1872 Enfield Cavalry Carbine Rifle
"A rebellious rifle?"1872 Rifle: typical of those used during the rebellion with Dominion of Canada
1872 Enfield Rifle
Story
These marking are on a Cavalry carbine rifle, probably a Snider Enfield rifle, of the type that was issued to the Canadian militia from 1867 to the late 1890s. This rifle was often used by Métis and settlers in the Red River Valley and it was the type most soldiers were armed with during the Northwest Rebellion.
The military unit would usually mark each rifle with their regimental number and a rack number for stock keeping, as rifles were not made with serial numbers in those days.
They could either stamp this information in the wooden stock, or on the tang of the metal plate on the butt of the rifle.
The markings on the wood usually take the form of a round Cartouche which identifies the factory of manufacture. There is often a diamond-shaped mark with the letters DC, standing for Dominion of Canada. If the rifle was sold off as government surplus, it has a cancellation mark which consists of two arrows pointing towards each other. Sometimes these 2 arrows are surrounded by the letter "C".
Enfield Rifle tang mark
