Welcome to today’s photo of the day! Here we have a Needham conversion of a Bridesburg rifle-musket with an 1863-dated lock, one of approximately 5,020 Civil War muzzleloaders converted to a breechloading centerfire using the Needham side-opening system.
After the war the army was sitting on a huge stockpile of percussion muskets. It was wasteful and expensive to abandon them. Converting them to handle modern cartridge ammunition was the practical answer, and several competing patented systems followed that contract. The Needham used a side-opening breechblock, which was mechanically straightforward, allowing centerfire loading without changing the barrel. The .58 caliber bore remained in place.
5,020 conversions is a documented number, which is useful. This also means that these aren’t particularly rare as Civil War-era converted weapons go, but they aren’t particularly common either. The Bridesberg lock base musket of 1863 marks the standard wartime production.
This example is missing the barrel tang screw and shows a stock repair. It has been used. The trapdoor conversion ultimately won out as the Army’s preferred system, which pushed the Needham conversions to the margins of the story, which is probably why they are not talked about much.
Most of our POTDs use images of our friends Rock Island Auction CompanyMajor firearms auction in the United States. Take some time to browse them current auction – Who knows, maybe you’ll find a piece of history to take home!
“Needham Conversion US Contract Bridesberg Rifle.” Rock Island Auction, www.rockislandauction.com/detail/5032/38/needham-conversion-us-contract-bridesburg-rifle. Accessed 28 May 2026.
