Eli Caswell Plank Rifle

[Uncle Miltie]

Nice old plank rifle from the shop of Eli E. Caswell Albany NY 1837-1843. Barrel is .40 caliber, bore is excellent and shoots just the same. Rifle weighs just under 19 pounds. German silver fitments, it's a cool old gun that made it this far in shooting condition. There is a long crack on the non-lock side of the stock but it has been stabilized.

Of particular note is the upside down bird engraved on patchbox: not sure why it was done that way, but there it is.

Slow twist (around 1/70 by my guess) it shoots with excellent accuracy but takes 65-70 grains fffg to do so.

The last photo is a painting of riflemen shooting from a plank in NY state.

 

[Uncle Miltie]

Here is the painting.

 

[OLUT]

A beautiful, heavy plank gun ... Uncle Miltie, can you show the stamping or markings that indicates that this is a Caswelll made gun? I ask this question as Swinney's book is "rather vague" on the whole Eli (Emmons) Caswell story

 

[Uncle Miltie]

Here are photos of the marking and muzzle.

 

[LongWalker]

Uncle Miltie, would you mind posting the barrel measurements (length, breech diameter, muzzle diameter)? I'm sorta gathering data on this for a future project. Thanks!

 

[Uncle Miltie]

Barrel length: 41.250", muzzle diameter: 1.135", thickness at breech (octagon): 1.362".

 

[Sam squanch]

Amazing painting. What our ancestors did before TV was invented. The two African American riflemen are a curiosity. I’ve never seen this painting, thank you for posting.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

I hope the Black Powder Maniac sees this post. It's a type of rest he could use!
Very interesting rifle. It speaks of quality. I'd be willing to bet that the bird was right side up when the maker was engraving it but when he put it back on the rifle it was one of those #$@!*& moments. I hadn't ever heard of a plank rifle before. Sort of an upgrade from a chunk gun rest.

Edit: If you look at the patchbox from the top the bird will appear to be right side up!

"The two African American riflemen are a curiosity."
Gun bearers maybe?

 

[LongWalker]

Barrel length: 41.250", muzzle diameter: 1.135", thickness at breech (octagon): 1.362".

Thank you!

 

[Uncle Miltie]

I hope the Black Powder Maniac sees this post. It's a type of rest he could use!
Very interesting rifle. It speaks of quality. I'd be willing to bet that the bird was right side up when the maker was engraving it but when he put it back on the rifle it was one of those #$@!*& moments. I hadn't ever heard of a plank rifle before. Sort of an upgrade from a chunk gun rest.

"The two African American riflemen are a curiosity."
Gun bearers maybe?

Blacks shot in matches as well, though not many. Also a few black gunmakers at the time, but again not many. I figure the fellow holding up his turkey was happy about winning it Really a great painting and while we are quite familiar with how match shooting was done in the Southern Highlands not many are familiar with how it was actually done in the northeastern part of the country.

 

[LongWalker]

"The two African American riflemen are a curiosity."
Gun bearers maybe?

Throughout the 1800s, there were at least a few Free Black gunsmiths or riflemakers; by 1850 there were more, and the numbers continued to slowly increase after the Civil War. Their market was largely African Americans (and a few target shooters). If they are making rifles and buying rifles, why would shooting in a match be a surprise? Shooting was almost the national sport of the day. The painting dates to 1879, and records a match in Saratoga NY; I don't know the demographics of the population then, but it looks like everyone turned out.

A friend collected longrifles for about 50 years before he found a focus: now he collects rifles made by African American gunmakers, as well as ephemera like targets. I think his earliest such dates to ~1825. He is gradually trading off most of his other stuff to focus on this.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

There are so many things about the past that we just don't know about. Especially about the relationships between the races. The modern interpretation has become such a divisive issue that the real truth of the matter may be lost. Thanks Uncle MIltie and Longwalker for the posts.

 

[smoothshooter]

Here is the painting.

That is a wonderful painting. The attention to detail is flawless, and the peripherals like the dogs, the sleigh, and the horse resting it’s head across the beck of the other horse are great.
I wonder how I could get a copy of it to frame and hang on the wall in my gun room?

 

[LongWalker]

If you do a Google search on "turkey shoot John W. Ehninger" (without the quotes of course) several sellers of prints will come up.

 

[Uncle Miltie]

Throughout the 1800s, there were at least a few Free Black gunsmiths or riflemakers; by 1850 there were more, and the numbers continued to slowly increase after the Civil War. Their market was largely African Americans (and a few target shooters). If they are making rifles and buying rifles, why would shooting in a match be a surprise? Shooting was almost the national sport of the day. The painting dates to 1879, and records a match in Saratoga NY; I don't know the demographics of the population then, but it looks like everyone turned out.

A friend collected longrifles for about 50 years before he found a focus: now he collects rifles made by African American gunmakers, as well as ephemera like targets. I think his earliest such dates to ~1825. He is gradually trading off most of his other stuff to focus on this.

Meshach Moxley was an Ohio gunsmith.

 

[LongWalker]

I don't know if Doc has a rifle by Mesach Moxley, but I know he has one by Meshal Mosley (I traded it to him)--wonder if/how they were related. Both did some pretty decent work, if you like Ohio rifles. For a while I had an Ohio rifle made by Henry Lewis. . . in 1901!

 

[Notchy Bob]

Thank you, @Uncle Miltie , for posting this!

A rifle that long and heavy must have surely been a dedicated target rifle. From the photos, the butt plate (measuring from heel to toe) looks quite small. Is this an optical illusion, a regional style, or a feature unique to plank rifles?

Dan Pharis (@Dphar1950 on this forum) mentioned plank shooting and posted that picture in some long-forgotten thread a couple of years ago. That was the first time I had ever heard of it, and I'll have to confess, I haven't investigated it much. Regarding the painting, I either missed or forgot a lot of the detail our sharp-eyed brethren have pointed out in this thread. It is a remarkable image.

What ranges or distances would have been typical for these matches? I don't remember Ned Roberts specifically describing plank shooting, but I believe he did mention match shooting at forty rods, which would be the equivalent of a furlong, 220 yards, or one-eighth of a mile, which would be a pretty long shot, in my estimation.

Again, thanks for showing that terrific old rifle and initiating this interesting topic.

Notchy Bob

 

[Uncle Miltie]

The buttplate is of average size for NY state rifles of the time but in the full length photo it looks pretty small.

I have heard matches ran anywhere from about 30 yards to 20 rods (110 yards) with roundball and picket rifles. 40 rods became popular after the advent of slug rifles and telescopic sights.

Turkey matches were popular and my rifle appears to have been built for shooting them as there is what appears to be an upside down turkey engraved on the patchbox lid and an inlaid one near the tang.

At the Canal Fulton Club (Ohio) we still have matches for original picket and slug rifles at 100 yards and 40 rods every Mother's Day weekend.