The Shakanoosa Arms Company was established in the spring of 1861, at the west end of Tennessee Valley, at Dickson, Alabama, about twenty miles west of Tuscumbia, on the Memphis, Charleston R.R. at Buzzard Roost (later Dickson, and now modern day Chisca), Colbert County, which is located in northern Alabama. The company was originally formed by three men of financial means, political clout and deep loyalty to the Southern Cause. Residents of northwest Alabama, prominent planter William Dickson (1798-1880), attorney and state legislator Owen O. Nelson (1823-1892) and physician Lewis

H. Sadler (1818-1881).[i]

The Dickson, Nelson Company, then operating an iron foundry in Tuscumbia,[ii] signed a contract with the State of Alabama on January 22, 1862, to supply". . .five thousand good army guns, of the value and description of the Mississippi or Enfield rifle, with sabre bayonets attached. . .", to be delivered in lots of one hundred by March 1, 1863, at a cost of $33.00.[iii]

The pressures of war forced them to move to Rome,[iv] Georgia in the summer of 1862, before they had even completed their factory. In Rome they leased a large brick building, but once again their plans were foiled before they could make the first rifle. Their completed machinery and gun parts were destroyed in the conflagration that took the building before they completed a single arm.[v] By the following month they had relocated to the State Railroad Shops in Adairsville, Georgia.

The company produced arms at the Adairsville manufactory until August of 1863, when they were again forced to move. Confederate Rifles and Muskets by Murphy and Madaus, describes these Adairsville rifles based on the one specimen that they examined. It was a .58 caliber, had a 33-inch barrel and was 48 inches in length. "The furniture is of brass, and the flat brass barrel bands are spring retained” … "the rear sight on the specimen examined is a two-leaf type” and the markings are "Dickson” over "Nelson & Co.” over "C.S.” To the rear of the hammer "ALA” over "1864” is stamped in two lines, vertically. This of course makes no sense, if they moved from Adairsville to Macon in August of 1863, the 1864 dated specimen referenced could not have been produced there. More likely this was a typo and the authors meant to say the Type I was made at Macon, before moving to Dawson in February 1864. The authors further describe this 1864 dated rifle as having an inlet blade for a front sight. The date, rear sight and bands are pertinent to this discussion because Murphy and Madaus based their Type I designation on these characteristics which are found in the one and only specimen that they examined. Murphy and Madaus estimated that "3,600 arms of all descriptions were made at Adairsville through August, 1863.” While it is possible Nelson & Co. repaired 3,600 arms, it is not possible that they "made” 3,600 arms. Since only one example could be found by the authors to examine, and none have turned up since.

In Confederate Longarms and Pistols, by Hill and Anthony, the production is given as "less than 1000”. This figure is much closer to the truth. Even Madaus and Murphy state that only 645 Nelson & Co. rifles can be documented as accepted by the State of Alabama, and another 35 rejected. Based on their rarity, it is likely that this covers all, or nearly all of their production.

The authors do not explain how their example of a Type I, which is dated 1864, can possibly correspond with their posited ending production of the Type I in August of 1863. I do not mean to be critical of the authors, mistakes are bound to happen, the good Lord knows I have made enough of my own. However, this presentation is a good opportunity to correct/add to the knowledge base.

Murphy and Madaus were of the opinion that "a virtually new type of rifle was made” after the move to Dawson, and the authors designated it a Type II. It is my opinion that Dickson, Nelson & Co. did not fabricate two separate models; that the rifle designated as a Type I, was merely made up by Dickson, Nelson & Co. by the mingling of some fabricated, and some existing parts. The 1864 date proves that it was made well after the so-called Type II was in production, which by definition, means it cannot be a Type I.

In fairness to the authors, they noted that they knew of only one other 1863 dated lock plate, and no rifle. So, they assumed that the 1864 dated gun that they designated the Type I, could have been made in February, 1864 (but if so, how at Adairsville?) and all others dated 1864 were made after that date.

In 1866, Owen Nelson and his associates acquired the properties of the firm and under the name of Dawson Manufacturing Company began to manufacture passenger and freight railroad cars. In 1885 the property was sold to Dawson Works. In 1929 one of the warehouses still had a good many of the unfinished walnut gun stocks, leftovers from the arms manufacturing period.

The rifle offered here has crisp, clear "Dickson” over "Nelson & Co.” over "C.S.” stampings forward of the hammer and "ALA” over "1865” behind the hammer. This rifle, like all those designated Type II has a block front sight and a fixed rear sight. It even has the same original ramrod, with a hole in the head for a T handle like that shown and documented in Confederate Rifles and Muskets. Neither this rifle, nor the two documented in the same work have Alabama acceptance marks. The gun is in excellent-plus condition, as the photos will attest. The bore is near mint. Notice that the nipple is in near new condition and all of the screw heads are crisp. The gun still retains nearly all of its original finish. The stock has nicks and dings in it but is in excellent condition. The brass has a mellow, untouched patina and the buttplate has the "high copper red” we all love. The sling is an original Confederate linen sling in excellent condition, and was on the gun when it was acquired.

The rifle comes from the collection of the preeminent War Between the States artist, Don Troiani. I almost certain that it can be found in some of his paintings of Alabama troops.

The best of the best, the finest of the fine, flawless!

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