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Title:	CARBINE -  GIBBS CARBINE .52
Maker/Manufacturer:	GIBBS, LUCIUS H.
Date of Manufacture:	1863
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 5952
Measurements:	OL: 97.7CM 38 1/2" BL: 55.8CM 22" 7.37 lbs.

Object Description:

GIBBS CARBINE .52
Manufactured by Phoenix Armory, New York, N.Y. in 1863 - Standard Gibbs breechloading single-shot percussion carbine. Barrel moves forward and rear tilts up to load. Iron furniture, blued barrel. One-piece, three-quarter length walnut stock. Nose cap loops barrel. Sling ring and bar on left side. 6-groove rifling; concentric twist. Three leaf rear sight for ranges up to 500 yards. Weapon has an overall length of 38 1/2", a barrel length of 22" and weighs approximately 7.37 lbs. Approximately 1,062 manufactured.

Markings:
Lock: Eagle behind hammer. WM F. BROOKS/MANFD NEW YORK/1863 forward of hammer.
Frame: L.H. GIBBS/PATD/JAN'Y 8 1856.
Barrel: B. (P, B underside).
Buttplate: U.S. (11 inside).
Stock: Two inspector's cartouches on left side of butt. STB? GIBBS in white paint.

1909 Catalog #3095 - "Carbine. Gibbs Breech Loading Rifled Carbine. Cal..52. Paper cartridge. M'f'd by William F. Brooks, N.Y. Leaf sight manufactured 1863."

Notes: "In 1863, three cavalry regiments were armed with Gibbs carbines. They were the 10th Missouri plus the 13th and 16th New York. The first two regiments filed reports from the fields and gave the thumbs down on the Gibbs.
The 10th Missouri Vol. Cavalry located at Natchez, Mississippi, in December, was armed with 496 Gibbs carbines. Major Benton, of the 10th, stated that the Gibbs did not meet the requirements of the cavalry. He found that they were often rendered useless after being discharged. Even with the dislike for the Gibbs, it remained in the regimental inventory most of 1864.
In July, the 13th New York Cavalry, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Ganesvoort, was issued 250 Gibbs carbines in their campaign against Mosby's Rangers. After four months in field service, Colonel Gansevoort requested that the Gibbs no longer be issued to his regiment. The major objection raised by the colonel was 'caused by a poor lever action. Its barrel is moved forward and backward in the stock. When at all rusted, this lever is difficult to reach so as to entirely clean it and, when worked by the guard in that state, is apt to break off in the stock near the barrel.' Other problems were the inferior workmanship and material used in its construction plus several of the carbines burst about six to eight inches from the muzzle due to the thinness of the barrels. In the following year, the 13th turned in their Gibbs for Sharps carbines." - John D. McAulay

"Production of the carbines associated with a patent granted in January 1856 to Lucius Gibbs, confined to the Civil War, was eventually curtailed in very unusual circumstances. On 18 December 1861, the Ordnance Department contracted with William Brooks of New York City for 10,000 Gibbs carbines at $28 apiece. An ironfounder specializing in chimney flues, Brookes subcontracted most of the work to the Phoenix Armory on the corner of Second Avenue and 22nd Street. Delivers commenced in the late spring of 1863.
On 13 June 1863, however, the Phoenix Armory and its contents were destroyed during the New York Draft Riots, and work on the Gibbs carbine stopped after only 1052 had been sent into store at a cost to the government of $26.61 apiece.
The .52-calibre Gibbs operated similarly to the Gallager; a lever doubling as the trigger guard tipped the barrel to receive a combustible paper cartridge. A conventional side-hammer cap lock was used to detonate a percussion cap, the flash passing down the nipple channel and out along the axis of a hollow conical spigot which had pierced the cartridge base to facilitate ignition. An annular collar in the breech-face expanded momentarily to act as a gas seal.
A Gibbs carbine typically had a 22-inch barrel, giving an overall length of 39in., and had a conventional wooden fore-end. It could be easily identified by closed ring on the breech-lever tip." - Walter

"Patented by Lucius Gibbs in January 1856, the carbine relied on a trigger guard to tip the barrel upward at the breech. Unlike the otherwise similar Gallager carbine, the Gibbs pattern fired a combustible paper cartridgeOn 18th December 1861, the Ordnance Department contracted with Brooks for 10,000 carbines; lacking facilities of their own, Brooks sub-contracted most of the work to Marston. Deliveries commenced in April 1863, but the Phoenix Armory was destroyed on 13th June - during the New York Draft Riots - and work on the carbines ceased after only 1052 had been accepted." - Walter

References:
McAulay, John D. CARBINES OF THE U.S. CAVALRY 1861-1865. Andrew Mowbray Incorporated. Lincoln, R.I. 1996.
Reilly, Robert. U.S. MILITARY SMALL ARMS 1816-1865. The Eagle Press. Baton Rouge, La. 1970.
Walter, John. RIFLES OF THE WORLD. 2nd Ed. Krause Publications. Iola, Wi. 1998.
Walter, John. THE GUNS THAT WON THE WEST: FIREARMS ON THE AMERICAN FRONTIER, 1848-1898. Stackpole Books. Mechanicsburg, Pa. 1999.