GR-0625-6607, Sharps Model 1853 Slant Breech Carbine. AKA The John Brown Model. .52 cal percussion. It is brass mounted with a brass patch-box with a rich wonderful patina. It has the correct length, 21 ½ inch barrel. The rest of the gun is covered in a rich dark patina with patches of fine surface residue on the barrel and frame. There are scattered light bumps and dings to the stock with some minor chips. moSt of the stock is covered with untouched patina and light residue. There is an old crack that must have been repaired in the stock. It was either repaired or was not a structural problem so it was left alone. The stock feels structurally sound. The bore is bright, shiny, crisply rifled with scattered light surface residue in the bore. Very good as is and may clean better. Serial number 21xxx. I love untouched brass with a rich wonderful patina and the brass on this gun definitely meets that criteria. The gun overall is in untouched condition, not brand new condition but a gun that was used, carried and then stored for a very long time and not messed with or ever cleaned. The mechanics are functional. The elevator is missing on the rear site. This is a gun that is hard to find. Only 10,000 were made and not many survived. Very good overall.

Est. Retail Value: $3750

Sometimes called the “John Brown Model,” this type of carbine was famously used by John Brown and his group during their 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry. Back in September 1856, the New England Emigrant Aid Company—a Boston-based organization that supported anti-slavery settlers—ordered 198 of these firearms to supply “Free-Soilers” during the violent clashes in Kansas known as “Bleeding Kansas” (1855–1859). However, the rifles arrived during a lull in the fighting, so they were stored in Tabor, Iowa, rather than being immediately put to use. John Brown later took control of the weapons and had them transported in 1859 to Kennedy Farm in Sharpsburg, Maryland. From this location, Brown and his men organized their planned slave uprising in the South.

The raid began late at night on October 16, 1859, with Brown leading nearly two dozen men. As news of the attack spread, armed citizens and state militia forces from nearby areas quickly responded. Brown and his group had taken shelter in the town’s fire engine house. One of the local responders was Augustus P. Shutt (1816–1881), a furniture maker who also served as high constable and colonel of Maryland’s 5th Regiment Militia. He was sent to Harpers Ferry by the B&O Railroad with a small team on a 3:30 p.m. train. The next day, Colonel Shutt tried to negotiate a peaceful resolution by approaching the building under a white flag. When Brown refused to surrender, U.S. Marines launched an assault and recaptured the engine house, bringing the raid to an end.