Fellow Sharpshooters,

As part of a Sharps cartridge research project, friend Dan Wambaugh sent me a photo of a Sharps linen cartridge to examine from the Drummer Boy website. I decided to scroll through their other offerings and was amazed to discover that they have for sale an original NM1863 rifle box. This wooden crate was built to protect finished Sharps rifles when shipped from the factory to the Washington Arsenal (or similar destination), then forwarded to the Division Ordnance officer, and finally, received by the lucky company or regiment that requisitioned them.

The photos of the crate provides valuable details of the interior and exterior, and still has the wooden blocks to keep the individual rifles separated and secure. The Sharps factory lettering is legible and colors of the box and lettering is very good for a 150+ year wooden artifact.

Instead of stowing your valuable reproduction Sharps inside shelter tents of laying about camp, consider displaying them nested inside a recreated Sharps rifle crate instead. It would certainly make for a safe and eye-catching alternative for visitors and reenactors alike!

Bill Skillman
Hudson Squad Mess


https://uniondb.com/products/original-s ... rifle-case