Civil War Gatling gun up for auction in NJ

Matt Fagan

North Jersey Record USA TODAY NETWORK - NEW JERSEY

BLOOMFIELD – History buffs and gun collectors will have a rare opportunity to bid on a Gatling gun, the forerunner of the modern machine gun and rotary cannon, invented during the American Civil War.

The crank-operated, multi-barrel machine gun, devised about 1862 by physician and inventor Richard Jordan Gatling, will be one of the many Americana items featured in theCollector’s Passion Auction at Nye & Company in Bloomfield on Wednesday.

There is much interest in the 1875 Gatling, mainly because it is very rare, said Nye & Company’s director of business development, Andrew Holter.

There have been four similar models up for auction in the last 15 years, Holter said.

“If you see one a year, that’s pretty rare,” Holter said.

The Gatling gun is one of the bestknown early rapid-fire, spring-loaded, hand-cranked weapons. A clip of bullets feeds a rotating wheel of barrels and at one time fired 200 to 400 rounds per minute. The inventor hoped the strength and power of the weapon would put an end to large battles and “show the folly of war,” according to the History Channel.

The one in the current collection is in its original carriage, and other than some weathering to the barrels, the gun is in great shape, he said. It has the letters “NJ” stamped on its barrel, which may mean it was purchased for a New Jersey militia unit. It could fetch more than $100,000, Holter said.

A few Gatling guns saw service in the Civil War during the siege of Petersburg in Virginia. Civil War re-enactor Michael Belgie of West Milford said Union Gen. John Geary bought one.

Civil War Gen. Benjamin Butler also purchased one, which his troops used in the final year of the war.

The Gatling gun was officially adopted by the U.S. Army in 1866. It was first manufactured by Cooper Arms in Philadelphia, and later by the Colt arms company of Hartford, Connecticut.

The gun may be purchased without meeting current state gun-buying laws and permits because it predates 1900 and does not use modern ammunition.

“It’s exciting,” Holter said of the gun, which was owned by paper manufacturer Jack Warner.

Warner’s family owned a paper plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, that invented a machine to make large paper bags still in use today. The family’s fortunes were used to buy up American artworks, which make up much of the collection for auction.

Gatling guns have also made history when not in use. On June 22, 1876, Gen. George Custer declined to bring along three Gatling guns as he rode to Little Big Horn River. Historians said Custer did not want to be slowed down by the large guns in the rough country.

By coincidence, the gun auction coincides with the auction of a number of plains Indian items traced to Charles Francis Roe.

As a lieutenant, a few years out of West Point, Roe led the first column into the valley of the Little Big Horn, after the massacre of Custer and his command.

Roe went on to form a National Guard unit in New York and was a highly successful businessman. The auction of Roe’s artifacts includes a Crow gun scabbard, which was crafted of buffalo hide.

Charlie Potters, a historian who works for the auction house, said this auction is special.

“I have never seen anything like this,” Potters said.

That speaks volumes, as the auction house stunned the world in 2015 when it auctioned a long-lost Rembrandt for $1.1 million. The bid came as a surprise, because it was initially believed it would fetch about $1,000.

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This message has been edited. Last edited by: downtownv,

The great-great grandfather to Old Painless.

Dunno which civil war they had in mind when they described this 'Civil War' Gatling gun, but only the one that I know of ended in 1865.

I saw it was in New Jersey and was wondering what type of endless exhaustive permit process you would need to purchase it??

I'm at a customer's house one day. Standing inside his massive family room I'm admiring the end pieces to his couch. A cannon and a Gatling gun, both on carriages.

I say "Those are pretty neat. Where does one buy reproduction civil war artillery?"

He says "Wouldn't know. Those are the real thing".

I was a privilege for me some years ago to actually shoot a vintage Gatling.
FYI: Most Hollywood films showing its use have someone cranking it too fast.
Fun but its about a buck a round these days.

In NJ ? Sounds like you buy it, pick it up and put it in your car, and be surrounded by police and swat teams for having an assault weapon in your possession. Think I would pass.

quote:

Originally posted by nighthawk:
In NJ ? Sounds like you buy it, pick it up and put it in your car, and be surrounded by police and swat teams for having an assault weapon in your possession. Think I would pass.

Silly rabbit, this will be bought by a very rich person. They have different rules.

Your right, I forgot about the 2 levels of the law, I was thinking we only had one for some reason.

When you guys make the group buy, I'll pick it up!

quote:

Originally posted by nighthawk:
In NJ ? Sounds like you buy it, pick it up and put it in your car, and be surrounded by police and swat teams for having an assault weapon in your possession. Think I would pass.

We can have them, but we can only shoot 10 rounds at a time.

It's a little post Civil War, but there's a gun store in Houston that has an 1874 Colt Gatling gun. I was there a few years ago and saw it in person, it's beautiful.

http://www.collectorsfirearms....-gun-in-45-70-c9743/

As I understand it,the problem with all the early hand cranked "machine guns" was they tended to jam, especially if cranked too rapidly.

