Elusive Cartridge Casings Recovered in Nebraska
The .45-70 U.S. Carbine Headstamp
By Dick Eckles 11/17/16
In 1873 the U.S. Government replaced the 50-70 cartridge with the .45-70 which went through several evolving changes during its twenty-year period as the primary U.S. service carbine and rifle cartridge.
Although the cartridge was adopted in 1873 actual production of .45-70 ammunition did not start until January of 1874. During the Frankford Arsenal’s early production of the .45-70 cartridge production problems were quite common and in some cases they would try new variations for periods as short as one week before abandoning the change.
A history of .45-70 cartridge production information was discovered in the National Archives by noted researcher Frank Mallory of the Springfield Research Service. Dated entries of changes or upgrades were recorded under the heading: Record of Alterations & Improvements on Rifle, Carbine & Revolver Ammunition Cal. 45. 1873-1878.
From the list there is one entry of significant interest which involves adding a headstamp for identification purposes to the 45-70 cartridges. The entry is as follows, “July 27, 1874: Plan of marking, in raised letters, at heading machine, the heads of carbine cartridges with “U.S. Carbine”, tried. After one week’s trial this was discontinued.” (Albert Frasca, 1997)
The reason for adding the headstamp was so the soldiers could visually identify whether the cartridge was for the carbine or the heavier rifle. The carbines used by the Cavalry being lighter in weight used cartridges with less powder to reduce recoil. Since the gun is sighted in with a particular cartridge the accuracy of that gun would be compromised if the proper cartridge was not used. The two cartridges looked identical and once removed from their labeled box there was no way to know which cartridge you had.
This short production time for this new headstamp explains the rarity of these “U.S. Carbine” stamped cartridges. The questions today asked by students of militaria and cartridge collectors are, were these “CARBINE” headstamped cartridges issued by the Frankford arsenal and if so, where did they go?
Kenneth L. McPheeters, a well-known collector and dealer of early cartridges made the following comment: “While it is difficult to determine today what the manufacturing capability of the Frankford Arsenal was for one week in 1874, the total production of these specially headstamped carbine cartridges must have been fairly small, evidenced by their rarity today. A considerable number of them must have been issued and expended by the soldiers in the field, leaving a limited number to survive in today’s collections.”
In the mid to late 1990s the author recovered a number of fired .45-70 casings from private property located on the land which was once the location of Fort McPherson in Lincoln County, Nebraska. Fort McPherson, originally named Fort Cottonwood was established when Nebraska was still a territory and was active from 1863 till 1880. The Fort’s primary purpose was to protect the immigrants from Indian depredations along the Oregon Trail.
Approximately 15 years after recovering the 45-70 casings the author ran across a reference concerning the rarity of the U.S. CARBINE 45-70 headstamp and decided to check the Fort McPherson specimens for a possible match. Currently upon a macroscopic examination of the collection there are eight casings which have been identified with this rare historic U.S. CARBINE headstamp. There very well could be more in the collection but some stamps are extremely faint and appropriate visual aids will be needed to make an accurate determination.
It appears that Kenneth McPheeter’s theory was indeed correct, at least part of the 1874 headstamped cartridges had been issued during the Plains Indian Wars era and were used by the soldiers at Fort McPherson, Nebraska.
Fig.1 is a photo of an unfired 45-70 cartridge showing the raised letters which were lightly stamped and are often very faint making them difficult to photograph. These early cartridge casings were made of copper rather than brass. It wasn’t until the 1880s that the switch to the more durable brass casings was made.
U.S. Carbine headstamp
Photo courtesy of Kenneth McPheeter
When fired, the pressure pushing the soft copper cartridge head against the breechblock nearly obliterates part of the slightly raised headstamp thus making it somewhat more difficult to see the remaining portion of the headstamp.
From the U.S. CARBINE headstamped casings from the Fort McPherson collection the example shown in fig. 2 was the most visible but was still difficult to photograph. Note how the base has bulged out after being fired.
Fort McPherson fired 45-70 with U.S. CARBINE headstamp.
The cartridge in fig. 3 is an unfired 45-70 specimen from Fort McPherson. The raised letters on the headstamp of this specimen are also very faint even though it was not fired and not subjected to pressure against the breechblock.
Fort McPherson unfired 45-70 casing with U.S. CARBINE headstamp.
References:
Fort McPherson, Fort Cottonwood, NT (Louis A. HOLMES, 1963)
The 45-70 Springfield, Vol. II, (Albert Frasca, 1997)
McPheeters Antique Militaria
http://www.mcpheetersantiquemilitaria.com
The Cartridge Collector’s Exchange