Sharps New Model 1865 Carbine

About the Sharps New Model 1865 Carbine

The Sharps New Model 1865 Carbine is a single-shot, breech-loading percussion carbine built on Christian Sharps' falling-block action. Chambered for the .52 caliber linen or paper cartridge ignited by the Sharps pellet primer system or an ordinary percussion cap, it was the last of the Civil War-era percussion Sharps carbines. Nearly identical to the New Model 1859 and 1863 that preceded it, the 1865 differed mainly in barrel markings and the omission of the buttstock patchbox. Its 22-inch barrel, vertical sliding breech block and saddle ring made it a fast-loading, hard-hitting cavalry arm.

Christian Sharps had by this time been reduced to a 'Technical Advisor' role at the company bearing his name, collecting a one-dollar royalty on each arm built. The Sharps carbine's reputation for reliability and rapid breech-loading fire earned the design the enduring nickname 'Old Reliable.'

Sharps New Model 1865 Carbine specifications

The New Model 1865 arrived at the very end of the American Civil War; roughly 5,000 were produced before manufacture ceased. Large numbers of surviving percussion Sharps carbines were later converted to fire metallic .50-70 cartridges.