Alright.
Y´all need to get a hold of this... so here goes.
How about an 1853 model Enfield that is... new? Who knew?
If there´s a back story to this?
YOU BET!!!
Back in 1863, during a heated American civil war, there´s an uprising in Poland. In Warzaw, and these ppl need to get armed to overthrow the current regime.
So.
Due agents a load of Enfield export models are bought in England. The EXACT SAME gun delivered for the US civil war actually...
So.
These are loaded onto a ship headed for Poland through the Baltic sea.
Now. This is where the SHTF cause.. that ship gets boarded and the load impounded by Swedish customs. Yep. Stolen in short. Quite the debacle of course but.. them guns stay at Swedish customs impound.
I guess they could have rotted away but not so, so they get handed out for the Swedish "sharp shooter corps". Now.. one of them gets sorts of stowed away and surface in the early 1900´s at Swedish regiment I-15 in Borås (about 60km east of me)
There this piece gets to be a wall hanger in, get this, 1914 at the officers mess... Where it resides. For years n years n years...
Then the Swedish armed forces is dismantled to large degree why one of the officers of the regiment brings this old Enfield home.
Now. At the club it´s me and good friend Bengt that are in charge of anything black powder right, and it just so happens that Bengt is a former officer of I-15 too (actually a customs officer for the better part of his life as well)... why one day his former colleague calls him up and asks if he wants to buy that brand new Enfield.
..which he of course does.
Right. So the gun changes hands.. first time. Now. Bengt is a very good friend and knows that i´m into the British era guns, the 451 era ones especially (as some of you know i own an original Whitworth and so on) why recently he pops the Q...
"This is more you than me, what about a trade? That Gallager carbine of yours for a brand new 1853 Enfield export?"
Yeah well...
Honestly guys. How do you value something like this? Sure, the original hammer had gone AWOL. I guess someone took it off to spare the cone from dryfiring and it got lost.
Since though me n Bengt replaced the thing with a CORRECT Enfield hammer from back in the day.
But seriously. How do you value something like this? In all honesty it IMO either belongs in Poland or.. the US. Countries where these SHOULD have serviced or DID.
So. All you reenactment boys. If ya ever wondered... this is what these guns looked like when delivered back in 1863. When they were new. Literally.
To add insult to injury it´s the three band version too.
Honestly. I don´t even know what to say. Loss for words... n i own the piece. How many NEW civil war Enfields do you gather there still is?
Haven´t brought it home yet, will upcoming week. Will take better pics then.
Until then though, enjoy lads cause THIS is TRUE history if ever.
