A
Rare Artifact From an Even Rarer Man
By
John Fiorito
I
was very surprised as Judith Fredricks handed me an aged and battered rifle that
was obviously from another era and century. She wanted me to have it as a
souvenir of my long friendship with Chester Ludgin. She knew I had an avid
interest in firearms, especially antique ones and this was definitely in the
antique category. It had been with Chet’s belongings and not found until after
his funeral.
She
said to look at the date on the barrel. It was according to her, from 1881.
However
with further scrutiny and my strong reading glasses, the date proved to actually
be 1831. A rare item indeed!
Where
Chet had acquired this artifact was a mystery. The only possible use of it to
him would have been as a prop in a show that he had done. Most likely,
“Shenandoah,” or so I thought.
When
Chet and I were in Central City, Colorado in the ‘60’s, we’d do a lot of
target shooting up at the Glory Hole mine. A lot of Coors beer cans met their
end at that OK Corral of our fancy. Chet was always interested in firearms and
an excellent shot. But, I never saw this particular piece of hardware, nor heard
him speak of it, until Judith Fredricks gave me the rifle. So began the
detective work.
My
guess that it was part of Shenandoah was close to fact, but it was not used in
the show itself. A member of the cast had given it to Chet as a gift. It was at
a party given by Chet to get the cast together in New York after they had toured
in the show. Earl McCarroll, who had toured with Chester, found this unique
piece of history at a barn sale! Because it was of the type represented by props
in the show, he wanted Chet to have a real example of this firearm. No one had a
clue as to how historic an artifact Mr. McCarroll had found. Instead, it
languished hidden in Chet’s apartment for years. It was not until I began a
lengthy search of gun shops seeking information and consulting an endless array
of books dealing with antique firearms, that the true identity of this rifle
came to light after several months of hard work.
To
be historically accurate, this is an M-1816 Flintlock rifle that was modified to
a percussion rifle by the Confederate Government which was usually done on a
contract with a local gunsmith of the time. The rifle was approved as a
Springfield and stamped N.W.P., for
Nahun W. Patch, federal gun inspector, 1831 to 1846. The modification occurred
at the outbreak of the Civil War.
Hence,
the 1831 Springfield percussion mechanism installed in place of the flintlock.
This is an extremely rare mechanism. It was
hand forged and fitted. No two were alike. The stock is an 1830 Springfield
M-1830 Cadet. All this from simple research. I doubt if Chet ever had any
awareness of how historic an antique he had. I think he would be quite
fascinated by it and would have enjoyed it very much.
This
rifle will never be for sale. It will be returned to Judith Fredricks and the
Chester Ludgin Archives upon my passing.