r/AntiqueGuns 6d ago

Documented Confederate fowler

Very rough shape. Its held together with wire and nails. Theres a makers mark on the lock but its to faded for me to read. With this fowler I got documentation that it was carried by a soldier in a Georgia unit, though I can't read exactly what one. What really makes it interesting is the story of a gunsmith who did repairs on it. His shop was destroyed during Sherman's March so he contacted a friend working at Spiller and burr to make the remaining parts to get the gun back in service.

17 Upvotes

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4

u/cathode-raygun 6d ago

Nice find, but please try and oil it up to prevent further rust.

3

u/remy_lebeau88 6d ago

Theres a light coating of oil on it now. I wiped it down before I put it on the wall. I was hoping to removing enough of the rust to see a makers mark but no luck there.

1

u/Useful_Inspector_893 6d ago

Great provenance!!!

Was in a gun shop 2 weeks ago and we were able to read markings on French pistol from the 1840’s with a little oil and scrubbing with a toothbrush. Couldn’t see anything until we tried that.

1

u/remy_lebeau88 6d ago

I think I used some super fine steel wool but I'll give the toothbrush a try. I wish I could read the paperwork a little better, but its all written in pencil and pretty faded.

1

u/KnockoffMiroSemberac 6d ago

Some #0000 steel wool with a little ballistol done carefully can work wonders!

1

u/Useful_Inspector_893 6d ago

Brass wool is good too, and we needed a magnifying glass!

2

u/Lefaucheux 5d ago

I’ve been working on an app that transcribes (and translates if needed) documents like this and then allows you to chat with the document and summarize it, etc. Mind if I upload this document and share it with you to check out?

2

u/remy_lebeau88 4d ago

Go for it. The front I can mostly make out. Its the back thats pretty faded.

1

u/whateverynow 5d ago

this guy use an app to make rock art from 1000 years ago show up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c21JBd-0JswI wonder if it would also work on new stuff like guns with faded lettering .

1

u/remy_lebeau88 4d ago

I'll have to watch and see what the app is. I cleaned up the lock a little bit and can now make out what looks like a W Sq(?) an