blakeslee quickloadre case... French Marked ???

[bigelow]

I picked up two Blakeslee loader cases, black leather with wood blocks inside, no tubes, that have a French Ordnence flaming bomb on the frout and have not been able to find any info on them. They seem to show some age but I don't know anything about this stuff. Are they reproductions or what. Can anyone help in finding what they are. Thanks

[Southron Sr.]

In 1865 Uncle Sam owned the largest collection of military arms on the planet. Unfortunately, most of them were muzzle loaders which were now outclassed by breechloaders.

Then in 1870 the Krauts decided to go to war with France. When the Franco-Prussian War broke out, French buyers showed up here in the U.S. and purchased TONS & TONS of Civil War Surplus arms and ammo from Uncle Sam at "Bargain Basement" prices and shipped them to France.

Included in this sale were lots and lots of Spencer breech loaders, so it is not at all surprising that the French made up Blakslee Cases to issue out to their troops armed with Spencers.

The Krauts won the war, which gives them a record of "1 FOR 3" for the past Hundred & Fifty years!!!

[John Holland]

In addition to the imported Franco-Prussian War material, in 1873 the Belgian company of Falisse & Trapmann made a copy of the M-1865 Spencer Carbine. There is some general belief that the French re-armed their Cavalry units with these Spencers, seeing as those nasty Prussians had recently taken their toys away! So, it would stand to reason that they made their own Blakeslee Boxes to go with them.

JDH

[Southron Sr.]

To add to John's comments about the French Spencers....the English Machine Tool firm of Greenwood & Batley that had made the Enfield production machinery to be installed in the Confederate armory at Macon, GA [most of the machinery never made it thru the Blockade] opened up a subsidiary company that made Spencer ammo in England.

They did a LOT OF BUSINESS with the French during the Franco-Prussian War, supplying them with large quantities of Spencer ammo.

[Don Dixon]

According to Pierre Lorain, Les Armes Americanines De La Defense Nationale 1870-1871 [Amiercan Arms in the National Defense], (page 90) the French imported 44,772 Spencer rifles during the Franco-Prussian War. See the other comments above. That they would have made Blakeslee boxes - or at least inspected foreign made ones - isn't a surprise under those circumstances.

Regards,
Don Dixon

[Dave Fox]

Query: what makes you think the "flaming bomb" on this box isn't a U.S., perhaps post-war, Ordnance Department stamping?

[bigelow]

Hello,
The flaming bomb is made out of brass and attached on the front.

[bigelow]

any idea where I can find more info if these are real? And have they ever made a repro of these? Thanks.

[bigelow]

here are some pics

[John Holland]

Yes, reproductions have been made for quite a number of years. The first caveat with the one shown is that it exhibits no age whatsoever.

JDH