M1816 Musket Proofs/Cartouche Help

[mudlark]

Hello,

I came across a beautiful 1816 contract musket produced by D. Nippes in 1837. The musket has been converted from its original flintlock configuration to percussion via the common 'French' method.

The lockplate is marked "US/D. NIPPES/PHILA" before the hammer and "1837" aft.

Strangely, the barrel shows no markings...no proofs, no eagle head, no date stamp on the tang...nothing. The gentleman I purchased the weapon from stated that they were probably removed when the conversion was done.

Was this common, or can I assume that the barrel was sanded down at some point?


The stock shows several strong cartouches;

Script cartouche and "E" opposite the lock;




Another slightly different 'script' cartouche on the comb, just before the buttplate;




"N.M" Just in front of the trigger guard;




And a large "JB" cartouche on the left side, parallel to the buttplate;



Can anyone decipher these cartouches?

Thanks & Kindest regards,

[ACo.]

Re: M1816 Musket Proofs/Cartouche Help

Can you show some pictures of the breach area? Top and both sides?

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: M1816 Musket Proofs/Cartouche Help

Hallo!

I cannot make out the script characters of the two inspector's cartouches.
If some can, we can perhaps look them up.

Single letter stamps were NUG, often, sub-inspectors or sub-assembly inspector's marks and can appear in/on many places and even individual parts.
These are usually, virtually, impossible to identify.

Ideally, M1822 and M1842 alterations such as to percussion, or to rifled-and-sighted," or just rifled versions will carry two inspector's cartouches NUG located opposite the lock (but as this specimen shows not always).
In the case of M1822's and M1842's, one is when the gun was first inspected and taken into service and is of the obvious earlier style(s) while the second is the repeat inspection after the gun was converted and/or altered to rifled-musket.

And sometimes, there are "spurious" War time and Post War stampings/markings that have lost meaning or significance to we moderns added by the military, individual states (Ohio and New Jersey for example) surplus owners, military schools, or who knows what.

Curt

[mudlark]

Re: M1816 Musket Proofs/Cartouche Help

Mr. Hern,

Here's the only photo I have of the bolster area.



Regards,

[James Brenner]

Re: M1816 Musket Proofs/Cartouche Help

The following passage from Peter A. Schmidt's, U.S. Military Flintlock Muskets and Their Bayonets, The Later Years, may help a bit.

"When a musket was completed one set of inspector's initials was applied with an inked stamp on the side face of the stock opposite the lock. These initials represent acceptance by the sub-inspector at the site of manufacture, at either public or private armories. After 1831, a second set was applied by the Ordnance Officer to the rear of the first set at private contractors and by a Master Armorer at the public armories. On contract guns dated between 1831 and 1839, an Ordnance officer stamped his initials in front of the buttplate tang and after 1838, to the rear of the sub-inspectors."

Have you dis-assembled the musket? Both Harpers Ferry and Springfield stamped Arabic numerals into the stock in the barrel tang channel opposite the lock. Other arsenals had other systems, to include marking the bottom of the barrel and inside the lock.

BTW, not all the cartouches were ink stamped. Several inspectors used dies to mark acceptance. It looks like some of the inspector's marks on your musket are die stamped. If so, is it possible to rub a little powdered chalk onto the cartouche? Schmidt's book has a list of inspectors and sub inspectors.

I hope this helps.