Model 1881 Springfield Marksman Rifle Presented to 1st Sergeant E.P. Wells 

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A.C. Daum Collection of U.S. Military Long Ar...

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Oct 21, 2014 - Oct 22, 2014

Set Reminder 2014-10-21 10:00:00 2014-10-22 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : A.C. Daum Collection of U.S. Military Long Arms https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/cowans/a-c-daum-collection-of-u-s-military-long-arms-198
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• Lot Description

  Model 1881 Springfield Marksman Rifle Presented to 1st Sergeant E.P. Wells 
  
  .45-70 caliber, 28" round barrel with large "VP" eagle "P." Engraved 1881 on the receiver. Three-click tumbler. Smooth trigger. Engraved tang, breechblock, receiver, hammer, lock, buttplate and front band. Rear M-79 rear barrel sight. Contemporary made exact copy of the rear tang sight and front sight. The front sight on marksman rifles are very interesting in that they have a screw that goes through the front of the front sight base and lock in on the stud of front sight. The front hood removable sights has a spirit level across the back of the removable base. Flamed figure walnut stock with checkered pistol grip and fore end with Schnable horn tip. Hotchkiss buttplate with trap for cleaning rods, which are missing.
  
  Silver plaque in the butt pistol grip reads: Third Prize Marksman Rifle awarded by The War Department to First Sergeant E.P. Wells Co H 2nd Infantry Division Of the Pacific 1881 Two scores Five consecutive shots at 200, 400.600 yards total score 124.  This particular rifle came from Ozzie Klaverstad who owned the famous Stagecoach collection. This rifle is pictured in color The Stagecoach Museum Gun Collection Book (1978) on page 21.  When it came out it had been missing the rear and front sights, and was cracked in the wrist, with a diamond-shaped piece of ebony inlaid to hide the crack. Jack Haugh, who is in the Custom Longrifle Makers hall of fame did the restoration on this rifle. He brought back to life one of the great rarities of collecting U.S. military long arms. The rifle was well worth the restoration and done by one of Americans best and most prominent gunsmiths. The War Department ordered nine total rifles to be presented to the second, third and fourth place winners in each of the divisions, Pacific, Missouri and the Atlantic. Of the nine, four are known to exist. 
  
  Beyond his demonstrated expertise as a marksman, Edward P. Wells (1844-1904) was a Civil War veteran who later enlisted in the regular army serving twenty-three years before retiring in November 1883. Wells’ Civil War service is something of a mystery as he apparently used the  alias “Elmer Williams” possibly because of his age. Whatever the case, both names are confirmed in his pension application (as invalid) dated April 5, 1886 indicating service in both the 1^st NY Cavalry and the 2^nd US infantry. Born in Enterprise, Indiana on July 8, 1844, a rootsweb.com biography (transcribed from “The History of North Washington” published in 1904) that appears embellished has him serving as sixteen-year-old “Elmer Williams,” first in the three-month 12^th Ohio, then in the 1^st New York Cavalry for the duration. The biography has Williams-Wells riding with the Army of the Potomac as a “scout for Custer” and frequenting “General Sheridan’s headquarters,” having participated in no less than thirteen major engagements, including First Bull Run, Antietam, Cedar Creek, Petersburg and Five Forks to name but a few.
  
  Alternatively, HDS lists “Edward P. Wells” as having joined Company I, 20^th New York Cavalry on September 1, 1864. Known as the McClellan Cavalry, this regiment was initially attached to the 18^th Corps, Department of Virginia and North Carolina, and ended the war with the Army of the James, having seen limited action. Mustered out in June 1865, Williams-Wells appears to have soon re-enlisted in the regular army, being posted to Carlisle Barracks as a drillmaster. The rootsweb.com biography eludes to his subsequent service in the newly raised 7^th Cavalry in which he served until November 1873.
  
  US Returns from Regular Army infantry Regiments 1821-1916 document Sergeant Edward P. Wells later career assigned to Company H, 2^nd US Infantry at the Atlanta Depot beginning in July 1874. After reconstruction duty in the South the regiment was posted to the distant Department of the Columbia in 1877, campaigning in the Washington, Oregon and Idaho Territory against the Nez Perce and the Bannocks where the 2^nd Infantry suffered one soldier killed, two wounded and ten deaths by other causes. During this period the records indicate that due to his shooting proficiency Sergeant E.P. Wells was frequently detached from the regiment. A perennial favorite in the army’s annual shooting competition, his exploits are well documented in numerous period newspaper accounts.
  
  In the 19th century, however, shooting matches were broad-based entertainment. The many newspaper reports of these matches describe the subsequent parades, picnics, even dancing that accompanied these events. The gun is accompanied by copies of articles from the Spokane Times, San Francisco Evening Bulletin, Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, even the New York Times - all with reports about the annual Creedmoor, Long Island, NY, National Rifle Match.
  
