Krag Collectors Association Forum

I am hoping yall will take pity on a raw rookie and share some of your expertise. I am a bit of student of the Spanish American War from a military and political perspective. But when it comes to the firearms of the war, I am well out of my depth.

Still, I am interested in a model 1896 Krag saddle ring carbine, serial number 68140, is being offered by the James D. Julia Auction.

Here is a bare bones summary and a link:

Cal. 30-40 Krag. Standard 1896 Krag carbine with 22[ch8243] tapered rnd bbl, pedestal front sight with Sheard gold bead blade. It has standard carbine ladder sight graduated to 2000 yards. Left side of receiver has the Model 1896 markings and SN. Mounted in a 1-pc half stock with short hand guard and the sight protecting bbl band. Left side of stock has a staple & ring and the left wrist has an 1897 cartouche.

jamesdjulia.com/item/2140-373/

My question to you folks is not about the guns value. Its worth what somebody will pay for it. I just wonder about authenticity. Does the gun feel right to you experts as a weapon used in the war?

I have done enough collecting in Civil War firearms to be a bit paranoid. So any thoughts you might have would be most welcome

Nelson: U.S. Krag #68140 is documented as a ('Rough Rider') Model 1896 carbine, issued to Malcolm D. Lincoln, Co. G, 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, in 1898. It was used in the Spanish War in Cuba!

p.s. The "gold bead sheard front sight blade" would not have been put on the carbine by Springfield Armory and must be a later simple alteration.

(Good Luck at the auction)!

Thanks very much! I'm a little puzzled how it ended up back with Mr. Lincoln. I've read the vets were not given a chance to buy their weapons when the mustered out.

'Nelson': I doubt Pvt. Malcolm D. Lincoln, (occupation - 'Cowman', birth - Lucknow, India), retained possession of this carbine after his discharge from U.S. Service. (What gave you that idea)?
This carbine probably remained in military use, until officially sold by the U.S. Government. Only a very small number of Krags are recorded in known surviving official documents. The known carbines, issued to the 'Rough Riders', are a rare example.

(Rough Rider Camp, Tampa, Fla.)

Well, I came to the right place I guess. Thanks for the all the info. And the great photo.

The stated provenance on the sale is "Malcolm D. Lincoln as issued by the Army."

I asked an associate at Julia what that meant and was told it came from Lincoln's family. Could just be bad info from a junior person there.

And about that sight: If that is an alteration from the original weapon as issued, is that something you'd suggested be restored . .. or left well enough alone?

Again, thanks for the info and the hospitality.

Nelson: I suspect that carbine came out of a large military collection and not directly from Lincoln's family.

If the carbine were to come into my possession, I would initially leave it as is.

However, I would try to get an issue model 1896 carbine front-sight blade (and maybe a better 'wood match' hand-guard) and then be tempted to switch parts to improve 'presentation'.
The sight blade is easily changed, by carefully removing the cross pin, switching blades, and then returning the pin. (I would retain the parts that it came with as part of the arm's history).

(p.s. I am not bidding against you. I'd rather have the Model 1896 carbine attributed to the 9th U.S. Cavalry and some of the Elmer Keith stuff)!

photo of what the front-sight should look like:

would anyone have a complete copy of that list by chance would be nice to see all of the numbers that they carried.

IIRC, only a limited portion of the RR lists have survived. All that are known were published in Mallory's book.