This U.S. contract Henry lever action rifle was manufactured by the New Haven Arms Company as part of a 127 rifle order by the Ordnance Department for rifles to arm the 3rd Veteran Volunteer Infantry Regiment (3rd VVI) that shipped in April-May of 1865. This rifle falls close to rifles 9213, 9225, and 9226 identified as rifles reported by the 3rd Regiment U.S. Vet. Vol. 1865 Companies B, C, I, H, and K listed on pages 76-77 of "The Historic Henry Rifle" by Wiley Sword as one of the 98 Henry rifles in serial number range 8480-9701 issued to Companies B, C, I, H and K of the 3rd VVI in May-June 1865. This specific rifle is listed on page 83 by serial number and includes details from the inscriptions discussed below. The 627 Henry rifles purchased by the Ordnance Department in April-May 1865 are generally not marked with Ordnance inspection marks. However, a small number of these rifles are stamped with what appears to be a small Ordnance sub-inspection mark consisting of the block letters "A.W.M." on the left side of the stock wrist as is the case with this rifle. This rifle has the mid-late production Henry features which include: second style receiver without rear sight dovetail, buttplate with sharply pointed heel, a nickel-silver front sight blade with flat rear, a large diameter brass follower with beveled follower cut in the receiver, late style folding leaf rear sight with elevation bar with rounded ends and elevation bar stop screw below the 900 yard center notch, the second style barrel legend with longer (3-9/32-inch) markings using all serif letters, standard sling swivels and screw mounted sling loop on the left side of the stock and barrel and fitted with a black leather sling, and un-numbered screws in the tang and buttplate. The rifle has the distinctive octagon barrel with integral 15-shot magazine and brass receiver and buttplate. The barrel and integral magazine are blued, the receiver and buttplate are natural brass/gunmetal, and the hammer, trigger, and lever are color casehardened. The stock is oil finished, straight grain American walnut. The serial number is stamped on the top barrel flat between the rear sight and the receiver and on the inside of the buttplate below the trap door. Out of caution, the stock has not been removed, but the matching serial number is almost certainly repeated on the left side of the lower receiver tang and in the stock upper tang inlet. The small "W" inspection mark of Oliver Winchester is stamped on the lower receiver tang behind the lever latch. The stock contains a four-piece cleaning rod. The side plates feature period scroll engraving around the borders and the following inscriptions: "'Archd. McCalist'/'Co E. 2d. Regt. P.R.V.C.'/'Enlisted April 27th 1861'/"Discharged June 16th 1865'"(left side) and "->Reinlisted.<-/'March 17th 1865.'/Co. H. 3d Regt. Hancock's 1st A.C./Discharged March 16th 1866." The "2d Regt P.R.V.C." was the 2nd Regiment Pennsylvania Reserve Corps/Regiment also known as the 31st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. The men were recruited from Philadelphia. Company E was known as "The Scotch Rifles" and were led by Captain John Orr Finnie. Archibald McAlister is listed in the National Park Service records as a private in Company E. The 2nd Pennsylvania Reserves monument at Gettysburg lists them as mustering in on May 27, 1861, and mustering out on June 16, 1864. They had 400 casualties during the war, including 4 officers and 82 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 2 more officers and 62 enlisted men died of disease, 21 officers and 176 enlisted men wounded, and 5 officers and 48 enlisted men captured or missing. At Gettysburg, 9 enlisted men were killed or mortally wounded, 1 enlisted man was captured, and 25 enlisted men and 2 officers were wounded. In addition to Gettysburg, they fought at Mechanicsville, Gaines Mill, Glendale, Malvern Hill, Groveton, 2nd Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Bristoe Station, Rappahannock Station, Mine Run, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna, Totopotomoy, and Bethesda Church. "Co. H. 3d Regt. Hancock's 1st A.C." would be Company H of the 3rd Regiment of Hancock's 1st Army Corps which were veterans led by General Winfield Scott Hancock who had been seriously wounded at Gettysburg. General Orders No. 287 dated November 28, 1864, called for "an Army Corps, to consist of not less than 20,000 Infantry, and enlisted for not less than one year, to be designated the First Corps, shall be organized in the District of Columbia, commencing the