Page 150 - 83-BOOK1

Extremely Scarce State of New York Marked Civil War Era Delafeld Rifled Field Gun
THE DELAFIELD COMMISSION, HEADED BY LT. COL. RICHARD DELAFIELD (PICTURED SEATED ON THE RIGHT) WERE SENT TO STUDY EUROPEAN MILITARY STRATEGY DURING THE CRIMEAN WAR
148
LOT 1191
Extraordinarily
Scarce
Documented State
of New York Marked
Civil War Delafield
Rifled Field Gun with
Carriage - Serial no. 1, 3 inch.
This Delafield rifle is noted on
page 49 of “Field Artillery Weapons
of the Civil War” by James C. Hazlett, Edwin Olmstead, and M. Hume Parks where it is noted as then located in Peekskill, New York, and presumed to have been manufactured
by Moores M. White & Co. also known as Globe Iron Works of 33rd Street and 11th Avenue in New York City. It was cast at the Isaac Gale Johnson foundry and finished by Moores M. White & Co. These 3.67 inch field Delafield rifles were manufactured in very small numbers, with 13 reported to have been delivered to the State of New York on March 18th, 1862. Seven surviving examples of these are currently known per “The Big Guns” by Edwin Olmstead. The muzzle is marked “No.
1” above the bore and “3.67” below. The top of the tube above the trunnions is marked “S.N.Y.” (State of New York), and the trunnions are marked “M.M.W.&Co/I.G.J” and “1862/R.D.” The markings note the finisher and foundry discussed above and the designer discussed below. Marked with the weight “1019” on
the back surface of the breech below the knob. A rare shell for this rifle is also included. These rare field rifles and their shells were designed by Lieutenant Colonel Richard Delafield (1798-1873). The shell is designed to mechanically fit the rifling via flanges at the rear similar to winged bullets and belted balls used in some rifles.