CLASSIC GUNS
Sharps Confederate Carbine
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In 1862, arms-maker Samuel Robinson of Richmond, Virginia, was contracted to produce a Confederate carbine based upon the Sharps pattern. Approximately 1,900 carbines were made between December 1862 and March 1863 by the C.S. Robinson Arms Manufactory. The Confederate government then purchased Robinson's armory and continued making the carbines but with C.S. markings. Later the factory was moved to Tallassee, Alabama, where roughly 3,000 additional carbines were produced until 1864. By the time of Lee's surrender in 1865, a total of 5,000 Confederate Sharps had been manufactured, compared to the 80,512 U.S.-made Sharps carbines that had been issued to Union troops, making the C.S. Robinson version a rarity indeed.
The Dixie Gun Works Confederate Sharps is a very close copy of the C.S. Robinson carbine, with a few notable exceptions. While the original guns were .52 caliber, the Dixie version is a more readily attainable .54 and features a case-hardened receiver and hammer, a costly and time-consuming embellishment that Robinson could not afford to put on many--if any--of the originals.
Crafted by Pedersoli, the handsome American walnut stock contrasts nicely with the authentic browned barrel and brass barrelband and buttplate. And both the barrel and the lockplate are authentically stamped "C.S. Robinson, Arms Manufactory, Richmond, VA 1862."
A sliding-bar sling swivel on the left side of the stock and a standard swivel near the toe of the stock are copied from the original. And like the original, the DGW Confederate Sharps does not sport a patch box as found on the Yankee version. Because of all this attention to detail, the DGW Confederate carbine is approved by the North-South Skirmish Association.
Thanks to its 22-inch tapered barrel, the eight-pound carbine balances extremely well--no wonder it was favored by Confederate cavalrymen. The shallow- groove 1:48 twist is ideal for stabilizing the .544-caliber, 475-grain soft lead conical ringtail bullet, which Dixie sells in bags of 100.
