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MODEL 1866 SPRINGFIELD RIFLE COMBINATION TOOL:  An early Indian War Period US Army Model 1866 Combination Tool issued to the troops to maintain and service the Model 1866 Springfield Trapdoor .50/70 caliber Rifle.  As documented on page 164 of Gun Tools, Their History and Identification, by Shaffer, Rutledge, and Dorsey, these tools were modified from the Model 1855 Rifled Musket Tool by milling the cone wrench into the unique two-pronged spanner wrench to accommodate the spanner nut on one end of the hinge pin screw and the spanner nut retaining the spring loaded firing pin on the Model 1866 Rifle.  

The Model 1866 “2nd Allin Conversion” Rifle served the frontier troops very well at such famous actions as the Wagon Box Fight, the Hayfield and Beecher’s Island.  The Model 1866 Combination Tool was not produced in great numbers to begin with and as the Model 1868 Rifle was adopted, many of the Model 1866 tools were modified further by removing the two-pronged screw driver blade as it was no longer required.  Further, the prongs on the spanner wrench are often found broken on these tools as the wrench was improperly used in attempting to remove the special rear sight screw – a task this tool was never intended for.  

The survival rate of the standard Model 1866 Tool is relatively low, particularly in this condition, and this specimen would make a key addition to your Indian War Collection.   This Model 1866 Tool shows no use, much of the original arsenal blue is present, and the spanner wrench prongs are intact.  (0152)  $125

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 

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