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Always Check Under the Butt Plate........


Nkomo
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Recently, my dad traded for an old Civil War era double barrell shotgun. The barrell lengths are 19 1/2 inches long. It is between a 14 and 16 gauge, slightly larger than .70 calibre. Upon further inspection, we found that the gun was made by Drisket & Waroux of Belgium. This maker also made muskets that were imported during the Civil War.

 

When dad traded for this piece, the seller told him that it had some interesting marks on the stock. The markings are hand carved and are old. The markings say " CS ALA". The markings are approximately 1/2 inch tall. The seller said they were "interesting", but were not definitive proof of the shotgun having been used by the Confederacy during the war. The seller also stated that the left barrell was still loaded and to be careful when pulling the load. Upon retrieval, the load consisted of what appeared to be a buck and ball paper cartridge from the Civil War. The powder STILL was ignitable and gave off a very pungent sulfur smell, more so than modern black powder. The lead ball was hand cast. The three buck shot were of different sizes and at least one was made from salvaged lead. This was typical of Selma Arsenal buck and ball loads. We were able to retreive pieces of paper and the thread that held the cartridge together.

 

The gun came from the window seat of an old cabin that had been modernized in the 1920's by building a house around the existing structure. The house was demolished recently and the gun was found in the window seat of the old cabin.

 

When dad got this gun back to the house, he began cleaning it. During the that process, the butt plate was removed with great difficulty. What we found underneath was the following information: "4 ALA CAV W.K. K CO" Upon further research, there was indeed a W. Kelly in K Company, 4th Alabama Cav. The 4th Alabama Cav was with Nathan Bedford Forrest and participated in the Atlanta Campaign, as well in many other battles.

 

This just goes to prove that pulling the butt plate can yield some amazing information. This was a common practice for that time period in the Confederate Army. It was punishable offense in the Union Army.

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Writting on the metal buttplate. Appears to have been punched in with a nail and then scratched between nail marks. We think it says "BA 65".

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Great find Arch

 

Untouched stuff like this isnt an everyday find

 

I know you and the Ol'man will give it a great home. :thumbsup:

 

Dont take it to the knot heads at Pawn Stars...they will want to shoot it :lol:

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Are you planning any kind of research?

Dad is going to write and see if he can find W Kelley's records. However, we have already found a W. Kelley in K Company with the 4th Alabama Cav.

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Great find Arch

 

Untouched stuff like this isnt an everyday find

 

I know you and the Ol'man will give it a great home. :thumbsup:

 

Dont take it to the knot heads at Pawn Stars...they will want to shoot it :lol:

This shotgun will NEVER ever be shot, as it has Damascus twist barrells and they are unsafe to shoot. Thanks for the compliments, Ron.

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That's a great story. Glad you posted it and the photos.

 

In the early to mid twentieth century the Swiss put names under the butt plates of their military arms to identify the owners. It's common practise among Swiss collecters to pull the butt plate on K31's and see a small slip of paper on which is written who owned the rifle and where the person it was issued to was from and includes his home address at the time of his being issued it.

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The Civil War shotgun is an awesome find!

 

 

That's a great story. Glad you posted it and the photos.

 

In the early to mid twentieth century the Swiss put names under the butt plates of their military arms to identify the owners. It's common practise among Swiss collecters to pull the butt plate on K31's and see a small slip of paper on which is written who owned the rifle and where the person it was issued to was from and includes his home address at the time of his being issued it.

 

Niner Alpha,

 

I can attest to this. I took the buttplate off my K31 the same day I bought it, and found a white plastic card with the Swiss soldier's name and town on it. Just happened to be named "Albert," which was a very cool coincidence.

 

David Albert

[email protected]

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  • 3 weeks later...

You have a nice piece of history there, if it could only talk.... I have read of shotguns being used but this is the first one

I have seen with provenance.... it's interesting also the barrel length.... about right for a carbine....

most of the later western stage coach guns average 19 to 20 in length....seems to be thought a practical length....

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You have a nice piece of history there, if it could only talk.... I have read of shotguns being used but this is the first one

I have seen with provenance.... it's interesting also the barrel length.... about right for a carbine....

most of the later western stage coach guns average 19 to 20 in length....seems to be thought a practical length....

The length is perfect for soldiers on horseback. I would NOT want to come up on a bunch of Cavalry wielding those type of shotguns. Devastating at close range. Thanks for the comments! :thumbsup:

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This is my GGG-Uncle, John Mitch Roberts, he fought with the 4th Alabama Calvary, rode with Roddy. I have a distant cousin, in is 90's that actually knew him. Pretty cool to talk to someone who knew a Civil War Vet. I also included a photo of his pension application and a reunion photo. What a cool gun, he might have known the guy whom it belonged to.

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