Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! The tale of the Gibbs carbine serves as a sobering reminder of just how arduous manufacturing a new firearm could be during the Civil War era. What seemed a straightforward breechloading, percussion-fired cavalry carbine designed by Lucien Gibbs in 1856 quickly became an uphill battle after initial success. Despite contracts for 10,000 carbines after impressive demonstrations, establishing production proved overwhelming. Delivery deadlines in 1862 came and went without a single carbine completed, prompting a buyout by the then New York Mayor who surely thought it an easy money-maker. Finally, after monumental efforts, the first 550 carbines were delivered in May 1863, with 500 more sitting completed at the factory on July 13th. That day, the New York Draft Riots erupted, and the mob burned the Phoenix Armory to the ground – destroying those 500 guns, parts for 6,000 more, and effectively ending production after just 1,052 carbines were delivered. The long, cruel road walked by the promising Gibbs design starkly exemplified the merciless realities faced in wartime manufacturing.
“The Gibbs carbine is one of the scarcest and best designed carbines used by Union forces. Only 1,052 Gibbs carbines were manufactured by William F. Brooks of New York City at the Phoenix Armory and delivered to the U.S. government in 1863 due to the factory being burned down during the New York Draft Riots in that same year. Around 500 of these were issued to the 10th Missouri Cavalry and smaller quantities were issued to the 13th and 14th New York Cavalry.”
Lot 238: Civil War U.S. Contract Gibbs Breech Loading Percussion Carbine. (n.d.-c). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved March 19, 2024, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/83/238/civil-war-us-contract-gibbs-breech-loading-percussion-carbine.