Organization on the first day of December, 1864, and continuing until the first day of January next; the privates to consist of able-bodied men who have served honorably not less than two years, and, therefore, not subject to draft; the officers to be commissioned from such as have served not less than two years." It also called for the men to be paid a $300 bounty when they enlisted and that "Each recruit who preserves his arms to the end of his term may retain them as his own upon being honorably discharged." Newspapers indicated that Hancock's corps would be a "fighting corps" unlike the Veteran Reserve Corps (Invalid Corps) formed of men that were partially disabled by disease or injury who served lighter duty. The Union needed men to finish the war. Recruitment broadsides noted that "This Corps will be provided with the best arms in the possession of the Government and the men will be allowed to retain their arms at the expiration of service." Although the Henry was considered less suitable for battlefield service than the Spencer since it was more apt to foul up with extensive firing and was less durable, a Henry rifle certainly fit the description of "the best arms in possession of the Government" given it offered 16 shots rather than the usual single shot rifle-muskets of the period. The Chicago Tribune on April 6, 1865, noted that the Illinois regiment being organized for Hancock's corps was to be armed with Henry repeating rifles and celebrated the rifle noting that "A regiment of veterans, armed with Henry repeaters, can whip a brigade of soldiers equipped with the minie rifle. This magnificent weapon can be seen in the hands of a member of the corps in the counting room of the Tribune, between three and four p.m., for a few days." The Evansville Daily Journal advertised that "The corps will be armed with elegant repeating rifles-the finest in the service-and at the end of his term of service each man will receive his rifle as his own property." The Belmont Chronicle on February 9, 1865, in their ad for the First Corps noted "This Corps will be armed with breech-loading or repeating rifles, and the men will be allowed to retain their arms when mustered out." Clearly a Henry was part of the appeal of joining the Veteran Corps, but most of the men received Sharps or Spencers. 627 U.S. martial contract Henry rifles were purchased to arm the 3rd Veteran Volunteer Infantry. Sword indicates these were supplemented by rifles originally ordered for the 1st District of Columbia Cavalry in 1863-64 and totaled around 800 rifles for the 3rd V.V.I. The rifles shipped on April 19, 1865, and May 23, 1865, for the unit fall within the 7000-9400+ serial number range and were the last purchased by the Ordnance Department aside from a single carbine ordered on November 7, 1865. As they shipped in late April and May of 1865, these Henry rifles arrived too late to be used in the Civil War. 10 regiments were ultimately formed, and they were discontinued on July 11, 1866. Archibald McAlister is listed as a private Company H of the 3rd Regiment, U.S. Veteran Volunteer Infantry in the National Park Service records. Given the dates on the rifle, he appears to have enlisted for the minimum of 1 year and would have received a $100 enlistment bounty. The rifle's original owner appears to have been Archibald McAlister (born c. 1824 or 1825) listed in the 1870 Census in Philadelphia as born in Scotland and working as a basket weaver. He appears to have died on November 24, 1892, in Philadelphia. Provenance: The Mac McCroskie Collection

Very fine. The frame and buttplate display an attractive, natural aged patina, and the side plate engraving and inscriptions are crisp. 50% of the original blue finish remains on the barrel and magazine concentrated most heavily in the protected areas and mixed with gray and brown patina and some light surface pitting. The hammer has light case colors and otherwise a smoky gray patina. The lever has dark brown patina. The very fine stock has most of the glossy finish remaining, the desirable "Henry Bump" under the sling swivel on the left side of the buttstock, mild handling and storage wear, and a crisp martial inspection mark. Mechanically excellent. The sling is fine and has moderate age and storage related wear including flaking and attractive aged patina on the brass. This is very scarce example of a documented U.S. contract Henry rifle issued to the 3rd Veteran Volunteer Infantry that is stamped with the rare "A.W.M." inspection mark and inscribed with the details of the service of a Union veteran.