Civil War Veteran Isaac Chilcote & His Muzzle-loader

Isaac Newton Chilcote (Chilcoat) is seated second from right in the front row, next to my great grandmother, Lauretta Chilcote Curfman, who married Austin Andrew Curfman.

List of names of those in the above photo, courtesy of Walter Lee Curfman.

Isaac Newton Chilcote was born in July 1843 in Carbon, Pennsylvania, his father, John, was 43 and his mother, Sarah/Sally, was 39. He married Plantina Black and they had eight children together. During the Civil War he enlisted (age 21) with his brother Hilary in Co. C, 110th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry on 25 February 1864.[2] Isaac was shot through the left thigh during an unspecified battle and was absent due to illness when the company mustered out on 28 June 1865.[2]

In 1882 Isaac was noted in the newspaper for killing 10 'wildcats' in Huntingdon, Co. In 1888 at the age of 44, he filed for a pension for his service in the Civil War. Plantina passed away in 1916, leaving Isaac a widower for ten years.

He died on April 27, 1926, in Huntingdon Co., Pennsylvania, at the age of 82, and was buried in Three Springs, Pennsylvania.

Another family photo of Isaac, wife Plantena and children. Lauretta Curfman stands directly behind Isaac. This photos appears to be several years older than the image above.

Isaac's Muzzle-Loader Rifle: A Family Heirloom

A muzzle loader rifle has been passed down through several generations of our family and is said to have originated with Isaac Chilcote. One story goes that it was the rifle he used in the Civil War. Isaac would have passed this gun to his daughter, Lauretta Chilcoat Curfman. She and her husband Austin then passed the rifle to Austin's son, Walter Leo Curfman after Austin passed away.

Walter received this gun and an unspecified hat as his inheritance. Walter Leo kept the gun in a closet in the entryway of his home for his entire life and would get the rifle out to show family and friends. He was very proud of the gun. When Walter Leo and his wife Grace passed away, the gun was sold at auction and purchased by his daughter, Freda Curfman Runk. The gun stayed in the Runk family until 2023, when I purchased it.

Pictured is Charles Curfman, son of Walter Leo and Grace Curfman, getting the gun ready to be sold at public sale in 1994, after Grace passed away.

According to people who have examined the gun, it dates to the 1820-1840s and was probably made by a gun maker in Huntingdon Co., PA, by the name of Nicholas Shennefelt, who started out in McConnellstown, Huntingdon and later moved to Clarion, PA.

The gun was unlikely to have been used in the Civil War, since union soldiers were issued rifles that would have improved technology on this rifle. However, it is possible that he took the gun with him when he joined the Company and had it with him during the war but did not use it in battle.

Another gun expert said he thinks the gun was built in the early 1800s as a percussion gun or it could have been converted from a flintlock. The lock plate has one extra hole but overall the lock plate is pretty clean for a flintlock conversion. The fancy patch boxes went out of style by about 1840 and became more simple as they were faster and easier on the gun builder, suggesting this gun dates to earlier than 1840.

Original ammunition remains in the lock plate.

On the lock of the gun there appears to be the words C. Bird and Co., Philadelphia, but the text is very worn and hard to read. There is no name listed on the barrel of the gun, which is where gun makers usually leave their personal mark.

The above image shows an engraving on the rifle. It is called a federal eagle and used by quite a few gun makers.