Unfortunately, this tended to happen when the gunners were under attack.


I believe Sir Henry Newbolt wrote:

The sand of the desert is sodden red, --
Red with the wreck of a square that broke, --
The Gatling's jammed and the Colonel dead, --
And the regiment blind with the dust and smoke.
The river of death has brimmed it's banks,
And England's far and Honor a name.
But the voice of a schoolboy rallies the ranks:
'Play up, play up! and play the game!'

Back in the late 1970’s, I had a very pleasant conversation with one of the men who developed the modern 7.62 Minigun.

I had told him how impressive the rate of fire from the Spooky (aka Puff, the Magic Dragon) during night infantry support in Viet Nam: literally a steady stream of red like water from a fire hose.

This started our conversation regarding the development of the 7.62 Minigun.

He said that they started with a fresh sheet of paper, because the 7.62 was to have a far greater rate of fire than the 20mm Vulcan.

They actually started with an original 45-70 Gatling gun to find its potential rate of fire for the basic mechanism. Using a rubber belt drive from an electric motor, it reached 600+ rounds per minute without a strain.

So they used the Gatling as a starting design point.

They were successful in reaching over 6,000 rpm with the 7.62.

However, the major problem was not reaching the speed, but stopping the firing immediately.

His part of the project was designing the stopping mechanism. (Note: to clarify: A brake needed to be developed that would instantaneously stop and start the rotation of the barrels, the cartridge feed, firing mechanization, etc. all precisely in line with the chamber, ready to fire the next round.)

I cannot remember how he said that they solved the problem. I guess I was too blown away by what he said about the 45-70 Gatling to remember the modern stuff.

.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: redleg2/9,

When I was a kid in the 1950s, my Uncle had an in with Universal Studios. I got a tour with Uncle one time into the sets and back lots. The one thing I remember was an all brass Gatling gun. The real thing. Used in several movies.

A couple years back Colt made a reproduction of a Gatling Gun. It’s in 45-70 and about 50k wholesale. I think one of my distributors still has one and honestly I’d take it over the real thing. If I could afford 50k for a Gatling Gun I’d sure want to shoot it and not worry about destroying it.

Buds has one in stock for those interested:
https://www.budsgunshop.com/ca...t/719004362/redirect

Maybe Mel Bernstein will add it to his collection (if he doesn't already have one or two)?

The link is to a short u-toob video about him.

A7



Bonus Edition

USA TODAY
01/26/19

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Private bidder buys Gatling gun at $93K
Matt Fagan
North Jersey Record USA TODAY NETWORK - NEW JERSEY
A rare Civil War 1875 Gatling gun sold at auction for $93,000 to a private East Coast collector at Wednesday’s Nye & Company’s Americana auction in Bloomfield.
Auction house officials would not reveal the name of the highest bidder who walked away with the forerunner of the modern machine gun and rotary cannon, invented during the American Civil War. Officials did say the individual purchased a number of items from the collection, spending about $825,000.
The Gatling gun “was the top performing lot of the sale,” said Nye Director of Business Development Andrew Holter. Prior to the auction he said there was much interest in the gun as it is “very rare.”
The Gatling’s bidding “saw strong participation online, in the room and on the telephone,” Holter said, adding the sale was a resounding success despite some predictions that the weapon, a precursor to the machine gun, might go for more than $100,000.
It was part of a collection sold by the estate of paper manufacturer Jack Warner.
The crank-operated, multi-barrel machine gun, devised in about 1862 by physician and inventor Richard Jordan Gatling, was one of the many Americana items featured in the Collector’s Passion Auction in Bloomfield.
About 1,500 people participated in the auction.
Other auction items that saw high activity included a larger than life cast bronze sculpture of a Native American, by Dave McGary, which sold for $31,250.
An oil on canvas, titled “Standing Them Off,” signed by Charles Schreyvogel fetched $17,500. A Native American beaded blanket strip sold for $27,500 and an oil on canvas of Penn’s Treaty sold for $18,500.
Email: fagan@northjersey.com

This Gatling gun was sold at auction Wednesday to an East Coast collector. MATT FAGAN/NORTH JERSEY RECORD.
Copyright © 2019 Asbury Park Press
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quote:

Originally posted by mrvmax:
A couple years back Colt made a reproduction of a Gatling Gun. It’s in 45-70 and about 50k wholesale. I think one of my distributors still has one and honestly I’d take it over the real thing. If I could afford 50k for a Gatling Gun I’d sure want to shoot it and not worry about destroying it.

Buds has one in stock for those interested:
https://www.budsgunshop.com/ca...t/719004362/redirect

Yeah. It's called the Colt Bulldog, and was a simplified Gatling-style gun. Colt made 25 or 50 of them, and sold them all in a day, since they were not Class 3 firearms - hand-operated by the rear crank.

Watch Ian making a total hames of operating one on Forgotten Weapons. He is THE definitive leftie, bless his heart, and he just cracks me up as he operates that crank backwards.