These rifles were built in Arkadelphia Arkansas, 1863 just before the arsenal was moved to Tyler Texas. Of about 41 rifles produced , this is the only one to be found complete, according to surviving records there were 40 guns + 1 pattern gun produced. This rifle has about the same dimensions or layout as a mississippi rifle, the only brass part of the rifle is the ramrod channel throat guide. The lockplate is well made, the rear or inside of plate is stamped with the small number "5" that also apears on the hammer, barrel, tang, tang screw, barrel band , and the two screws that secure the lock. They have a single square ear eschutions to keep them from turning in left face of stock. The well made trigger guard, + buttplate may be stamped but they have not been removed, and the heavy patina obscures the stamping if it were on the exterior surface. The number "5" is probably the batch or assembly #, depending how many were being assembled at one time , this may have been the 5th one built. The rifle is 47 3/4 inches overall in length with a barrel length of 32 1/2 inches, the first six inches, at the breech, are hex shaped. The sights consist of a simple V notch at the rear and a very simple wedge shaped blade at the front of the barrel. The barrel is .577 caliber with three lands and grooves. . There is no provision for a sling but the trigger guard has one hole at the rear that could have supported a swivel it could have had a front band, but there is no wear or step in the wood up front. The nose cap was assembled from sheet iron. The stock has no comb, it is very crude and shows several cracks and checks that seem to indicate the wood was not properly cured, probably the result of hurried manufacturing. a copy of the record book from the arsenal lists all workers including three slaves listed as carpenters, it is possible these men carved the stocks for the arsenal. Despite the overall crudeness of the stock it shoulders very well. There are two period repairs to the stock in front and behind the lock on the right side. In both cases small chips broke off and were reattached with small square nails. The history of arms production in Arkadelphia is one of necessity. After military setbacks in the Trans-Mississippi, most Arkansas Confederate troops and arms were sent east of the Mississippi. This move forced Trans-Mississippi Confederate authorities to operate almost entirely independently of Richmond. In an attempt to arm and equip an army, weapons, cartridges, percussion caps etc were manufactured in Arkadelphia Arkansas. Production figures and other records are not known at this time, so the exact number of weapons produced is not available. Although very little information exists regarding rifles produced in Arkadelphia, we do know that the advance of Federal forces to Little Rock Arkansas forced authorities to move machinery and personnel to Marshall and Tyler Texas. The records of the Tyler Ordnance Works are more complete and these show that the Tyler works repaired a number of Arkadelphia Rifles. These records help establish the connections between the Arkansas operations and those in Marshall and Tyler Texas. . This is one rare Rifle - POR