This rifle is one of only a select few known Burnside sporting rifles. It was manufactured by the Burnside Rifle Company based on General Ambrose E. Burnside's design. Most of the small number of surviving examples utilized the First and Second Model type actions making this rifle even scarcer. Some of the sporting rifle variants of Burnside's design are known to have been used as presentation pieces, and others were possibly built by the company's employees for their own use as theorized in Edward Hull's book "Burnside Breechloading Carbines and Rifles. A Collector's Guide..." A higher end example like this would have been made for a nice presentation to one of the company's leaders. This rifle would have also made for an excellent presentation piece for an important high ranking individual such as a Civil War general near the end of the war given the large number of Union veterans that would have been intimately familiar with the Burnside design. Over 50,000 carbines were purchased under contract by the government for the Union War effort. They were the third most widely used cavalry carbines after only the Sharps and Spencers and were used in combat in nearly all of the major battles of the Civil War. As military men are often fond of the weapons they used in combat, it is easy to see how a Union cavalryman returning to civilian life would cherish a fine sporting rifle using the same action he used to defend his country. It has fit and finish of a higher standard than what is typically found in a military issued Burnside carbines. The last government purchase of the carbines from the company was on February 12, 1865, for 800 carbines and appendages per page 94 of "The Burnside Breech Loading Carbines" by Edward A. Hull, and the rifle was likely manufactured around that time. They continued to deliver Spencer Model 1865 carbines until October 27, 1865 and also tried to release their own repeating rifle design. Unable to continue on as an arms manufacturer, the company made a successful transition to manufacturing locomotives in the fall of 1865 and became the Rhode Island Locomotive Works in 1867. Ambrose Burnside had sold his shares in the company before it became profitable as an arms manufacturer, but he became the company's president again in 1866. While he unfortunately made little to no profit off the guns that bear his name, the company's first locomotive was named after him. Burnside also famously served as the first president of the National Rifle Association in 1871. The organization was formed to promote marksmanship, and a fine rifle like this would have been a fitting piece for Burnside himself. This incredibly rare rifle features a globe front sight, notch and folding ladder rear sight, George P. Foster's patented breech-latch, hand selected high grade fancy walnut stock and forearm with piano finish, and a pewter forend cap. The rifle has "BURNSIDE RIFLE CO/PROVIDENCE=R.I." on the lock and a faint Burnside patent marking on the top of the frame. Interestingly, the patent date is usually only found on the earlier carbine models. The bottom of the barrel, breechblock, and front of the action are marked with "4" which may be a serial or assembly number. The number "22767" is marked on the breech block (hidden underneath the ejector mechanism), indicating it is a part from the Civil War production line. The few surviving examples of Burnside sporting rifles are also known to lack numbers in the traditional serial number location on top of the frame. This rare rifle and at least one other Burnside sporting rifle have the obvious 5th Model breechblock guide screw patented by George Bacon. This improvement represents the completion of the evolution of General Ambrose Burnside's ingenious design and was implemented during Civil War production due to complaints from soldiers using the previous models having troubles manipulating the breechblock and confirms that this rifle would have been manufactured during the war or just after its conclusion.