The Confederate long arms produced by the firm of Cook & Brother are some of the best made and most sought after guns produced in the South during the American Civil War. Thanks to the research done by the late Dr. John Murphy & Howard Michael Madaus presented in their two volume set Confederate Rifles & Muskets and Confederate Carbines & Musketoons, we know quite a bit about the company and its contracts and have a reasonable estimate regarding their total production of long arms. Ferdinand W.C. Cook was born on July 23, 1823, to Harry Cook and Ann Bradwin Wright Cook. He was baptized William Charles Ferdinand Cook in St. Mary’s Church, Islington, London. At the age of 9, Ferdinand immigrated to America with his father and older brothers Henry (18) and Theodore (16), on board the Ontario. The ship arrived in New York City on April 17, 1833; about three months shy of Ferdinand’s tenth birthday.
Murphy & Madaus note that Ferdinand Cook was 16 when he reached America, but this does not appear to be correct, and it is possible that they used the census records for his brother Theodore to establish that age. In 1834, the rest of the family, including Ferdinand’s mother Ann and brothers Arthur (15), Francis (13), and Frederick (5) immigrated to America as well and joined the Cook family in New York. It was in New York that Ferdinand, Francis, and Frederick received their training in metal work and engineering, as all three worked for the "Novelty Iron Works" (formerly Stillman & Co.), a large and well-established engineering and industrial manufacturing company in the city. Along with their education, this on-the-job training gave them all real knowledge and skill regarding the engineering and manufacturing of heavy industrial equipment, foundry work, castings, and military armaments. The training could not have come from a better company, as the Novelty Iron Works was known top-quality workmanship in New York and throughout the growing United States.
While he was employed at Novelty Iron Works, Ferdinand visited New Orleans in the early part 1840s. There he functioned as a sales agent for the company’s customers in that region. These were mostly business firms in the sugar and cotton industry. The allure of New Orleans must have been great, as Ferdinand moved there in 1845; in 1849 he married a local woman, Mary Jane Wilcox. In 1852 Ferdinand’s younger brother Frederick joined him in New Orleans; by 1855 his brother Francis had as well.
The threesome established the Belleville Iron Works in Algiers, La., where they concentrated on manufacturing large-scale industrial machinery and agricultural equipment. This type of industrial engineering and manufacturing was practically unknown in the South, which had relied for decades upon northern manufactures for their machinery. The Cooks even dabbled in the manufacture of small arms and artillery, and as early as May 1856 they had corresponded with U.S. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis about the possibility of establishing a national foundry for the manufacture of cannon and arms in New Orleans.
While he was making his own business successful, Ferdinand remained a sales agent for the Novelty Iron Works, but by 1861 he had resigned from that position. Brothers Ferdinand and Francis also spun off their portion of the Bellville Works sometime in late 1860 or early 1861, establishing the Nashua Iron Company for producing small arms. This company was headquartered on Canal Street in New Orleans proper, across the Mississippi River from their Algiers factory. According to the Cooks, the firm was established to prove “that rifles could be made here as well as in Yankee land or in Europe.”
Not very long after establishing this new manufactory, the name was changed to Cook & Brother and would remain so through the rest of the war. Initially the firm concentrated on manufacturing Enfield pattern “short rifles” based upon the English P1856 rifle, with saber bayonets. Early orders included rifles and bayonets for the “Sunflower Guards” (Company I, 21st Mississippi Volunteer Infantry) and for the state of Alabama, which ordered 1,000 Cook rifles with bayonets. While the company clearly focused on producing “Enfield pattern” rifles and bayonets, it also manufactured more than 2,000 additional saber bayonets, many for shotguns and some for civilian rifles, and a small number of carbines and musketoons based on “Enfield” patterns before the Federal capture of New Orleans forced the Cook brothers to relocate further east. It is believed that the firm produced about 2,200 long arms while in New Orleans; most were rifles, with a much smaller number of carbines and musketoons produced as well, prior to their forced evacuation in April 1862.
The Cooks took as much machinery, finished parts, and raw materials as they could and escaped by river to Vicksburg, Miss., and then traveled via wagon to Selma, Ala. From Selma the Cooks moved on to Athens, Ga., and established a new factory there. With many previously finished parts on hand, they were able to assemble completed arms prior to the factory really being up and running. As a result, the original Alabama state contract for rifles was completed by mid-August 1862, about the same time the Confederate Ordnance Department entered into an agreement with Cook & Brother to deliver “50,000 stand of arms” (rifles & bayonets, complete) at the rate of $25 each.
The new manufactory was up and running by early 1863. In addition to making rifles and bayonets, there was new emphasis on producing carbines and musketoons. The musketoon had a 24 inch barrel and was based upon the English Enfield P1853 artillery carbine. The carbine had a 21 inch barrel and was based on the English Enfield P1856 cavalry carbine.