  The western papers covered the qualification and regional matches that set the teams that went to Creedmoor. The Spokane Times of June 5, 1879, with a headline "Practicing for the Creedmoor Match" reported: "We are pleased to have the opportunity of announcing that Northeastern Washington & Northern Idaho are to be represented at the Creedmoor Match which is to take place at the Creedmoor Range, Long Island, N.Y., in Sept. next. The “team” at Camp Coeur d’Alene, at present, consists of the following named officers and enlisted men: [Wells among them, listed third of four]… When the above scores are beaten by anyone using the same pattern arm, under the same rules as they were fired, Sergt. Wells will beat the above score for a purse.”
  
  The San Francisco Evening Bulletin of July 21, 1879 notes: "A dispatch from Portland of the 20^th says the target shooting at the headquarters of the Department of the Columbia was not up to expectation. E.P. Wells, First Sergeant, Co. H, Second Infantry, won the medal, which was presented to him by Gen. O.O. Howard." [It goes on to give the team that will compete at the Presidio.] The following week, the Spokane Times (July 30, 1879) reported: "By private correspondence we learn that Sergt. Ed. P. Wells, of Co. “H” 2^nd Infantry won the Department prize at the rifle match at Vancouver on the 19^th instant….”
  
  The next level was the regional match at the Presidio in San Francisco. The San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin (Aug. 1, 1879) and New York Times (Aug. 3, 1879) reported on the progress of the match. The Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman for Aug. 5, 1879 reported: "The three days title tournament which has been held at the Presidio for the Division Medal and places on the Creedmoor team was concluded yesterday morning…" [It goes on to list scores and members of the Creedmoor team, including Sergt. Wells]
  
  “The team will now practice fifteen days after which they will proceed to New York where they will shoot at Governor’s Island, preparatory to entering the Creedmoor tournament. Their chances in that contest are by no means flattering. Privates in the military Division of the Pacific have not the advantage of many of those in the Division of the Atlantic, where many are employed about ordnance and have a great deal of practice in testing rifles, whereas those at the Pacific are allowed but twenty cartridges a month, which are not sufficient to keep them proficient and they do not care to spend money which they use to better advantage for the powder and balls necessary to make them crack shots. Another advantage some of the Eastern teams possess, is that their officers supply all necessary ammunition for practice, which is carried on incessantly.”
  
  The New York Times (Aug. 29, 1879) reported: "The programme of the Autumn prize-meeting of the National Rifle Association was issued to its members yesterday…. The principal match is the international military contest for atrophy valued at $1,000, presented by Judge Hilton. It is open to teams of 12 men each from all countries and from the Army and Navy. There will be two, and possibly three, teams from the United States Army. The team from the Department of the Atlantic has been encamped at Creedmoor for the past month, and the team representing the Department of the Pacific arrived yesterday. It includes the best shots among the troops stationed in California, Arizona, and Columbia. …The California, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New-Jersey National Guards will also send teams…. "
  
  The interest grew on both coasts, as later in September, there were articles in the Philadelphia Inquirer and San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin (both Sept. 19, 1879) reporting the progress of the match. The following day the Daily Evening Bulletin gave the team scores. The Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman on the 25th of the month also updated the scores.
  
  The Spokane Times of November 6, 1879 filed this: "E.P. Wells returning from the Creedmoor rifle match passed through town last week, on his way to Fort Colville. He participated in match shooting at Vancouver and in California, from each place the best shots being selected. He came off victorious, winning the prize, as well as the honor of being the ‘crack shot’ of the Army. "
  
  Sergeant Wells did not do as well in 1880, although, again, the matches were covered in San Francisco, Spokane and Philadelphia, and certainly other papers as well.
  
  Significantly, the August 20, 1882 edition of the United States Army and Navy Journal (Vol. XX, August 5, 1882-July 28, 1883) reporting news from the Department of the Columbia mentions Sgt. Wells and this very same Springfield: "There arrived at headquarters this week the U.S. Marksman’s rifle, the third prize, won by Sergt. E.P. Wells, 34 Inf., in last year’s contest. It is a beautiful gun, and has won the admiration of all the marksmen who have seen it."
  
  After twenty-three years of continuous service First Sergeant Edward P. Wells mustered out of the army at Fort Spokane, Washington Territory on November 30, 1883. He stayed in the territory, moving near Springdale at Stevens County where his biography relates that he was “one of the leading ranchers and stockmen in the valley.” Wells did not marry until May 1894 and had no children from his union with widow Sadie E. Cook, a native of Iowa. The sergeant was a church-going man and a member of the Wallace Post No. 104, G.A.R. The acclaimed marksman died at age 60 on January 16, 1904 and was buried in the Springdale Cemetery. 
  
  Provenance: A.C. Daum

  Condition

  Barrel retains some of the original blue finish, just lightly fading and turning plum. Receiver is sharp and crisp with a silvery to grey mottled look. Breechblock has the same mottled grey look and evenly matches the receiver. Lockplate with some traces of blue finish with sharp and crisp engraving. Hammer is very sharp and crisp with some traces of color in the protected areas. Triggerguard is sharp and crisp with a silvery look.  Buttplate has nice untouched patina with sharp and crisp engraving. Stock is now excellent beautiful fancy grained wood.

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