Cook and Brother of New Orleans - A Confederate Rifle Factory
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ส.ค. 2024
- Cook and Brother was one of the largest and most successful of the private ordnance factories in the South during the Civil War. It was formed by two British brothers who had moved to New Orleans, Frederick and Francis Cook. They opened a rifle factory at the intersection of Common and Canal streets, and began making Enfield pattern rifles. A contract was soon procured for sale of a thousand rifles to the state of Alabama, and in total they produced about 1100 rifles in New Orleans before the city fell to the Union. When that happened, they managed a hectic evacuation, and the armory was reestablished in Athens Georgia by early 1863. Production there took some time to ramp back up due to labor shortages, and they produced only about another thousand rifles in 1863. By this time they had a large contract with the CSA government, and managed an impressive 4500 more guns in 1864, before the entire enterprise collapsed as the CSA became unable to make payments.
What we have today are a very early New Orleans production rifle and an early Athens production cavalry carbine, the latter engraved with its owner’s name and unit (the 3rd Virginia Cavalry).
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I loved the 'ice cream for rifle" story. Reminded me of a story my dad told me. When he was a kid, the boy next door liked my dad's plastic automatic rifle, which lit up and made noises (pretty slick for the 60's) and traded his dad's war bring-back Arisaka for it one day. My dad loved it, but needless to say, the trade didn't last long once their fathers both got home.
Buck Berthod
I’d reckon the dad of the kid who got the arisaka was proud of his enterprising son!
@Cameron Brewster I get that. I have a bayonet that my grandfather brought back from Congo in 1963 (ONUC, Battalion K18). When he became the father of my father and uncle he proceeded to blunt and turn down the point, and gave it to them as a toy.
I love the story behind all of these 'forgotten weapons.' It's like getting a free history lesson. Except, professor Ian forgot to take roll-call. lol
Plus, no pop quizzes!
Ian is such a master of firearms history and design, It's a joy to watch.
I haven't had a lot of interest in the American Civil War (I'm British) for over 50 years now but this sort of wonderful presentation makes me want to revisit the things that I enjoyed as a 10 year old. :)
John Brooks it is fairly interesting war with ALOT of luck in it (good and Bad)
It's a fascinating war, with a fair share of colorful characters, vicious reality, and tragic ends. Even though I'm not American (I'm Portuguese), it's certainly an amazing event to read about.
Example: After the Battle of Fredericksburg during the War, the Northern lights appeared over the Virginia battlefield. It was such a rare occurrence there, the Confederate soldiers took it as a sign that God was on their side. While men across the battlefield strewn with corpses looked above in the bewildering twilight.
There are a few good movies and books based on the civil war (such as Gods and Generals) as well as countless documentaries (such as Ken Burns work on "The Civil War" a miniseries now on Netflix.)
There is also an extensive archive of photos from the war, some colorized.
johnib.wordpress.com/2013/02/24/150-years-after-the-american-civil-war-photographs-alive-with-color/
I would recommend Checking out the Civil War Trust site.
John Brooks I had many relatives that fought in the war on both sides
John Brooks Read Company Aaytch by Sam Watkins and Front and Rear, A Rebel Private, by Bill Fletcher. They are both the memoirs of enlisted Confederate veterans, written by the veterans themselves, (their names are mentioned above), that avoid the dry history of great battles and great generals to tell you how it was for them. Both books can be rather gory though, like when Sam Watkins mentions sharing a plate of gravy and sopping biscuits in it with his lieutenant and a Yankee cannonball came from no where and took the officer's head off- his brains fell into the plate of gravy, that was near Atlanta if I remember right.
Due to inflation, I'm betting that carbine is worth at least a half-dozen ice cream cones!
Ian should report the final price in quantity of ice cream cones when it sells.
The estimated price comes to about 10,500-12,500 two-scoop ice cream cones (summer of 2017 prices).
With a large margin of error, of course.
The Carbine got sold for 39,100 $. Thats a boat load of ice cream cones.
Can you imagine handing your 10 year old a sword and letting them have at it with the kid down the street lol
19,550 small DQ cones.
