Name/Title
Model 1841 Mississippi Palmetto Armory RifleEntry/Object ID
2023.2.1Description
Wooden and metal rifle with brass furniture and ramrod. There are two oval shape rings for option to attach a strap on the bottom of the rifle. The lock plate is stamped with "Palmetto Armory SC" encircling a palmetto tree. "Columbia, S.C. 1853" is also stamped on the lock plate directly over the trigger. The barrel is engraved with a "P" over a "V" and on the side of the ramrod. "SC" is engraved on the tang.Firearm Type
RifleContext
Around 1850, industrialists William Glaze (1815-1883), Benjamin Flagg (1807-1882), and James Boatwright (1773-1857), founded Palmetto Armory. An arms manufacturer, the company was located in present-day Arsenal Hill and was operated principally by Glaze, an experienced clock, watch, weapons, and hardware merchant and mechanic. Flagg, who formerly operated Massachusetts-based arms manufacturer Benjamin Flagg & Co., would remain involved with the company until around the time Glaze repurposed it as the Palmetto Iron Works—which manufactured steam engines, boilers, cotton gins, farm implements, and sugar mills—in 1854. An experienced mechanic and manufacturer of cotton gins, mills, carriages, and wagons, Boatwright was 77 when the business was formed and was only involved with it for a short time.
In 1850, the South Carolina General Assembly passed "An Act to Provide for the Defense of the State," which appropriated $350,000 for military purposes, including munitions for the state militia. The following year, in April 1851, Glaze, Flagg, and James Trapier (1815-1865), Major of Ordnance for South Carolina, signed a contract stipulating that Palmetto Armory would manufacture 6,000 muskets with bayonets ($14.50 each), 1,000 rifles ($15.50 each), 2,000 pistols ($14.50 each), 1,000 cavalry sabers with scabbards ($6.50 each), and 1,000 artillery swords with scabbards ($6.50 each). Upon the termination of the contract in 1853, Palmetto Armory had delivered all of the muskets and rifles, 1,000 pistols, 2,000 cavalry sabers, and 526 artillery swords to the state.
Of the 1,000 rifles manufactured by the Palmetto Armory between 1852 and 1853, 500 were destroyed while in storage during the Burning of Columbia occurred in February 1865, making the remaining rifles, like this one, the rarest type of surviving firearm produced by the manufacturer.Firearm Detail
Manufacturer
Palmetto Armory, William GlazePlace Made
City
Columbia, South CarolinaPlace of Use
City
Columbia, South CarolinaDate Made
1852Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
EngravingLocation
Near LockTranscription
Palmetto Armory SC
Columbia
1852Material/Technique
StampedType
EngravingLocation
ButtTranscription
SCMaterial/Technique
StampedType
EngravingLocation
BarrelTranscription
P
V
T
[illegible - see note below]Notes
"T" is actually a palmetto tree which has worn slightly
Illegible line once read "WM Glaze & Co"Dimensions
Width
6-1/4 inDepth
2 inLength
48-5/8 inRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Palmetto Armory