It is generally believed that the Cook & Brother carbines and musketoons produced in New Orleans were numbered in a separate serial number range from the rifles. It appears that once the operation was moved to Athens, all the long arms were serial numbered in the same range, and somewhat randomly, with rifle, carbine, and musketoon numbers mixed together.
The new factory was apparently quite impressive and according to Confederate Chief of Ordnance Josiah Gorgas, "the establishment of the works reflects much credit upon their senior partner, and he has exhibited a much better appreciation of the requirements of an Armory than any other person who has attempted a like enterprise in the Confederacy." Further kudos were provided by Confederate Col. James H. Burton, initially the superintendent of the Richmond Armory, but soon made the overall supervisor of all Confederate armories. During an 1864 inspection, Burton noted that the Cook & Brother Armory was "the best fitted up and regulated private armory I have yet inspected in the C. States."
Ferdinand Cook was clearly somewhat leery that the company might be forced to move again due to Yankee thrusts into the south; to that end he established a local militia company comprised of some of his workers and other Athens locals to serve as a defense force. The group was officially designated the 23rd Georgia Local Defense Battalion with Ferdinand Cook as major. The battalion was engaged during the November 1864 defense of Griswoldville, Ga., and during fighting around Hardeeville, S.C., the following month. Major Ferdinand Cook was killed in action by a Federal sharpshooter on Dec. 11, 1864. As is well known, the surrender at Appomattox signed the death knell for the Confederate south, both militarily and financially.
In March 1867, U.S. Federal Marshalls seized the defunct Cook & Brother factory to sell it as former enemy property. Francis L. Cook managed to stave off the confiscation through a series of legal battles, but after managing to retain title to his property he was forced to sell the manufactory at a sheriff’s sale to pay his debts. The buyer, Athens Manufacturing Company, subsequently used the factory as a cotton mill.
As previously noted, the Cook & Brother Rifle was based upon the British made Enfield P1856 “Short Rifle.” The Cook rifle followed the general profile of the British guns and was similar in size, barrel length, and caliber. Both had 33-inch barrels and nominal overall lengths around 48 inches. The British rifle was .577 caliber (25 bore); the Cook rifle was nominally .58 caliber. Like the British rifles, the Cook was rifled with three lands and grooves. The barrels of the Cook & Brother carbines were made from iron bars that were heated and twisted around a steel mandrel, unlike British barrels that were either hammer forged iron or, eventually, cast steel. This twisting process produced a distinct grain pattern, similar to the “Damascus” steel pattern of fine 19th century shotguns, but without the striking appearance and designs. Some Cook barrels were browned, and those were probably quite attractive with the twisted pattern; those left in the bright were much less attractive, although they still typically show the distinctive twisted grain in the metal.
Like the British rifle, the Cook variant used a jag-head ramrod, threaded at the end for implements for cleaning and extracting unfired bullets. While the English P1856 rifle was iron mounted, the Cook rifle utilized cheaper and easier to manufacture brass furniture for the buttplate, triggerguard, and nosecap. The Cook rifle even used brass for the barrel bands and sling swivels, unlike the British guns with iron barrel bands. The side nail cups (lock screw escutcheons) were iron on the British P1856 rifle but brass on the Cook variant. Another primary difference between the rifles was that the Cook utilized a fixed rear sight on most guns rather than the adjustable leaf sight found on the British made guns.
The Cook rifles were originally designed to accept a saber bayonet like their English counterparts. They initially mounted a keyed lug on the barrel near the muzzle for affixing the saber bayonet. These lugs only appear on the earliest production Cook rifles; they were eventually supplanted by a removable bayonet adapter ring with the bayonet lug mounted on it. The lug had a unique inverted trapezoidal shape, with the wide end of the trapezoid on the outer side and the trapezoid tapering towards the mounting ring.
The Cook rifles underwent some minor evolutionary changes from their initial New Orleans production, through the end of their production in Athens. The evolution of the bayonet lug is a good example of one of those changes. While these changes are more plentiful and apparent in the Cook carbines, there were also some changes in the rifles. Most obviously, the New Orleansmade rifles have different lock and barrel markings than the later Athens production guns, with a different style of flag stamped to the rear of the hammer and New Orleans rather than Athens as their production location. The prototypical Athens produced rifle is quite similar to the New Orleans version, with a new lock marking that reads: COOK & BROTHER ATHENS GA (Serial Number) over the date 1863 or 1864. The Confederate First National Flag stamped at the rear of the lock plate is slightly different on Athens guns as well, showing a distinct “wrinkle” in it, as though it were waving in the wind. The barrels were typically marked in three lines COOK & BROTHER / ATHENS GA (Date) / (Serial Number). The serial numbers appeared on the majority of the rifle’s components, such as the nose cap, the triggerguard, the rear surface of barrel bands, and the heads of the lock and tang screws. The number also appeared on the saber bayonet that had been fitted to the gun.
