Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! This Lee Fire Arms Co. saddle ring carbine represents the first production firearm designed by James Paris Lee – a man who would later achieve fame as the inventor of the detachable box magazine and whose name lives on in the legendary Lee-Enfield rifle system. Manufactured in Milwaukee in 1866, these single-shot carbines were Lee’s initial foray into firearms production, and it proved a rocky start. Lee secured a U.S. Army contract for 1,000 carbines at $18 each in April 1865, just as the Civil War was ending. He established the Lee Fire Arms Company and began production, subcontracting the barrels to Remington. The military contract quickly went sideways. Lee delivered his first samples in January 1866 chambered in .42 rimfire, but the government claimed the contract specified .44 caliber and rejected the entire order. Only 255 carbines were completed by November 1866, with another 200 nearly finished when the contract was canceled. Left with parts and no military customer, the company briefly pivoted to civilian sales in 1867, advertising sporting rifles and carbines in Milwaukee newspapers. The company dissolved by 1868, and Lee temporarily returned to watchmaking before resuming his firearms career with Remington in 1872. This particular example features the company’s sporting model frame – identifiable by its higher top section with an integrated sight notch – suggesting it may have been assembled from leftover parts for commercial sale. The carbine employs Lee’s unique side-swing barrel design, which opens for loading from the right when the hammer is at half-cock. Other features include a “pinched” blade front sight, two-leaf 500-yard rear sight, and smooth walnut buttstock with casehardened buttplate. The saddle ring is a modern reproduction, common with these rare survivors. These carbines stand as artifacts of the transitional post-Civil War period when manufacturers struggled to adapt to rapidly changing military requirements and the sudden evaporation of wartime contracts.
“Civil War Era Lee Fire Arms Co. Saddle Ring Carbine.” Rock Island Auction Company, https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/4090/287/civil-war-era-lee-fire-arms-co-saddle-ring-carbine. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.
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