Disposal of “War Surplus”

Some of the guns remained in storage until long after they had been obsoleted by superior designs. Then many were sold at auction, while others, battlefield relics, or remnants of post-War selling through Montgomery Ward & Company and other large firms, filtered out through the normal trade channels. Often some old Civil War musket remained in attic or bam until the rise of the little old lady antique dealer. The gun collector is often offered muskets “carried by my grandfather at Bunker Hill” which bear the dates of Civil War manufacture conspicuously stamped on lock, on barrel, on bayonet, or saber blade. The collector will scoff at these dealers who cannot even tell when the gun was made, though the date is marked on it. They should not scoff—the failing was not uncommon in Civil War Times. Consider the position of General Butler, after he had occupied New Orleans and decreed amnesty for all holders of deadly weapons, if they would turn them in to the provost marshal. One gentleman of the South was brought before Butler, some time after the amnesty period had passed, on a charge of possessing weapons, including a saber. He pleaded that the weapons were family relics. “That, General, was my father’s sword,” he declared.

“When did your father die, sir?” Buder queried. “In 1858,” replied the man. Butler looked at the blade where the hilt joined, saw the U. S. inspector’s stamp and date of manufacture. “Then he must have worn this sword in hell, sir,” he replied, “for it was made in 1859.”
Less humorous, more exciting, was the career of Mr. Hartley’s firm after the War. In 1870 those very thousands of guns which he helped import were in turn bought by him for export. Just ending was a five-year postwar boom for expanding America, with the cattle country growing to dominate the economic scene. But for thousands of steers only a few cowboys were needed. Though the range opened up, the prosperity did not involve vast migrations westward. True, hundreds of thousands of people did move west, but they were not rich people. They were poor, and remained so, with notable exceptions, throughout the buffalo shooting decade till 1876. Indians, not pioneers, ruled the plains then. And the commercial market for mass sales of sporting firearms was not as prosperous as external conditions would warrant. There were too many War surplus guns on the market, specifically of two brands, the Spencer and the Sharps. Both names had achieved “consumer acceptance,” both were good, solid serviceable rifles. The Spencer, and the cartridge conversion of the Sharps in .50 caliber were issued to soldiers on the frontier. Sergeant Bullhead’s Indian police carried Sharps converted rifles the day they slew Sitting Bull in 1890, so for a long time War surplus Civil War guns supplied the limited wants of the frontier. From 1866 to 1870 this was especially true of the Spencer guns.
Spencers were in demand but the Government had almost 100,000 of them. Spencer’s own production could not compete in price with his War-surplus guns from Government sources. Arms which he had sold for $30 were now being hawked about the trade for five to seven dollars. J. H. Johnston, proprietor of the Great Western Gun Works of Pittsburgh, advertised “I will pay the following prices in cash or trade, and express charges, for second hand arms in working order; if broken or rusty, they will suit me as well, but I will make a fair reduction for the missing parts: Spencer rifle or carbine, 7 shooter, cash $7.00, trade $9. Henry rifle or carbine, 16 shooter, $12 cash, $16 trade.” He gave no cash value on Colt 1860 Army or

Off to Cowes and market went brand new Remington .44 revolvers, much liked by French ordnance officers. Author bought new specimen of U.S. Civil War pistol in small French gunshop in Rennes in 1949 for $6.00. Butt had been drilled for lanyard swivel base but gun had never been used.

Colt Navy revolvers, nor for Sharps army rifles, 30inch barrel, but he gave $5 trade-in on those three items.
Johnston, among others, wanted these to sell to France. Probably Great Western was gathering arms on commission for the New York firm of Schuyler, Hartley & Graham. Hartley’s firm had large contracts with the French Government in 1870, and if it were known in the western parts of the country, western Pennsylvania and farther west, that the gun firms were buying for France, prices would have rocketed. Certainly Johnston planned to rebuild and cannibalize guns to make complete ones. His low prices on nonmetallic cartridge guns was possibly because he planned to convert them to cartridge before shipping to France.