1864 Burnside Carbine, Fourth Model

The Burnside Carbine was invented by Ambrose Everett Burnside, born in Liberty Indiana May 23, 1824. He graduated Unites States Military West Point Academy in 1847 and became a Lieutenant of Artillery. He fought towards the end of the Mexican American War. He resigned from the Military in 1853 and organized the Bristol Fire Arms Co. in 1855. Burnside developed a breech loading idea and patented in 1856, U.S. Patent # 14,491.

In April 1856 he sold 200 Carbines to the Government. The following year it was rated the best breech loading weapons of the weapons tested. In September 1858 he sold another 709 Carbines to the Gov. for $35.00 each.

A further trail board was conducted in 1860 to test various breech loading carbines. The Board concluded that although the Burnside was capable of rendering good service, it does not consider it equal to Smiths and Maynard’s to Military Service.

At the outbreak of the war Everett Burnside was no longer associated with the Bristol Fire Arms Co. He had gone bankrupt and sold off the Patents to pay his creditors. He becomes Major General and leads the Army of the Potomac during the Fredericksburg campaign in the winter of 62, if your reading this article I’ll assume you know what happens, it wasn’t pretty.

So back to the Carbines, the U.S. Government purchased 53,031 Carbines and 21,819,200 cartridges throughout the the war. The earlier Models of the Burnside Carbines had a Walnut Stock, Breech Mechanism and a barrel with no wood forearm. However in 1864 the Forth Model was designed with a 14” wood forearm held to the barrel with a single barrel band. This allowed for better sighting and allowed the shooter to handle the barrel without getting burnt.

During the 1863-64 Ordinance Department survey of breech loading carbines, 185 officers were polled on the Burnside, with the following results. Best 17; Good 125; Fair; 12 Poor 28: and 3 considered it useless, far cry from the Maynard Survey. It makes me wonder why the Government purchased more Burnsides then Maynard’s. Go read my article on Maynard Carbines if you’re confused.

So that brings us to my next example of a Civil War Weapon. The Burnside that you see here is in excellent condition. I purchase this from a gun auction a couple years ago. It has a Government cartouche on the left side of the stock, some bluing still on the lever mechanism and a serial # in the 16,000’s. Overall this is a fine example of a Fourth Model Burnside Carbine.

Many thanks to John D. McAulay and his book Carbines of the Civil War. Thanks for the history, and the ones who are passionate enough to document it.
Any questions contact Eugene West at civilwararsenal@yahoo.com

9 thoughts on “1864 Burnside Carbine, Fourth Model

  1. I have a Burnside Carbine I have acquired from a family member. I would just like a ball park value of the gun. I believe it to be a model 4 due to the 16xxx serial number and the following on the breach “Burnside Patent Model of 1864” Please contact me if anyone has more information. Thanks

  2. Came across your web sight and felt you might be a good person to offer advise to a beginner. I am just starting to collect Civil War weaponry so have a lot to learn. There is a local dealer who has a Burnside Carbine for a fair price. He seems to be honest and forthcoming and does not make any claims beyond what his research states. Here is the thing. The numbers don’t match on the Breach block and the receiver frame. They are as follows. Breach block 16168 and the receiver frame 34616. Now for the recorded numbers known breach block numbers 16114 and 161174 were issued to the 4th Wisconsin Cavalry. Also primary arms numbers 34576 and 34677 were issued to Company K of the 4th Wisconsin. Whereas, these numbers all encompass the numbers existing on the example for sale there is reason to believe that the parts were mixed up during cleaning or perhaps two battle damaged weapons were combined in the field to make one workable weapon. If all of this is believable it would serve to prove the weapon was issued to an active unit during the war. My question is how does the Civil War collector community view these scenarios? Have you ever encounters this type of situation?
    Thank you in advance for your time.

    Thanks
    Don

    • Donald, my thoughts are……none of us were there to say if they were swapped out during the war or not…….so that leads most collectors to only purchase weapons that have matching serial numbers……but if the numbers were only a couple apart then you can make a case that they might have been done during a maintenance cleaning in the field, but that’s just not the case here………you also have to consider condition and price, even with the incorrect serial numbers if the Burnside is priced aggressively then maybe it’s a good purchase……it’s all about what “you” as the collector want……

      Hope I helped, and didn’t make it anymore confusing, Gene West

    • the Serial numbers are 18,448 units apart. Most likely a reseller had several Burnsides in varies states of condition and combined the best parts from them to make one good weapons. Burnside Serial Number’s 35753 (Abraham Berger) & 36370 (George Long) Mustered into Company G of the 3rd Iowa Volunteer Cavalry

  3. I’ve owned a model 1865 Burnside Spencer carbine rifle for about forty years; the serial number is 9029, the only number on it, right behind the hammer. Can you help me understand the value of this rifle, or direct me to a reference that will help?

    Thank you.

    Matt

    • Matt, below please find the information you requested on the Burnside Carbine you own. Remember that condition means everything when considering value……most CW weapons are in “good” condition not fine or excellent.

      Regards, Gene West

  4. Attached is a picture of a civil war gun from my sister-in-law’s uncle. She’s trying to sell it, because she’s in need of cash.

    Could you tell my anything about this gun, if it is worth anything? I could ask them for a better picture.

    • Judith,
      The CW weapon you have is a Burnside Carbine 4th Model…….unfortunately it’s not in good condition…….its probably more of a parts weapon then a collectible one. It’s worth between $500-1000……..if it were in better condition it could be worth as much as $2500.

      Regards, Gene West

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