The Cook brothers are considered two of the heroes of the Confederacy. Even though they were both from England, they adopted the Confederate cause after they moved to New Orleans in the 1850's. Ferdinand married a New Orleans woman, Mary Jane Wilcox, described as "one of the fairest belles of the City", in 1852. He moved to New Orleans after the marriage and was later followed by his brother Francis some time in 1855. Athey were representatives of Novelty Iron works of New York City, where they worked from about 1850 until the outbreak of the war. The company manufactured mostly cotton and sugar machinery, so locating in New Orleans was a logical move. Both brothers learned engineering and metalworking at Novelty, then regarded as one of the finest machinery companies in the nation. There was also another brother, Frederick, who ended up in New Orleans, and Francis and Frederic established the Belleville Iron Works in Algiers, outside New Orleans. They made mostly agricultural equipment, but also spent some time making prototype rifles in hopes of selling them to the US Army. They even wrote to then US Secretary of War Jefferson Davis in 1856 about establishing an arms factory in the South since none then existed. Of course, that suited the Union fine, so nothing ever came of it. When the Civil War began, Ferdinand resigned his position with novelty and it appears Frederick made his way back to New York since he was a Union sympathizer. The remaining two brothers, Ferdinand and Francis, set to work immediately converting the Belleville company to producing rifles. The company was renamed Cook and Brother and a new factory, initially the Nashua Iron Works, was established in New Orleans. Although I don't know for sure, I assume the Belleville factory was sold to help finance the new rifle company/
The removal of the rifle company to Athens had some of the same heroics as the Russians removing their factories in the face of the advancing Nazis. I could write a book on that alone, and this is already getting close enoough to a book. The brothers had no intention of going through that turmoil again. They reserved at least 250 of their rifles for a local defense company to defend the plant and the Athens area when it was clear that the Union forces would make their way through Georgia. They even made a few small artillery pieces. The plant defense force did fight the Union forces as part of a larger local militia at Griswoldville, GA and Hardeeville SC, and several factory workers were killed in the battles. As Ian said, Ferdinand gave his life for the Confederacy on December 11, 1864, stuck down by a Union sniper during the Hardeeville battles.
After the War ended, Francis managed to get a Federal pardon after spending some time in Union custody because he was a Confederate officer. Because he was a British subject, he managed to escape imprisonment as a traitor. Even though he managed to stave off several years of attempts by US Marshals to seize the factory, the local sheriff auctioned it off in 1868 to pay of the company's substantial debts that were never made good due to the collapse of the Confederacy. The buildings and grounds were purchased by the Athens Manufacturing Company and used as a cotton mill. To the best of my knowledge, the factory burned to the ground sometime in the 1890's. Ferdinand gave his life and Francis gave his fortune, both for the Lost Cause.
The only reason I know some of these details is the brothers are distant relatives. As far as I can tell from my genealogy program, they would be cousins six times removed. I found out some of the information while researching that line of the family. As you might imagine, I'd love to have one of the Cook and Brother rifles. Unfortunately, I don't have a spare $30,0000 readily at hand.
You can get a Reproduction cook brothers rifle it may satisfy your need
I'm glad their stories had happy endings, then. :)
The Civil War in the USA is full of lies and hypocrisy; be very careful.
@@sparten17708 leave the Lost Causer alone, his granpappy was obviously one of the good confederates who secretly always disliked slavery
@@sparten17708@alias6967 You do realize the civil war was more nuanced then “me like slavery,” right? To the victor goes the spoils. That includes the narratives and propaganda popularized thereafter. If you thought you could make a killing selling rifles to the CSA, already lived in the south, and had familial ties via marriage why is it hard to believe that wasn’t enough motivation to stay/fight? Many have done more for less. There were many rifts between the north and south. The world and sensibilities then would be so foreign to us now it would be unrecognizable if we could go back in time.
The Clyde Armory here in Athens has actually built a sort of replica building of the Cook & Brother manufacturing plant. And at the Oconee River Greenway there's still a Cook & Brother square. Pretty neat how the legacy lives on here and what all.
A legacy of what? Fighting for the right to own other human beings?
@@monotech20.14 No, the legacy of "Cook & Brother of New Orleans" duh, lol.
Nobody here thinks slavery was good, I just think it's neat to see the continuity between our lives and the lives of people who lived here hundreds of years ago.
@@rodentRoundup Who made guns for traitors who wanted slavery.
@@monotech20.14 Shut up, edgelord. XD
@@rodentRoundup The Civil War in the USA is full of lies and hypocrisy; be very careful.
Not sure if it was used in the war, but my great, great grandfather apparently had a flintlock that almost certainly predated the Civil War. Around the 1920s one of his sons unfortunately got his hands on (I don't know how) an unexploded, modern artillery shell. He decided to break it open and use the powder in the flintlock, and the flintlock was no more. He lived. I believe alcohol was involved.
I am always amazed by the stories these pieces of history can tell, and the light they can shed on otherwise unknown tales perhaps lost and waiting for to be found again!
Also the workers in the Athens factory became part of the Georgia militia when Sherman invaded and actually fought at the battle of griswoldville where the griswoldville revolver was made near macon GA
Beautiful piece of history
Too bad it's only 41. If it had been 42, it would have been the answer to everything.
