POTD: A Tale of Little Ambition – The Columbus Armory Carbine
Sam.S 02.03.23
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have a rather scarce confederate carbine. This is John Gray’s Columbus Armory Carbine. These carbines are a single-shot black powder variety and are very plain on the lockwork and technological side but the story of how they came to be is a bit odd. There were two Gray brothers. Both were entrepreneurs in their own right but the youngest brother, John Gray, wanted to get into the gun-making business. He figured that with the American Civil War raging on he would be able to produce a product and certainly someone would ask for it. Sure enough, the state of Alabama would go on to order some rifles but after only around 175 Columbus Armory Carbine rifles were sent John Gray mysteriously changed his profession and his products became of the more typical less firearm-oriented variety.
“John D. Gray, an English immigrant, ran a construction business working on railroads before settling in Columbus, Georgia, where he operated a furniture factory, mill, lime kiln, and a wheat farm prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. In Spring of 1861, John D. Gray would begin conducting business under the name “Columbus Armory”. By 1862, Columbus Armory had a Confederate contract for 200 rifles and 1,000 carbines while also manufacturing Bowie knives, sabers, and pikes for the state of Georgia. Reportedly, Columbus Armory delivered 176 rifles and carbines in total against the contract to the state of Alabama between 1863-1864. An included copy of a June 20th, 1864 dated $3,600 invoice addressed to John D. Gray from the State of Alabama for 80 “Mississippi Carbines” at $45 each would indicate the likely total amount delivered in the configuration of this example offered. Features a tulip head iron ramrod, brass blade front sight, notch rear sight, three-groove rifling, brass “Mississippi” rifle style barrel bands and sideplate, iron trigger guard, sling swivels mounted on the front the front of the trigger guard bow and underneath the front barrel band, and a plain stock. “3” marked underneath the barrel at the breech. Information on these Columbus Armory carbines and one other example pictured (has a Columbus marked lock) can be found on pages 119-126 of the book “Confederate Carbines & Musketoons” by John M. Murphy and Howard Michael Madaus in which it states on page 126, “It is now speculated that those carbines having double-strap front barrel bands and unmarked lock plates that were previously attributed to J.P. Murray may in fact be the products of John D. Gray’s enigmatic Columbus Armory.” Of the reported 80 Columbus Armory carbines issued, their known survival rate is next to unheard of; making a Columbus Armory carbine one of the rarest Confederate arms in existence.”
https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/85/1061/civil-war-confederate-columbus-armory-percussion-rifled-carbine. (n.d.). Lot 1061: Civil War Confederate Columbus Armory Percussion Rifled Carbine – Extremely Rare and Desirable Civil War Confederate Columbus Armory Percussion Rifled Carbine. Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
