CHASSEPOT INFANTRY RIFLE, assigned to the 1st REGIMENT OF VOLTIGEURS OF THE IMPERIAL GUARD, model 1866, Second Empire. 26988

CHASSEPOT INFANTRY RIFLE, assigned to the 1st REGIMENT OF VOLTIGEURS OF THE IMPERIAL GUARD, model 1866, Second Empire. 26988

Canon registered “F 83087”, dated “S 1868”, hallmarked “P G” and two hallmarks “D” and “B” in circles, marked “MI”. Barrel length 79.5 cm, with breech tail 101 cm. Breech box marked “MANUFACTURE IMPERIAL / St Etienne / Mle 1866”, it carries on its lower part the trigger and the spring to which the trigger is linked. Mobile breech similarly registered to the barrel “F 5856” composed of an operating part, forged with the operating lever, a sliding dog whose cylinder is slightly concave and slightly refined. Steel rod. Walnut frame with long barrel registered similarly to the barrel “F 83087”, receipt stamp “OCTOBER 1868 - MI”. Walnut frame, all steel fittings. Steel rod.

White buffalo strap of the Imperial Guard model stitched on each side, width 3.5 cm, marked in ink “Garde Impériale 1862”, hot stamped with affection for the 1st regiment of voltigeurs of the Imperial Guard, crown imperial followed by “1er VOLT”, number “1376”, dated “1870”. Buckle of the brass strap with a pin, it closes with a double brass button.

France.
Second Empire.
Perfect state of conservation


NOTE :
Antoine Alphonse CHASSEPOT was born in Mutzig (Bas-Rhin) on March 4, 1833, son of Jean-Baptiste Chassepot, weapons reviser, and Hélène Bruder.
In 1851, he joined his uncle Pierre-Auguste Chassepot, principal controller at the Châtellerault arms factory, then arrived in Saint-Étienne in 1856.
On May 10, 1859, in Châtellerault (Vienna), he married his first cousin, Pauline Augustine Chassepot born February 27, 1840 in Mutzig, daughter of Pierre-Auguste and Françoise Wilhelmine Bonne (died in Châtellerault on February 27, 1858), domiciled with his father, then retired. Antoine Alphonse was then a second-class controller at the Manufacture Impériale d'armes in Saint-Étienne.
Two children were born in Saint-Étienne, Marie Alphonsine Hélène in 1860 and Alphonse Auguste Achille in 1862.
He is the inventor of the famous needle rifle which bears his name, patented on August 27, 1866, which earned Alphonse Chassepot the cross of Knight of the Legion of Honor on August 30, 1866 and compensation of 30,000 F. Capable to shoot at 1200 m, this rifle was immediately adopted by the French army. Ordered in 400,000 copies by the Emperor for January 1, 1868, the factories of Saint-Étienne, Châtellerault, Mutzig and Tulle produced it.
Even before the decree of his patent, Alphonse Chassepot had sold it to the company Cahen-Lyon et Cie to become its partner. This company asks the Minister of War to give it decommissioned weapons in order to transform them into Chassepot and resell them abroad. This request having been accepted, the company signed with Chassepot an exclusive exploitation right for its patent.
All the arms manufacturers combined have difficulty honoring the order, the State calls on private industry but the company Cahen-Lyon et Cie asserts its right and becomes the only private supplier. Not having sufficient industrial capacity, this company turns to foreign subcontracting. It is estimated that 50,000 Chassepot rifles were manufactured abroad: Birmingham, London, Bescia, Placentia, Liège and Vienna.
Alphonse Chassepot was promoted to Officer of the Legion of Honor on March 12, 1970 and his rifle was the symbol of the war of 1870. In Saint-Étienne, Chassepot bayonets were also made.
The patent was contested by Jules Manceaux, director of the Tulle Manufacture, but the courts ruled in favor of Alphonse Chassepot. However, as he had ceded his rights to the State after the patent decree, he entered into conflict with the Ministry of War which pushed him to sue the company Cahen-Lyon et Cie, a suit which he lost. in 1872 forcing him to resign from the functions which linked him to the ministry.
Antoine Alphonse Chassepot died in Gagny (Seine-Saint-Denis) on February 5, 1905.