Henry No. 7813

Identified Martial Henry Rifle .44 RF s/n 7813 mfg 1865 – US military inspector "JT"-marked; engraved by Lockwood Sanford and inscribed "F. Peel." used in Company G 3rd U.S. Veteran Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War and was issued to Private Fergus Peel. Receiver has sharp edges with a beautiful mustard-colored patina; barrel & mag retain an unusually high degree of original blue finish with plum/brown mixing in.

Fergus Peel was mustered in August 21, 1861. Then to 21st Pennsylvania Infantry Company A; 3rd Pennsylvania Calvary Company M; mustered out in 1864. Joined 3rd US Veterans Volunteers Infantry Company G in 1865. After the Civil War, Fergus Peel lived in Philadelphia and worked for the police department and owned a general store. He died on December 1, 1916 in Philadelphia. In 1901, Fergus Peel’s daughter, Margaret Bradbury Peel, married Walter Levi Finn, Walter’s second marriage. Their son, John Walter Finn (Robert Peel Finn’s father) married Magara Godden Crosby, and was a Colonel in WWII under Eisenhower and later as the 23rd Infantry Battalion Commander in the Korean War, awarded a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Legion of Merit, Croix de Guerre ≈ French Soldier’s Medal presented to him by (the then) General Charles de Gaulle (later President of France).

Lockwood Sanford (1817-1890) was born in Naugatuck, CT. He moved to New Haven in 1837 and became apprenticed to engraver E. L. Barber. Sanford and Barber formed a partnership in 1843. In 1847, Barber moved to California, and Sanford continued his business on his own. Sanford specialized in wood engraving used to supplement billheads, price sheets, circulars, and other publications printed by local industries, both manufacturing concerns and retail stores. Sanford's son Frederick was working in the business at the time of his father's death, and continued working as a wood engraver at least until 1913. (from the New York Historical Society)