The right breech block flat has a small tri-leaf cartouche which was a standard marking on Remington Spanish contract rifles and carbines.
What I had purchased was a two band, Remington-made military rolling block in .50-70 Govt. caliber, with two Spanish crown-marked barrel bands that was manufactured with the smaller, No. 1-1/2 action such as found on the Lightweight “Baby Carbine,” albeit cosmetically similar to a scaled-down, Civil Guard Model minus the saber bayonet lug. Stamped on the right breech block flat is a tri-leaf cartouche, which is often present on the early, first contract Spanish Model rolling block rifles in .43 caliber which were often issued to the colonial garrisons in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and perhaps the Philippines as well. This remarkably well-maintained rifle, together with an unknown number of others of its ilk, was evidently supplied to a specific unit(s) in the colonial Spanish period. It could also perhaps have been a straw purchase by insurgents in that island nation prior to or during the War of 1898.
Though not a Civil Guard Model in the classical catalog-specified sense of the word, this two-band rifle using the full house .50-70 center fire cartridge has the E. Remington & Sons address on the tang with the last patent date of March 1874 and is equipped with a rotary extractor. Upon removal of the forearm, a cartouche of A.F.G. can be seen on the rear flat. A genuine anomaly among rolling block rifles in .50-70 Govt. caliber, it would almost fill the bill as the elusive but scantily advertised Cadet Model 301 once sold by Charles Godfrey in New York City; however, it is physically quite different. The presence of tang markings indicating production prior to the 1886 receivership of the Remington company is one of the physical traits which give this rifle a full-size look, in addition to its very uncommon smaller frame. Further research suggests that the A.F.G. cartouche has an affiliation with the pre-1898 Spanish Customs and Tariff Service located near present day Guantanamo, Cuba. In the nineeenth century, this region was one of the main ports where Spain received all incoming military goods shipped to Cuba. It was also one of the main offices of the Spanish “Aduanero,” which is the customs branch. Thus it appears that the customs officers were armed with rifles and revolvers different in caliber and sometimes type from those issued to the army.
A view with the action opened reveals the rotary extractor cut on the left side of the breech block, which appears unfired by virtue of the absence of brass pressure ring residue on the face and the shiny, unblemished bore. The butt stock and forearm on this light version of a Civil Guard Model retains a raised grain appearance especially noticeable on the former. When the forearm is removed, it reveals “A.F. G.” stamped to the rear, along with a clean, blue finish on the barrel in this protected area. (Photo by Stuart Mowbray.)
Unlike the tri-flat upper receiver design of the Cadet Model 206 in .45-70 (which, by the way, was the only Remington military rolling block sold commercially in this chambering) this unique .50-70 has a rounded upper receiver, a la the Light “Baby Carbine.” In addition, the rear sling swivel is located on the buttstock and not on the front of the trigger guard, a common feature unique to the various cadet models including a small number of full-size United States martial rolling block rifles and carbines. The mere presence of this esoteric military rolling block rifle provides a degree of certainty that Cuba may still retain a substantial inventory of military rolling block rifles.
Returning to the Civil Guard Model in its basic configuration, the one point that puts it out of place with mainstream Spanish military rolling block rifles is the presence of the saber bayonet lug. Many collectors are aware that among the rolling block rifles sold to Spain from Remington, including those domestically produced by the Spanish under license, all official military versions were manufactured to accept only the angular bayonet. That is to say, except for the small numbers of Spanish-made musketoons and the so called “Royal Bodyguard” Models – the latter having a lug made to accept a 27-inch saber bayonet – makes all of this an exception and not the rule. It may well be assumed that the standard, catalog-specified Civil Guard Model many collectors are quite familiar with may have been a failure from a marketing standpoint and ended up being sold off to customers enthralled by its catchy nomenclature. Thus this first-to-be-seen, and obviously rare, No.1-1/2 size Civil Guard style rifle, chambered in .50-70 Government and adapted to an angular bayonet, may indeed be an independent, unknown variation that accidentally slipped through the cracks.
The possibility may also exist that documentation of this model could have disappeared among the many natural calamities that over the years have robbed historians of much vital data pertinent to Remington history and its products. Should Cuba ever become opened for free trade in the future and permit American citizens the opportunity of unrestricted travel, the research of military rolling block history will be an area we simply must look into.
Shown below is a chart of the dimensions of this scarcity as compared to both the No.1 and No.1-1/2 size actions:
A SADDLE RING CARBINE FROM SOUTH-EAST ASIA
The presence of the Remington rolling block in Asia has normally been confined to China and Japan as far as general knowledge is concerned. Since the publication of the author’s most recent work on the military rolling block, this region has proven that those countries using this particular single shot-military rifle was more widespread than previously thought.
One Asian country that had never been thought of as a user of the Remington rolling block system is the one-time French Protectorate of Cambodia, which is bordered by Siam (the name of Thailand prior to 1939), Viet Nam, and Laos. Just two years after the end of the Viet Nam war in 1975, this .50 caliber rimfire Remington saddle-ring carbine was found in Thailand in an area not far from the Laotian capital of Vientiane.
One of the great surprises of this carbine was that after its forearm was removed, it revealed a WWII vintage ten peso, Japanese occupation note from the Philippine Islands! How this ended up hidden under the forearm in between the barrel is truly puzzling – especially since Cambodia is a good distance over water from the Philippines. It may well be that this carbine was taken as a souvenir by a Japanese soldier in Cambodia or Thailand during the war who had been previously stationed in the Philippines and took an occupation note as a souvenir and hid it in the rifle. Other than this, it could be anyone’s guess!
This carbine was brought back by an Army officer to the United States as an antique war trophy in 1977, which is probably the first time this rolling block had returned stateside in over a century! The carbine is identified by its Cambodian Sanskrit markings, as well as the presence of a twelve-bladed “Chakra,” an ancient pin-wheel like symbol representing blades of fire. Most unique is that its chamber dimensions equate to an all-but-unknown .50 caliber rimfire cartridge with a case measuring 1.5" in length and a bullet diameter of .577"; aside from its length, it has a distinct resemblance to the .56-50 Spencer rimfire.
The action on this carbine is, in its entirety, a factory-correct Remington product, right down to placement of the saddle ring and staple. One feature that appears somewhat peculiar when compared to other Remington rolling block carbines is the presence of a ramrod stop at the front of the trigger guard. With this being an early Remington New Model action with rimfire breech block, it may originally have been designed as a two band, full stock, saddle ring carbine, all of which were equipped with a short cleaning rod. Regardless of its original configuration, it is a genuine first in the military rolling block collecting field.
A strong French colonial influence in this region of the world may be the reason why this carbine found its way to Southeast Asia. For many years, Siam and Vietnam treated Cambodia as a buffer state, but with France gaining more and more favoritism and becoming opportunistic with the Cambodian king, they began encroaching deeper into Siamese and Vietnamese territories. A tug of war between Siam and France ensued and slowly weakened Cambodia, eventually throwing the country into civil strife. It was at this time that France supplied Cambodia with arms and ordnance to help authorities protect the country from the scores of bandit and rebel groups that resulted