Would like some history of 1864 Rem. roll-block type rifle

Topics related to Pre - 1898 Remington Rifles
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Sourdough
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:14 pm

Would like some history of 1864 Rem. roll-block type rifle

Post by Sourdough »

Greetings, gunsmiths and historians,

I hope you can provide some info on an old rifle which I inherited from my grandfather almost 60 years ago.
The only markings on the short-barreled roll-block type rifle include a stamped "crown" on the left side of the receiver and the following inscription on the plate just behind the hammer:
"Remington Ilion N.Y. U.S.A."
"Pat. May 3rd Nov 15th 1864 April 17th 1869" [Note: I'm not sure the last digit is a 9]

Other characteristics:
The stock is wooden, with a steel butt-plate
On the bottom of the stock, about 6" behind the trigger guard, is a small bracket with a
hole drilled through it (for a strap?)
On the fore hand of the stock is a metal band securing the barrel to the stock; it has a
capital "U" stamped on it (left side)
Just behind the metal band is a flip-up sight with the gradations "1-2-3-4-5' inscribed
on both the flip-up part and the base (assume these mean 100 yd. distances)
The muzzle will accept a .45 cal round, but the receiver is chambered a little larger than
that
The front sight is just a blade type, with a hole drilled transversely through it
There are no other markings or lettering of any type on the rifle
Bbl. length is 24", overall length is 40"
Single shot roll block

The family legend has it that granddad brought it back from the Philippines, wherehe was serving under B.G. John Pershing while in tjhe 11th Cavalry, during the end of the Spanish-
American war.

I appreciate any information or history you can give me about this old firearm and thank you in advance.

Stan Hafenfeld
tjack
Posts: 198
Joined: Sat Jul 01, 2006 6:15 pm

Re: Would like some history of 1864 Rem. roll-block type rif

Post by tjack »

Stan,
Without a few photos all I can do is guess. The last date on the tang is "1866". The crown on the side of the receiver indicates that it MAY be from a Spanish contract. However, your bore description sounds too large for the .43 Spanish generally (altho I have a couple with groove diameters of approx. .448"). Your barrel length is definitely non-standard. The usual length for Remington carbine barrels is 20-22". The only Rolling Block carbines that I am aware of that had a hole thru the front sight were made by Nagant in Belgium for the Dutch. The hole was used to affix either a sight protector or bayonet. Your rear sight is graduated for a full length rifle (32-36" barrel). So, my guess is that you have a rifle that has had its barrel shortened at some point in time. With the Remington markings on the tang I can not explain the hole thru the front sight. The piece behind the trigger guard sounds like the rear sling swivel bracket with the loop removed, further indicating a cut down rifle.
Tom
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