This is a very scarce Jenks Naval Carbine, as produced by the famous Remington arms company. 4,250 of the standard Jenks breechloading percussion carbines were produced for the US Navy by the NP Ames Company of Springfield, MA between 1843 and 1846. In 1847 an additional 1,000 “improved” Jenks carbines were ordered from E. Remington & Sons of Herkimer, NY, which included the automatic Maynard Tape Priming system. These additional carbines were delivered in 1847 and 1848. All of the Jenks carbines were originally manufactured as .54 smoothbore guns, with a round loading aperture in the breech. Both versions of the carbine had 24.5” barrels, walnut stocks and brass furniture. With the coming of the Civil War, nearly all of the carbines were subsequently altered. The round loading aperture which was designed for loose powder and a round ball was enlarged to an oval opening which allowed the loading of paper cartridges. The majority of the carbines were also rifled during the alteration process.
The tape primer Jenks carbines manufactured by Remington only represented 19% of all Jenks carbine production for the Navy. However, the Navy preferred the “improved” version of the Jenks carbine and made a concerted effort to issue these carbines to the newly built screw frigates Colorado, Merrimack, Minnesota, Niagara & Wabash, all of which were outfitted between 1856 and 1858. According to author and researcher John McAulay, each frigate typically received 70 of the Remington made Jenks carbines. Remington Jenks carbines were also issued to the crews of the Congress, Cumberland, Susquehanna, Portsmouth & Saranac during the late 1850’s. It was reported that the Navy had 1,359 of 5,400 total Jenks carbines in service during December of 1858, with the belief that the large majority were of the tape primer variant, since the Navy showed a strong preference for that particular small arm. With the beginning of the Civil War in 1861 the majority of the Jenks carbines were altered by rifling. Arthur Eastman & Simon Stevens contracted to alter 2,800 of the Jenks carbines by rifling their barrels. It is believed that they also enlarged the charging hole to the oval shape on any carbine that had not already had that alteration preformed. While the Navy placed more emphasis on the conventional muzzle loading rifled arms in use by the Army during the Civil War, the Jenks carbine continued to be issued and see significant use throughout the entire conflict.
This Jenks Tape Primer Naval Carbine is in VERY GOOD+ condition. The .54 caliber rifled bore is about EXCELLENT and has sharp rifling that has not been touched for many years. The lock and breech lever have a silvery look but have lost their case colors. The action of the gun is mechanically excellent and the mule ear hammer works on half cock and full cock. The cam action breech lever functions perfectly as well. The lock plate is marked in three horizontal lines: REMINGTON’S / HERKIMER / NY. The breech is unmarked. All of the brass furniture is an attractive mustard yellow typical of wartime brass fittings. The rear of the triggerguard tang, the trigger guard, and the butt plate tang are all marked with the same P inspector’s mark. This is the mark of civilian arms inspector Richard Paine, who inspected Naval small arms from 1839 to 1848. The walnut stock rates FINE and is free of any breaks, cracks or repairs. The stock shows only minor handling marks and a few scattered light bumps and dings from light use.
Price: $2,675.00, Can be delivered to the Fort at the CV Regional or the Nationals
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