My grand father said his father took this gun off of a yankee calavary officer late in the war. He was with Hood's Texas 4th on a champain in Tenn. after the battle of Atlanta. They never signed a surender and since he had his own horse he got to keep the gun and bring it home. Most of his unit had guns taken from yankee troops during raids to get supplies, being late in the war. They had no ready supplies of their own.
This gun is a carbine that is not like any other gun. It does not have a fore arm strap that goes around the barrel, but has a screw that holds it to the barrel. The sight is a 2 elevation flip sight not the standard long range sight. It is nickel plated and always has been that way, even when I shot it when I was a kid in the 30's.
All parts are nickel plated even down to the last screw and the loading tube. The only thing not plated is the inside of the barrel. I think this gun may have been a personal gun purchased by the officer from the factory. It is stamped on the breach as a Spencer model 1865 made in Boston, Mass. March 6,1860. The Barrel has marked on top behind of the sight M1865. Most all of the Burnsides are marked Burnside, this one is not marked that way on any part.