The Confederate Arkadelphia Rifle,Perhaps the rarest Civil War firearm in existence, the Arkadelphia

The Confederate Arkadelphia Rifle,Perhaps the rarest Civil War firearm in existence, the Arkadelphia rifle was a crude weapon born out of necessity during the later half of the American Civil War.  When Grant captured Vicksburg in 1863, the Union gained almost complete control of the Mississippi River, thus effectively splitting the Confederacy in half. As a result, the western half of the Confederacy, consisting of Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana had to be completely self reliant when it came to supplying the Confederate Army with rifles, ammunition, clothing, and other supplies.  This would not be easy, as there was little industry in the region capable of such a feat.In an attempt to manufacture rifles, a rifle production factory began operating in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.  The Arkadelphia factory was more like a small workshop, worked by a few dozen employees and a handful of slaves. Due to the shortage of manpower, machinery, and raw materials, the production of rifles at Arkadelphia was a haphazard process resulting in the production of crude rifles.  Each rifle was individually made rather than mass produced, so it is unlikely they had interchangeable parts. Of all its features, the lock was of decent quality, but the rest of the rifle had much to be desired.  The most noticeable feature was its strangely shaped stock, which is roughly cut and lacks no comb or shaping whatsoever.  The wood of the rifle was also improperly cured, resulting in several cracks which were repaired with simple nails.  Overall length of the rifle was 47 inches, significantly shorter than most military rifles of the day so as to save on raw materials and production time. As a result, the barrel only needed a single barrel band, produced from sheet iron, in order to secure it in place.  The first six inches of the barrel retained a hex shape in order to save on machining time.  The sights consisted of a simple v-notch front sight which was soldered into place, as well as a simple front blade sight, likewise soldered into place.  The rifling of the bore only had three grooves.  It was chambered for .577, the standard caliber of the Confederate Army.It is unknown how many Arkadelphia rifles were produced, but it is certain that there were not a large quantity made.  The example above is the only complete and original piece known to exist, and has an estimated value of $45,000 - $55,000. -- source link

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