Brig. General Jasper Adalmorn Maltby (1826-1867) was born in Ohio and was wounded during the Battle of Chapultepec in the Mexican-American War and had moved on to Galena, Illinois, by 1850 and ran a gunsmith and sporting goods shop on Main Street where he lived with his family. He developed one of the first telescopic sights and advertised the quality of his custom target rifles. The relatively small town of Galena was home to nine Union generals during the war, most famously future president Ulysses S. Grant who was also originally from Ohio. Maltby helped form the 45th Illinois Infantry and rose through the ranks starting as a private and ending the war as a brigadier general. He was wounded in the elbow and thighs during the fighting at Fort Donelson. He served as the military mayor of Vicksburg and head of the registration bureau and also opened a business in the city. He died in 1867. His brother fought with the Confederacy during the war. This mid-19th century rifles is similar to the famous rifles manufactured by the Hawken brothers down river in St. Louis where lead had been shipped from Galena for decades. It is marked "J.A. MALTBY/GALENA/No. 137" on top of the barrel in the breech section and has some scroll and floral engraving on the various components. The breech plug has dual German silver bands. It is equipped with traditional blade and notch sights and adjustable double set triggers. The stock has a German silver forend cap, German silver escutcheons for the single barrel key, and a checkered wrist, and a German silver reposed stag on the left side of the butt

Good with gray and brown patina, some mild oxidation, crisp markings and engraving, replaced trigger adjustment screw, and moderate overall wear suggesting serious period use. The stock is fair and has an interesting period hide, metal plate, and spliced wood repair in the wrist; crack in the left side of the forend at the wedge, crack through the toe, sections absent above the lock and forend tip at the left, and mild scrapes and dings. (This type of repair is typical of mid to late 19th century gunsmith repairs). Mechanically fine.