Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Most people have never heard of this Civil War carbine, despite being one of the more interesting designs from that conflict. The Sharps & Hankins Model 1862 wasn’t made by the famous Sharps Rifle Company – it came from a separate partnership between Christian Sharps himself and William Hankins after Sharps left his original company. The falling block action operated with a simple lever. Pull down on the lever guard, the breechblock drops, exposing the chamber. Push it back up and you’re ready to fire. Simple, fast, reliable – exactly what cavalry troopers needed fighting from horseback.
The .52 rimfire cartridge was solid for the era. Rimfire was still new in the 1860s, but it offered faster reloading than percussion caps and better weather resistance than loose powder. The big .52 caliber slug had enough power to drop a horse or put a Confederate trooper out of the fight. This one shows typical service wear. That brown-gray patina and stress line at the upper tang tell the story of a carbine that was carried hard and used in earnest. The shortened barrel suggests someone modified it later, possibly for easier handling or because the original muzzle was damaged. The Sharps & Hankins partnership only lasted from 1862 to 1866, making these carbines rare compared to Spencer or Henry repeaters. The U.S. government bought around 6,000, mostly for cavalry units. Troops liked them, but the partnership dissolved before they could establish themselves in the market. This design influenced later falling block rifles. The mechanism here was a direct ancestor of the powerful single-shot rifles that dominated long-range shooting in the 1870s and 1880s. You can see the DNA of rifles like the Sharps-Borchardt in this Civil War carbine.
Civil War Sharps & Hankins Model 1862 Army Carbine | Rock Island Auction, www.rockislandauction.com/detail/5012/882/civil-war-sharps-hankins-model-1862-army-carbine. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.
Writer | TheFirearmBlog
Writer | AllOutdoor.com Instagram | sfsgunsmith Old soul, certified gunsmith, published author, avid firearm history learner, and appreciator of old and unique guns.
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