George Moller, American Military Shoulder Arms, On October 29, 1861, the State of Massachusetts sold the State of New Hampshire 961 unaltered Robbins & Lawrence Model 1841 Rifles.  Sometime after this sale, the State of New Hampshire contracted with an unknown party to alter these rifles to accept a saber bayonet.  It is likely the that the alteration work may have been accomplished by the Collins Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut or by the Ames Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts.  New Hampshire’s quartermaster general’s report of May 2, 1862, listed 960 Windsor Rifles with Saber Bayonet stored at the state arsenal at Portsmouth.  The only modification to this rifle was the addition of a projecting bayonet stud that was screwed to the right side of the barrel.  It required a mortise for the base, 3.5 inches (89 millimeters) behind the muzzle, plus drilling and tapping of machine screw holes through the foot and the .9375 inch (23.8 mm) guide key .  This guide key is wider than most, being .210 to .213 inches (5.3 to 5.4 mm) wide.  Either the guide key or the stud’s foot is stamped with the bayonet mating number.  The highest such number known is 770.

Bayonet Variations