Inspection, ARMS!
Starting Your Arms Library – Part II
By Tim Prince · Originally published July 2017 · pp. 8–9
Last month we started a twopart series about the ten books that I feel are an essential part of any Civil War firearms collector’s library. We managed to cover the first five books last month, so without further ado, we will consider the second half of my list. #6 Firearms From Europe 2nd Edition by James B. Whisker, Daniel D. Hartzler, and Larry W. Yantz. This is the first book that I am aware of that limited its scope entirely to imported firearms used during the American Civil War. Some earlier books like Edward’s Civil War Guns and Frederick Todd’s American Military Equipage 1851-1872 covered imported arms to some degree, and Wiley Sword’s monograph Firepower from Abroad looked at the Confederate importation of English Enfields and LeMat revolvers, but the subject had never really been approached in a comprehensive manner previously. Here, the authors attempt to cover all countries that sold firearms to the north and south and provide information about the types, patterns, and numbers acquired. The book is divided by country of origin and discusses numerous patterns of arms imported for the war. While many of the arms descriptions are fairly short, enough information is provided to allow a collector to differentiate between a French Model 1853 rifle, preceding models like the Model 1842, and contemporary Belgian copies. As with all reference books, there are some minor errors here and there, and some more recent scholarship has made part of the section on English arms somewhat obsolete. However, for a good overall book to help identify the type of gun you are looking at, its Civil War association (if any), and which side was likely to have purchased it, there is no better basic reference guide. #7 Confederate Rifles & Muskets by John D Murphy & Howard M. Madaus. Long out of print, this is one of those books that I find myself referring to regularly; enough so that I might need to buy a spare copy for when mine finally falls apart! While I indicated last month that I was trying to keep the scope of my suggested books fairly general, with broad ranges of coverage, if you have any interest at all in the long arms made for, or altered in, the Confederacy, you need this book. It represents a lifetime of research by the authors, and in the process Dr. Murphy amassed one of the finest (if not the finest) collection of Confederate made long arms in the world. While this book covers the work of the famous Confederate manufactories that everyone has heard of like the Richmond Armory, the Fayetteville Arsenal, and private makers Cook & Brother, it also includes amazingly obscure makers like John Overton of Tennessee (who likely delivered less than 100 “Mississippi” rifles) and some of the mid-sized makers like John D. Murray’s Columbus Armory (makers of the “J.P. Murray” marked rifles). The information is more than you can possibly digest in a single reading. However, if you are considering the purchase of any Confederate made rifle or musket, invest in this book prior to going shopping, let alone buying such an expensive gun. While this out of print tome is currently retailing around $400 (or higher) on Amazon’s out of print and rare book service, you can often find a copy for sale at a Civil War show for between $150 and $250. It is worth every penny. There is a somewhat less encyclopedic accompanying edition, Confederate Carbines and Musketoons, which covers the shorter long arms produced and altered in the Confederacy. This has recently been returned to print by Mowbry Publishing and can be had new for under $100, less in used condition. The carbine book has a more narrow scope, but they are good compliments to each other, and it is worth owning both if you have an interest in learning about or collecting Confederate made long arms. #8 The English Connection by Russ Pritchard Jr. and C.A. Huey with Mike Nichols, Tim Prince, and Dean Thomas. I’m a little biased about this one, as I was involved in writing it. It represents the life’s work of primary author Russ Pritchard Jr. and the collecting passion of the late C.A. “Corky” Huey. While not limited only to firearms, this 600+ page tome covers everything that the Confederacy acquired from Great Britain during the war, from rifles, muskets, and revolvers, to edged weapons, accouterments, uniforms, artillery, and even naval china! More than a third of the book is dedicated to long arms, handguns, and their associated Confederate inspection marks. If you include artillery, gun appendages, and edged weapons, more than half the book covers arms. If you have an interest in acquiring any Southern imported English weapon you need this book, as it will keep you from making buying mistakes and will likewise clue you in to some knowledge that is still not widely circulated about various Confederate inspection marks. The book provides more than enough text to give you the information you need; more importantly, it is profusely illustrated with large, clear color photos so you know what the text is describing. The lack of quality color photography is the lone major complaint that can be lodged against nearly every book on this list, particularly those that are thirty years old or older. The technology of that time simply did not allow for the kind of high resolution photos in today’s collector reference books. It’s not cheap, but no reference work worth buying ever is.
