2nd Missouri Cavalry 1843 Hall Carbine

The 1843 Hall Carbine was a breech loading .52 caliber long arm meant to be used by US Cavalry and Dragoons. The lineage of the 1843 Hall goes back to 1819, when a flintlock, rifle length version of the design became the first breech loading arm used by US military in a major way. 

There were several different iterations of the design purchased by the government, including two earlier carbine versions purchased in the 1830s. What set the Model 1843 apart was its side mounted lever used to open the breech. Previous models featured a lever mounted underneath.

The 1843 proved to be the final major iteration of the Hall adopted by the US military, and they served with US mounted forces on the frontier and during the Mexican-American War. By the beginning of the Civil War, there were significantly better breach loading designs available, and the Halls were considered surplus. However, when war broke out, the government realized it would need all the arms it could purchase. This lead to the famous (or infamous) Hall Carbine affair.

Essentially what occurred was that a large quantity of 1843 Hall Carbines were purchased as surplus from the US government at 3.50 each  by a contractor. The guns later ended up being resold to Union General John C. Fremont who was commanding troops in the Western theater. These carbines were resold to Fremont at 22.50 a piece! Needless to say, an investigation occurred and the affair probably ended up seeing Fremont removed from command. 

Despite all this, most of these guns still ended up serving in what was known as the Western or Trans-Mississippi department during the Civil War. This particular Hall Carbine is no exception.

This 1843 was carried by Pvt. Carl Blanchard of the Union’s 2nd Missouri Cavalry. Known as Merrill’s Horse after their commander Lewis Merrill, they were known to be one of the most capable and well-disciplined regiments in the western theater. They also had a unique uniform featuring orange piping on the cap. This was to pay homage to Merrill’s earlier service in the 2nd US Dragoons, who during the pre-war period wore orange piped uniforms. Merrill’s Horse served throughout the war in what was most often a counter-insurgency role, as Missouri was famously wracked by brutal guerilla fighting.

This carbine was carried throughout the war by Blanchard, who mustered out with his regiment in Sept 1865. Blanchard actually carved his name in the carbine’s stock, and as you can see by the photos, this 1843 certainly shows signs of use. It has a very faint Hall crack behind the breechblock that is typical of Hall Carbines that saw much action. The breechblock and action still function and besides the small crack, the wood is in decent shape.

Here at Battle Hymn Arms, we like Civil War era firearms with a little bit more patina and wear. It shows they have been used. They didn’t sit in an arsenal during the war and were likely in the thick of the fighting.

This Hall is a perfect example, complete with the documents and provenance of having been used by a member of a well known Union regiment engaged in the infamous guerrilla fighting of the Western Theater.