POTD: Richardson/Overman Gallager Civil War Carbine
Sam.S 05.10.22
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! In the late 1850s and early 1860s, all sorts of firearm innovations and patents were flying around. One such patent would be the Gallager patent that led to our gun today the Richardson/Overman Gallager Carbine. Now, Dr. Mahlon J. Gallager patented and designed this nifty little cavalry carbine and licensed the manufacturing to the Richardson/Overman Manufacturing Company.
This was all done in South Carolina and ironically enough the guns were sold to the North during the American Civil War. This particular one pictured today is an early percussion cap version that would have used a percussion cap in tandem with a paper cartridge. Later these were redesigned to use a striker and a metallic cartridge.
“This example is the early production variation marked only with “GALLAGER’S PATENT/JULY 17TH 1860/2721” on the lock. It has a “pinched” blade front sight, notch and folding leaf rear sight, and a smooth stock with blued patch box, saddle ring bar, and ring. Matching serial numbers are found on several components. A spare nipple is in the patch box.”
Lot 93: Richardson/Overman Gallagers Civil War Carbine. (n.d.). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved May 8, 2022, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/69/93/richardsonoverman-gallager-civil-war-carbine.
