Lincoln County, Tennessee Rifles???

[Tanselman]

I acquired a late flint circa 1835 half-stocked rifle late last fall in a small estate auction about 30 miles below Nashville. It had a "Kirkman Nashville" lock plate and while unsigned, it looked like an Alfred Bearden rifle from Lincoln County with its Bearden style guard & triggers, four ramrod pipes, lower butt molding, and strong comb with short wrist. About a month later up in northern Indiana, I acquired its "brother," an original percussion rifle made a few years later with many similar details. I posted the first rifle a couple months ago, but now I am posting both rifles to compare them, and would like to get your thoughts and insights on these two strongly related rifles.

The first rifle, despite looking very much like Alfred Bearden's work, has several details not used by Alfred: horn nose cap, lower more Tennessee-ish cheekpiece, and double-keyed forestock. The 2nd rifle has those same "different" details, plus has moved away from the distinctive Bearden-style guard and triggers with tabs at the tips, to more conventional guard and trigger styles. Note the typical Bearden placement of the rear sight a few inches behind the rear ramrod pipe on both rifles; both barrels are full original length.

Bearden style gun's barrel: 43-1/4" @ .38 caliber bore.  Slightly later rifle's barrel: 40" @ .36 caliber bore.

Shelby Gallien

 

[Sequatchie Rifle]

Both are very nice. I really like the top one! The horn nose cap is interesting. The lower one shows some eastern middle Tennessee influence. You can see the transition away from some of the East Tennessee features. I’ve always appreciated Alfred Bearden. As we’ve discussed, the site of his shop is roughly 17 miles due north of me. He was a Mason. His son was an officer and was killed in middle Tennessee at the battle of Stone River. Alfred was never the same afterward.

There is a marker nearby with this inscription.  Born 1811 in South Carolina, a farmer, Renowned Gunsmith and a Past Master of Andrew Jackson Lodge #68 F & AM. Grandson of Revolutionary War Veteran John Bearden, Sr. Married in 1831 to Margaret Downing, buried at this site with four of their eleven children, two who served in the 8th Tennessee Infantry Reg't during the War Between the States, including his son, Captain N. M. Bearden who died due to wounds received at the Battle of Stones River on Dec. 31, 1862.