LOL :D
Goose Pond was actually part of the larger Battle of Boykin Mill. It was the last battle on SC soil and saw the last union officer killed in action until the war ended. The 54th Massachusetts was the tip of the spear and took heavy casualties assaulting an old abandoned Revolutionary War fort that the Confederate repaired and repurposed.
My grandfather played with a spencer carbine one of his relatives captured from a yankee and brought home. :)
Lol, my grandpa did the same. They used to play with an old civil war rifle.
Kicking Yankees ass is really cool, just like old rifles
Excellent video, but I would like to make a correction. The small flag stamped on the two rifles is not the “stars and bars”. The 1861 Louisiana confederate flag is stamped on the rifle made in New Orleans, and the Georgia state flag is stamped on the rifle made in Athens. I only mention this because I know you try to be historically accurate.
Love the ice cream story. Reminds me of a tale my grandpa likes to bring up (I'm not sure how true it is) about how my great-grandpa apparently traded his war bring-back Luger for a some .22 he wanted.
Gun Jesus takes no sides with history.
One of the best things about Forgotten Weapons over other American gun-centric channels is that Ian keeps things clean and professional. No gun politics, while debunking ahistorical myths and putting all the focus on what's actually relevant to the guns.
Gun Jesus loves his enemy.
Agreed, HellbirdIV. The only times I've seen Ian dip his toe into the political realm have all been on InRange and have usually been in regards to information politics, Net Neutrality and the like. Considering that this is the medium they choose to make a living I think their position is fairly justified. Those folks at C&Rsenal also keep it pretty a-political. Kinda ironic that two fields rife with political discourse and mud-slinging - guns and history - seemingly come together on TH-cam and are notably absent of the phenomenon.
John Doe
A man who is capable of civil political discussion is like a politician who is capable of not lying. They don't exist.
Reminds me of this line from Tom Lehrer's Wernher von Braun: "Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down? That's not my department!" says Wernher von Braun.
Its nice to see a piece of history from my home state. Thanks for the video
That's awesome. Gotta love the back story.
I noticed your mention that the New Orleans factory was at Common and Canal streets. These streets today are almost parallel (Common is one block south west of Canal), but set at an angle so that it may be that in 1860 they met very near the Mississippi river bank - what natives today would call the "foot of Canal Street." It seems likely that the building site was where Harrah's casino is today. I can't find evidence of an actual intersection in any of the old maps I was able to find on line.
It is one of my dreams to have an Athens Ga stamped cooks brothers rifle. I went to uga and they're too cool
There's an antiques store in Watkinsville that had an Athens ga cook and brothers! He might still have it as his prices are on the premium side! He's had some really cool stuff over the years! Store is a few doors down from courthouse! ATTIC TREASURES is the name!
Thank you for the history lesson!
Great rifles, great background, if only that carbine could talk! All the way from Gettysburg to being traded for an ice cream cone then for mega bucks at an auction.
As always, excellent research. Great job again Ian!
Wow..what a piece of history! Traded for an ice cream cone! Wow!
FYI per General Grant auto biography when Vicksburg Miss. surrendered the Southern Troops came out and stacked arms in surrender. the quality and newness of the arms were such that Grant had his Troops who were issued with flintlock conversions that "were as dangerous to the shooter as to the receiver" were to approach in proper order and lay down his weapon and pick up the surrendered CSA weapon. this not only improved the troopers weapon but simplified ordnance needs. Something to think about, no?
That's what happens when one side is desperately manufacturing new arms and the other is issuing from stockpiles and legacy production systems.
That carbine would a great brush gun.
Interesting that climber's 'carabineers' and 'carbines' come from the same origin, the clip that attaches the sling to the ring on the side of the rifle.
very cool rifles. thanks for the video
Interesting story.
"I'd buy that for an icecream!"
Ian, Thank you for your very informative videos, you have been a very bust boy of late. Keep up the good work.
Thanks
Exchanged for an ice cream cone. It were simpler times back then.
Keep up the great videos sir!
What a history in that carbine...
The predominant *standardized* rifle the Confederacy would employ. I love how the South would largely go into war with what they brought from home, battlefield scavenges, and what little the Confederate government could provide.
i mean they had no money cause davis wouldnt tax them they shot themselves in the foot
@@dominicvucic8654the confederate government did tax southerners. In fact they would actively send soldiers to peoples homes and farms and confiscate supplies for the war effort.
Man, I wish I could get my hands on that carbine model: a great size for me (6" but really lean) and it's a great-looking little thing.
Common & Canal? Neat trick, given they run more or less parallel a block apart. (Unless Common didn't stop at Tchoupitoulas back then, which would put the factory somewhere inside Harrah's casino. I'll have to check some vintage maps later...)
Great vid!!
