Manufactured circa 1864 to 1865 by the Lee Firearms Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with a very limited number produced. This carbine is one of the very few arms manufactured in the West during the Civil War and very little is recorded about the arm, but it is known that in late 1866 Lee completed 255 carbines, of which 102 were sold and that approximately 200 more were in various stages of near completion and a few hundred more in various stages of production. The U.S. War Department placed an order for 1,000 carbines in 1865 but a misunderstanding caused the entire lot to be rejected by the government because the barrels had the incorrect bore. Lee sub-contracted the barrels to Remington who bored them with the incorrect caliber. There is no record of any further manufacture of the carbine for that contract, it is assumed no others were manufactured. Sales were more than likely made privately to officers or state militia units. The left side of the barrel is marked "LEE'S FIREARMS CO. MILWAUKEE, WIS./PAT'D JULY 22, 1862". The serial number is marked on the top of the frame under the barrel. Blade front and two folding leaf rear sight with "1" on the shorter leaf and "3" and "5" on the longer leaf. There is a saddle ring bar and ring mounted on the left side of the frame. The barrel swings to the right for loading and unloading, with a manual extractor mounted on the right side. High polish blue barrel and frame with a casehardened hammer and buttplate, and mounted with a smooth straight grip walnut stock with a iron crescent buttplate and showing no noticeable markings.

Excellent. The barrel and frame retain 90% bright original high polish blue finish with loss due to flaking and some light wear from the saddle ring. The exposed areas have a smooth plum and gray patina. The buttplate retains 90% original case colors with some graying on the edges. The stock is also excellent with only a couple of minor pressure dents and handling marks. The markings are clear. Mechanically excellent. An exceptional example of an extremely rare Lee carbine. This will complete the finest Civil War carbine collection!