Continental rifles-Hey, John Holland...

[Muley Gil]

I received my September copy of Guns and Ammo and it has an article on Continental rifles that were built for a New York home guard unit. It seems that one hundred of them were built, so can we use an original or a reproduction in the N-SSA??? :D Well, OK, not all of them were in .58 caliliber, but they were built to use the 1855 bayonet, so that's good, isn't it? :)

[John Holland]

This question has been asked before and it was felt that it was covered by Rule 19.2.b "...sporting stock configurations..." The half-stock, nose cap, and butt plate, are typical of the sporting rifles made by Patrick Smith. Therefore, it has been previously disallowed.

Yes, they are beautiful rifles with a lot of history to them. The Union Continentals were made up of mostly wealthy professionals and businessmen, who were generally too old to serve in an active army, with a number of them having been born in the 18th Century. They organized recruitment drives, saw the troops off when they left Buffalo, and met them when they returned home. There is a complete list that shows the name of every individual who stood guard over President Lincoln's remains. The Union Continentals actually met the funeral train in Rochester NY and escorted the remains to Buffalo, stood guard, and then rode the train as escorts again when the train left Buffalo to its next destination. Because the rifles were privately purchased each individual could choose the caliber he desired. As shown in the article, each rifle is personalized with a German Silver oval inlaid in the stock. Those rifles which actually stood guard over Lincoln's remains will bring a bit of a premium over the others.

[Eggman]

The "E" via John's middle initial stands for encyclopedia.