Not sure which are more numerous, underproduced Confederate rifles or Union cavalry trials carbines
Nice video!
So nice...great Confederate maker
“ once It got to Athens I guess it started waving”😂👌🏽
That was interesting. Thanks.
I'd trade a truckload of ice cream for a FAL!
Very nice
Manufacturing always a tricky go in the South; never had the resources like the North-
"hey kid, give me that gun- I'll get you ice cream" shonky deal
I have a Replica of the full length rifle, awesome shooter!
Wishing that Carbine could talk.
That ice cream cone better have tasted as if it was worth $40k.
the architecture of the buttstock is interesting. it's very graceful, like a fowler, but i wonder how strong the wrist is? it's usually the wrist that goes first.
Growing up the son of a Civil War historian and having been born in Athens, GA the carbine is especially attractive. Sadly far out of my price range.
That better have been one hell of an ice-cream cone.
Three scoops, MINIMUM.
One of the brothers in cook and brother was not present when the company was named
I admit to that suspicion with the serial number.
$40,000 ice cream cone...must've been good.
I spent a distressing amount of time wondering who Mr. Brother was.
That was Dr. Joyce Brothers great-great-great-grandfather. :-)
I went and saw the place where the original factory was in New Orleans, now it's just a bunch of apartment buildings, there's no marker or anything, odd saying as even the small factory that was in Georgia had a marker.
Sweet
That little cavalry carbine is sexy af
I don't think Cook and his brother made 39-inch rifle muskets.
man, thats gonna be a pricey lil gun isnt it?
One of Life’s Great Bargains 😮 I Wish I Could’ve Traded a Few Icecream Cone’s Back in the Day 😐😐😐 Just Imagine What a Keg Of Bathtub Gin Back In the Roaring 20’s Would Of Got You 😀😀
I suppose that's an indie band name and two of their songs. :-D
Capitalising almost every word and using "would of", yup that's the standard TH-cam mouth breather.
*would have
It's the only thing I care about anymore, grammatically speaking.
It could get you 5 to 10.
Killed by the boot leggers or thrown in prison by the cops if you couldn't buy them off.
What kind of iron did they use to make the barrel ?
Doesn't twist iron weaken the barrel
Hello Ian, would like to know if the "new Policy" will prevent future such videos from these auctioneers? will all of this be moved to full30 perhaps? Praying for the best for you!
Is there a southern gun manufacturer that *didn't* end up broke?
Question, does anyone know what the pins are made out of that retain the steel strap under the handguard of a type 38 arisaka? To be more specific the top handguard closest to the rear sight block. brass or steel?
Question: all Cook & Brother replicas are blued. Were originals blued or in white metal finish.??
Benjamin Butler denied an arms factory :)
Whoa enjoyable matter. Maybe You Have got word of tyranny unmasked?
I thought they made shotguns, I guess I was mistaken.
Where is this Goose Pond located in SC?
in heaven there is a gun Jesus channel
Ahh. The Brits teaming up with the Confederates.
We still kicked both their asses.
the english and the french both sided with the confederates
and the united states is a refugee nation the losers of the world all living in one country
you guys have never won a war
the spanish and french won the american revolution
Hey, Ian! Are these new TH-cam policies about firearm content going to affect your channel?
Auctions count as sales, so yes it must by definition. Google needs an Antitrust.
Talk about a sweet deal lol
What's the point in putting serial numbers on screws🤷
And.....were cavalry rifles usually equipped with something to keep the rod from being lost.
Or did a lot of cavalry lose their rods and just used anything they could find that would work.
Who cares anyway. I just was waiting the whole time for you to explain the whatever it was on the end of that cavalry rifle.
Loading and riding especially with powder and what not definitely was harder than texting and driving.
Just saying, not studying me.
So many southerner guns were hand made, meaning that they were not made on a mass production basis and their parts were NOT interchangeable from weapon to weapon. Putting serial numbers on all of the parts help to guarantee that if the weapon was ever disassembled, then reassembled the correct parts went to the same rifle.
Yes, many carbine used ramrod swivels to prevent the loss of the ramrod. Good examples of this are the US Army M1855 carbine and pistol carbine.
Civil War muzzle loading guns were rarely ever loaded with loose powder. Ammunition was what they called a paper cartridge; a rolled up paper tube containing both powder and ball.
Did they made rifle barrels like damascus shotgun barrels? it has some kind of spiral pattern.
ok,sorry, i need to write after watching the whole video.
👍
Praised be Gun Jesus
Can you imagine the outrage of seeing kids running around, playing with empty Arisakas or Mausers? Makes me feel like we fought for the wrong side sometimes.
Sheldon Robertson No.
I hope your channel survives this attack on free speech
At least wore gloves for professional inspection, to preserve.