The English Connection is the definitive resource for anyone looking for information about the English arms and equipment acquired by the Confederacy.
#9 Carbines of the Civil War by John D. McAulay. This is McAulay’s second appearance on the list and this is probably the narrowest subject book on the list, as it deals only with U.S. carbines used during the war. Some nineteen different models are covered in this reasonably priced paperback. In McAulay’s usual style each is treated with incredible detail and quality research, without getting the reader too far into irrelevant minutiae that most readers don’t really care about. If you have thought about collecting U.S. Civil War carbines, this needs to be your second purchase, after you buy a Flayderman’s. #10 United States Military Small Arms 1816-1865 by Robert M. Reilly. This final book gets back to the “old school” reference book that many of us older collectors grew up on. It covers a wide spectrum of U.S. made military longarms and handguns from 1816-1865, as well as many “secondary martial” handguns of the Civil War period (those acquired on the open market or in small quantities by the Ordnance Department). When I say “old school” I mean it, there are no photos, just detailed line drawings (just like Mr. Reilly’s book on socket bayonets). There are advantages to this, as it allows markings to be very clear and legible, but there is still no substitute for a clear, crisp photo. The book is laid out chronologically by weapon type, with chapters covering muskets, rifles, carbines, and handguns. While not amazingly detailed, it provides substantially more information than is typically found in the two or three paragraphs that might be dedicated to a firearm in Flayderman’s. In some cases, it seems as if one book may have drawn upon the other, with the Flayderman’s entry reading like a concise version of Reilly or Reilly’s entry sometimes reading like an expanded Flayderman. Either way, it is a reference worth having. It is out of print, but is still fairly available and not priced unrealistically. While the line drawings might be slightly off-putting to the younger “digital” generation of collectors, a serious collector will appreciate the advantage in detail that they can provide. To summarize, my “Top 10 List” of gun collecting books for the budding Civil War firearms collector are: 1. Flayderman’s Guide to Antique American Arms…and their values, 9th Edition by Norm Flayderman. 2. Civil War Guns by William B. Edwards. 3. American Military Shoulder Arms Volume III by George Moller. 4. Firearms of the Confederacy
- United States Military Small Arms 1816-1865 by Robert M. Reilly.
by Claude Fuller and Richard Steuart. Civil War Pistols by John D. McAulay. Firearms From Europe 2nd Edition by James B. Whisker, Daniel D. Hartzler, and Larry W. Yantz. Confederate Rifles & Muskets by John D Murphy and Howard M. Madaus. The English Connection by Russ Pritchard Jr. and C.A. Huey with Mike Nichols, Tim Prince, and Dean Thomas. Carbines of the Civil War by John D. McAulay.
I hope you have enjoyed these two articles and will take some of the advice to heart. A quality arms library is the single best investment you can make in your collecting hobby. While books have lost some of their luster in the digital age, there is still no substitute for them. However, for those who prefer to do on line research, I highly recommend that you take advantage of the numerous articles available from the American Society of Arms Collector’s web site. The American Society is a group of arms collectors who are dedicated to researching and writing about the arms they collect. In fact, many authors listed above were (or are) members of this group. Over the past few years the group has been digitizing their journal articles, which date back to 1955. In some cases these articles provide the most detailed information and research available on a given weapon or arms maker. If you have a chance, you should visit their web site at: http://americansoci-
etyofarmscollectors.org and peruse the articles available there. Enough words about books, next month we get back to talking about Civil War firearms. Tim Prince is a full-time dealer in fine & collectible military arms from the Colonial Period through WWII. He operates College Hill Arsenal, a web-based antique arms retail site.
A long time collector & researcher, Tim has been a contributing author to two major book projects about Civil War era arms including The English Connection and an upcoming book on southern retailer marked and Confederate used shotguns. Tim is also a featured Arms & Militaria appraiser on the PBS Series Antiques Roadshow.