Albert N. Hardin, The American Bayonet 1776/1964

The most colorful, rare and significant bayonet of the BG&M provenance is that of the bowie blade.  It has the distinction of being the only style to bear the firm's name.  

The straight blade is 14.875 inches (378 mm) long, 1.375 inches (34.9 mm) wide and .15625 inch (4.0 mm) thick.  It is not fullered.  The blade is unmarked.  A few are known with somewhat longer blades.

The 4.875 inch (124 mm) long hilt is only suggestive of the "standard" BG&M type exemplified in the long-bladed specimens, only by the flat bird's-head pommel pattern.  The husky guard is shaped much like many other sword/saber bayonet guards, rather than having the distinctive BG&M top knot and reverse-curved lower finial. This specimen has a plain wide upper guard, and the lower guard terminates in a forward-curving semi-disk finial.  The bore is .938 inch (23.8 mm) in diameter.  The grip surface has a deeply scalloped ridge pattern cast into three of its sides.  The upper surface is ungrooved and slightly rounded.  This latter surface bears the serial number "12" in horizontally inverted characters just behind the upper guard.  The reverse guard surface, from the top of the lower guard finial to the begining swell of the upper guard, is cast with the maker's name.  This is set on an indented, stippled background in vertical characters: "BOYLE, GAMBLE & MACFEE" / "RICHMOND" / "VA"; these characters are somewhat crude in form.  The stud spring is horizontal and is cut square on both ends.  The stud groove is very short.  The lock-to-muzzle distance is 4.4375 inches (113 mm).  The tang extension is peened at the pommel to secure the hilt to the blade.  The hilt casting is of a much more refined mold than the standard BG&M types.