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Title:	RIFLE/MUSKET -  U.S. RIFLE-MUSKET MODEL 1861 CONTRACT (BRIDESBURG) PERCUSSION .58
Maker/Manufacturer:	BRIDESBURG (JENKS, A. & SON)
Date of Manufacture:	1864
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 1291
Measurements:	OL:142.2CM 56" BL:101.6CM 40"

Object Description:

U.S. RIFLE-MUSKET MODEL 1861 CONTRACT (BRIDESBURG) PERCUSSION .58
Manufactured by Alfred Jenks & Son, Bridesburg, Pa. in 1864 - Late Model 1861 Jenks contract rifle-musket and is actually in Model 1863 Type I configuration. Jenks was the only contractor to make weapons in 1863 configuration. Clean-out screw eliminated. Clamp type barrel bands. Jenks & Sons manufactured 98,464 M1861 rifle-muskets.

Markings:
Lock: 1864 behind hammer. Eagle. U.S./BRIDESBURG forward of hammer.
Barrel: V/P/Eaglehead. 1864. S.E.S.
Trigger guard: G/S.
Bolster: Eagle.
Bands: U. G on lower band. W on middle band.
Buttplate: US. B.

1909 Catalog #0184 - "Rifle. U.S. Rifle. Marked on lock plate, U.S. Bridgeheads, Eagle, 1864. Altered from Flint Lock to Percussion. On bands, U. On butt plate, U.S. Rear sight missing."

Notes: "Bridesburg Machine Works - Bridesburg and Philadelphia, Pa. Alfred Jenks and his son Barton H. Jenks. Manufacturers of cotton and wool milling machines, they converted for munition production when the Civil War broke out. They 'erected a huge building with four wings, having a length of 920 feet and equipped with the necessary machinery driven by two engines, one of 150, and another of 80, horsepower.' In 1863 they employed several hundred men and produced about 5,000 Springfield muskets per month. Received contracts for a total of 100,000 muskets, of which number they delivered 98,464 to collect $1,959,537." - Colonel Robert E. Gardner

"Alfred Jenks & Son of Bridesburg (Philadelphia), Pennsylvania, owners and operators of the Bridesburg Machine Works, received five contracts during the Civil War specifying .58 caliber rifle-muskets.
The first of these, dated July 13, 1861, called for 25,000 arms, all of which were delivered at a price of $20.00 each. The second contract, specifying a like number, was dated October 7, 1861, and resulted in the delivery of 19,000 stands at $25.00 each. Under the third contract, dated July 7, 1863, for 50,000 arms, no deliveries were made, but on December 15, 1863, the offer of this number was repeated, and 48,000 were delivered at a cost of $20.00 each. The final contract came on February 1, 1865, and specified 6,000 rifle-muskets at $19.00 each, all of which were delivered.
This total of 98,000 rifle-muskets was augmented on September 27, 1862, when Jenks resubmitted 500 arms which had previously been rejected. Of these, 464 were accepted, though at reduced rates, bringing the total number delivered to 98,464 - a number exceeded only by Samuel Colt in wartime rifle-musket deliveries....
It is important to mention in this regard that John Rice of Philadelphia had contracted originally for 36,000 stands of rifle-muskets (this number later reduced by the Investigating Commission to 25,000), and that judging from existing records, very possibly produced a small number of these exclusively on a subcontract basis. Indeed, Alfred Jenks & Son provided stocks and fore-tips to Rice under subcontract. More important, however, is the fact that the firm of C.H. Williams of Philadelphia was to make the locks for Rice's arms, and forwarded samples to him. John Rice was one of many arms contractors completely without ability or knowledge of arms-making, but with exceptional talent as an organizer. Although Rice's name is missing from the list of contractors who actually made deliveries, the possibility exists that he completed a small number of arms in 1862, and that those relatively few existing specimens bearing the 'PHILADELPHIA' markings are among them....
Alfred Jenks & Son rifle-muskets bearing the standard 'BRIDESBURG' markings have also been noted in Model 1863 types, and it is quite possible that Jenks, with his exceptional ability to produce arms under government contract, was the sole contractor who altered his machinery so as to conform to each of the changes made at Springfield during the war years. The theory has also been offered that Jenks actually supplied completed locks to the government for installation on the Springfield arms.
Aside from the large number of rif
"Both Brigadier General Ripley and Secretary of War Cameron realized early that the United States would have to contract for privately produced rifle muskets. By early July of 1861 the War Department was issuing contracts to private firms for the production of the rifle muskets. The Union disaster at Bull Run soon reinforced these opinions. The first contracts were issued to the most reputable and experienced industrial firms with at least some experience in arms making. The firms, such as Alfred Jenks and Son, Providence Tool Company, Colt, Remington, and Lamson, Goodnow, and Yale, proved to be worth the trust Ripley placed in them. Although all suffered delays in preparation, each delivered large numbers of first-class rifle muskets by the end of the war. Jenks, the largest producer, manufactured over 98,000, and furnished large numbers of parts and locks for other government contractors. Colt delivered 75,000; Providence Tool Company, 70,000; Lamson, Goodnow, and Yale, 50,000; and Remington, 40,000." - Carl L. Davis

References:
Davis, Carl L. SMALL ARMS IN THE UNION ARMY, 1861-1865. University Microfilms International. Ann Arbor, Mi. 1979.
Flayderman, Norm. FLAYDERMAN'S GUIDE TO ANTIQUE AMERICAN FIREARMS...AND THEIR VALUES. 6th Ed. DBI Books, Inc. Northbrook, Il. 1994.
Gardner, Robert E. SMALLS ARMS MAKERS. Crown Publishers. N.Y., N.Y. 1963.
Reilly, Robert. U.S. MILITARY SMALL ARMS 1816-1865. The Eagle Press. Baton Rouge, La. 1970.