.52 caliber rifled. 21" barrel retained by two flat barrel bands. NSN. Browned and color casehardened finish, iron furniture, smooth walnut stock. Single shot percussion breechloading tilting breech carbine with side mounted operating lever, notch rear sight, blade front sight, 8.5" saddle bar with ring on reverse and button head cleaning and clearing rod. Top of breech marked in five lines "U.S / S. NORTH / MIDLTN / CONN / 1849" with the top of the chamber stamped "STEEL" and an italicized "JH" (John Hawkins) inspection on the right breech flat. Faint traces of two illegible cartouches are present in the wood.

Some 10,500 smoothbore US Model 1843 Hall Carbines were  produced by North circa 1844-1853 with about 5,000 being sold as surplus early in the war. These guns were subsequently rifled and had their chambers reamed up to .58 caliber. The guns were then resold to General Fremont's command in the Trans-Mississippi theater of operations for $22 each, far more than the $3.50 the guns were purchased for from the New York Arsenal. Although marketed to Fremont as ".58 caliber" only the chambers were that large and the bores remained nominally .52 caliber, requiring substantial swaging of the lead projectile when it was fired from the larger chamber into the small bore. The incident became known as the "Hall Carbine Affair" or the "Fremont Affair" and helped to remove Fremont from his command.  Interestingly, the financial backer for this somewhat unethical deal was none other than J.P. Morgan. 

Good. Bore dark and dirty with moderate oxidation and strong six groove rifling. Metal with some strong traces of patchy brown remaining with moderate surface oxidation and some roughness scattered along the length of the barrel and on the furniture. Breech, receiver rails and rear barrel band with light to moderate pitting. Markings remain mostly clear in the metal, much weaker in the wood. Mechanically functional action. Cleaning rod appears to be an old, somewhat cruder quality replacement. Wood with moderate wear, sanded with the edges rounded and showing numerous bumps, dings and mars. Some slivers are missing from the ramrod channel but the wrist does not have the often encountered Hall crack behind the receiver.