The guns produced in New Orleans had a two-piece triggerguard similar to U.S. made arms of the era and different from the Enfield pattern guns. The Athens made guns typically had a one-piece triggerguard much more closely patterned after the English ones. The bottoms of the barrels and the breech plugs were Close up of the muzzle area of Cook & Brother rifle #6188 showing the barrel patterning, the late production rifle musket style front sight and the brass barrel band and sling swivel. Note the mismatched 15 on the nosecap.
both stamped with matching alphanumeric or simply numeric mating marks. Early Athens rifles also had alphanumeric mating marks inside the locks, although these generally had no relationship to those found under the barrel or the serial numbers. Some Cook long arms bear the “FWC” cartouche of Ferdinand Cook, but these are quite rare, and the mark is rarely visible either due to wear or not having been stamped in the first place.
The majority of saber bayonets produced for Cook & Brother rifles were also based upon their British P1856 Enfield rifle counterpart. While the British saber bayonets were produced with an iron hilt and mounted with press checkered leather grip scales, the Cooks used a sand cast, one-piece brass hilt and grip. The British bayonets used a nominally 22 inch long semi-Yataghan shaped blade the Cool & Brother rifle bayonets emulated. Interestingly, most Cook & Brother saber bayonets produced for use on shotguns used a straight, spear-point blade.
The rifle saber bayonet’s grip had grooves cast into it to improve the gripping surface and an integral muzzle ring with a rudimentary “cock’s comb” finial on the top. The lower part of the cross guard terminated in a flat disc finish. The pommel cap had a basic bird’s head profile; bayonets designed for use with the adapter rings were cut for a trapezoidal bayonet lug. A spring bayonet lug catch was attached to the grip with a screw on the obverse and operated with a push-button stud on the reverse. This allowed the bayonet to lock on the lug and to be released from the lug as well. A serial number stamped on the obverse of the crossguard matched the bayonet to the rifle.
The Cook & Brother rifle pictured that accompanies this article is a late production, Athensmade gun with the serial number 6188. It has an 1864 dated lock. As is often encountered on later production guns, some parts are either not numbered or have mismatched numbers that likely came from unused or reused parts. This rifle does not have a bayonet adapter lug and may never have had one. On Jan. 14, 1864, the Confederate Adjutant & Inspector General’s Office issued General Order #6; this discontinued manufacturing saber bayonets within the Confederacy. As such, this rifle may never have received a saber bayonet to go with it.
Tim Prince is a full-time dealer in fine & collectible military arms from the Colonial Period through WWII. He operates College Hill Arsenal, a web-based antique arms retail site. A long time collector & researcher, Tim has been a contributing author to two major book projects about Civil War era arms including The English Connection and a new book on southern retailer marked and Confederate used shotguns. Tim is also a featured Arms & Militaria appraiser on the PBS Series Antiques Roadshow.
“Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.” – Stonewall Jackson’s last words.
On May 11, 2020, Homer “Mac” McArthur Cole, proprietor of Cole’s Coins and Civil War Shop of Chester, Va., passed that great divide between all of us and our ancestors. Mac, a native of Riegelwood, N.C., came from a very poor family of seven children and worked his way far up the line to ultimately become the Director of Health and Safety for Reynolds Metal Company. Educated at both St. Andrews College and UNC-Chapel Hill, Mac was a self-made man of high intelligence, strong will, and unwavering determination who never lost contact with his younger playful self or his humble beginnings. He had a wry sense of humor, a sharp wit, and often concealed his sensitive side from most who met or dealt with him, but he had a heart of purest gold. He truly loved Civil War history and artifacts and was an avid relic hunter in Virginia for many years. His other passion was golf.
Mac was a highly rated collegiate wrestler in his younger years. He lost his first wife, Beth, to cancer after 39 years of marriage and remarried (to Lynn) in 2007. He first operated an antique furniture business after his retirement from Reynolds and then launched his dream business in 2009, a combination antique, coin, and Civil War artifact shop. Mac set up at most east coast Civil War shows from Charleston to Gettysburg for close to two decades, but in recent years, due to his health, restricted his travel to coin and military shows in Virginia. I think he cherished dug bullets, bottles, buttons, and coins far more than other things, but he wanted to compete with the upside of the business and branched out into firearms, swords, and uniforms.
He had a very small circle of close friends and a much larger circle of people who truly enjoyed his company. He loved the banter and interaction of the relic trade and was a constant (and harmless) flirt to cute waitresses
Charleston, SC 29412
in restaurants. Even while using a cane and barely able to get up and down, he would stop to pick up a penny if he saw one and, when chastised, would just grin and say “Well, I’ve got more now than I had!” He was a true friend to all who really knew him, and I don’t think any show will ever be the same for me again. I will sincerely miss his company and conversation as well as his interesting outlook and perspective on life in general as will his three children (Dan, Brian, and Beth) and many others.