The Mississippi Rifle

The “Mississippi Rifle” was a very popular Southern state contract arm. Numerous would-be makers obtained contracts and appear briefly in records. Some of their output has been identified, sometimes only tentatively. One of the best-made copies of the 1841 rifles was that produced by the Shakanoosa Arms Company in Alabama, known more commonly by the name of Dickson, Nelson & Company.
Two distinct variations of the Dickson, Nelson & Company short rifle were made, according to Jim Blackburn (Gun Report, October, 1961). Superficially both are two-band short rifles, .58 caliber, along the lines of the U. S. Ml841 with Enfield overtones, brass bands. The first type, usually dated 1863, has springretained bands on a cherry-wood stock. Though esteemed by cabinet makers, cherry is not always as strong as walnut, and the makers preferred walnut in their second “issue.” The nosecap is of Enfield type, not the two-loop band of the Ml841 model. There is of course no patchbox. Rear sight is of two-leaf type, possibly 300- and 500-yard notches. Buttplate is curved, of conventional rifle-musket form.

In the second form, found dated 1864 and 1865, the D. N. & Company seem to have made minor attempts to strengthen the arm, in the stock, especially. The wood is walnut, while the tang of the trigger guard plate is extended to the rear more than the 1st type; the back tang is 5Vi inches long, 9 inches long overall. In both types, front bands and guard bows carry the sling swivels; the second type has narrower, clasping bands. In one arm owned by Blackburn, the appearance of the stock at the place for the rear band suggests that in fact no rear band was fitted; an emergency economy in parts, perhaps. The second type rear sight is a simple dovetail blade, V notch. The buttplate is more primitive, flattened and at an angle like the 1841 Rifle or U. S. Musket 1842. Vertically to the rear of hammers on first and second types the lockplate, of U. S. 1841 form, is marked ala./1863 (or ’64, or ’65) in two lines; forward of the hammers the plates are marked in three lines: dickson/nelson & company c.s.
These well-made arms were produced in a limited quantity, though the “Shakanoosa Arms Company,” proprietors, William Dickson, O.O. Nelson and silent partner Dr. L. H. Sadler, had evidently tooled up to make 5,000 Mississippi-type rifles for the state of Alabama. They delivered at least 645 of these to the state, receiving $90 each in somewhat inflated currency in payment.
Dickson and Nelson were from Tuscumbia, Alabama, and Dr. Sadler lived at Leighton. Deliveries were supposed to begin May 2, 1862, but the advance of the Union forces caused their withdrawal to Rome, Georgia, where they found haven to produce arms for Alabama. They had been in Rome a short time when the plant was burned, causing them to take up new quarters at Adairsville, Georgia, and, finally, a further move to Dawson as the tides of War washed close to them. It is possible the cherry stock guns are associated with their first production in Rome. Later production in Dawson included plans to fabricate a carbine.
Many carbine stocks and blanks of walnut were found there and remained on hand in the wood trade there for many years until recent discovery by collectors snapped them up as souvenirs of this peripatetic factory. Made on order for the State of Alabama, in a factory which produced most of its rifles in the neighboring commonwealth of Georgia, it seems likely that many of the arms produced were actually used by a Missouri regiment. Blackburn reports (op. cit.) that of three Dickson, Nelson & Company rifles he has owned, two came from Jefferson City, Missouri, one from St. Louis.