The Merrell carbine was one of many breech loading carbines hastily adopted during the onset of the American civil war. This example is in good overall condition for its age, with a clean bore that retains strong rifling with only minor corrosion. The stock shows no major damage but has been carved into by its previous owner, with the initials MMC on the left side of the comb and several X’s scattered about the surface of the stock, the acceptance cartouche is also visible on the left side beneath the saddle ring. This being a 1’st model carbine, it also has a patch box. The only significant damage to this carbine is that one of the sight leafs has been broken.