bolt action rifle adopted by the United States, albeit for limited service. This rifle still functions perfectly.