This rifle is pictured in the 9th Edition of "Flayderman's Guide to Antique Firearms and Their Values" on page 606 and identified as one of the rifles manufactured by Jacob Dickert as part of the contracts for rifles ordered by the new United States government between 1792 and 1809. Flayderman notes these early U.S. contract rifles are "considered among the most rare of early American military longarms. . ." The article "1792 and 1807 Contract Rifles" by Edward R. Flanagan in "American Society of Arms Collectors Bulletin 97:30-38" lists just three 1807 contract rifles by Dickert and fourteen total 1807 contract rifles total known today out of a total of 1,806 rifles delivered by the various gunmakers. The same basic pattern is shown on page 127 of "United States Martial Flintlocks" by Robert M. Reilly in his section on Dickert Model 1807 contract rifles, and this rifle is generally within the specifications he lists such as a 1 3/8 inch forend cap, 6 inch long patch box, and 4 11/16 inch buttplate. The 1807 contracts specified 38 inch one third octagon and two thirds part-octagon/part-round barrels around .53 caliber. While most of the world's militaries almost exclusively used muskets for their martial arms, the United States had a battalion of riflemen, riflemen in militia units, and rifle companies within regular infantry regiments. Some of the rifles were also supplied to the U.S. Indian Department as part of the trade goods used as treaty gifts with allied tribes. The possibility of another war with the United Kingdom was ever present in the early 19th century due to violations by the British such as impressment of sailors on American vessels and arming hostile Native American tribes. Because of the low prices specified for the rifles, they were not as high quality as the usual "Kentucky rifles" manufactured by Dickert and the other Pennsylvania riflesmiths, and many are known to have burst in proofing, and the government complained of the quality of the locks, but they were still issued during the War of 1812 because of the need for arms. Reilly specifically states that the rifles delivered by Dickert and his partner DeHuff on December 16, 1810, were declared unfit for service and placed in storage in Philadelphia at the Schuylkill Arsenal. Many were delivered to the Indians, and those remaining were either condemned or modified by the government and issued during the War of 1812 to rifle regiments and militia units. The use of rifles by Andrew Jackson's men, including Tennessee and Kentucky militiamen, is credited with giving the American long rifle its "Kentucky rifle" nickname thanks to the song "The Hunters of Kentucky" which includes the lines: "But Jackson he was wide awake, And was not scar'd at trifles, For well he knew what aim we take, With our Kentucky rifles." Jacob Dickert came to the colonies in 1740 from what is now Germany and settled in Lancaster County. He had one of the largest and most influential rifle shops in the country in the late 1700s and early 1800s. He died in 1822. This rifle has been bored out to around .60 caliber smoothbore and has a brass blade front sight, low notch rear sight, "J * Dickert" signed on top of the barrel in the breech section, "US" on top at the breech, "NYx" on the upper left flat (suggesting it may have been issued to a New York unit and perhaps marked with the "X" when sold out of service) along with the "eagle head/P" proof, no external lock markings, traces of an internal lock marking, plain trigger, a proper hickory ramrod with brass band at the tip, and a lightly figured full-length maple stock with a small cheekpiece and plain brass furniture consisting of a forend cap, two ramrod pipes, a ramrod entry pipe, side plate, trigger guard with grip extension with a spur, patch box, buttplate, and toe plate. It correctly does not have any provisions for mounting a sling.

Fair with attractive aged patina on the brass furniture, distinct "US" marking and Dickert signature, dark patina on the barrel, silver-gray patina on much of the lock, extensive pitting overall, repaired cock and patch box catch, steel added between the frizzen spring roller and the pan, loose frizzen, and a refinished stock with cracks and repairs near the forend tip, cracks at the ramrod entry pipe and toe, mild scrapes and dings, some additional smaller cracks/chips and repairs, and some flame figure. The lock is functional. Less than a handful of these are known to have survived, and this was the rifle used by Norm Flayderman to illustrate Dickert's contract rifles in his highly influential antique American firearms guide. This is an incredibly rare opportunity to get your hands on a Jacob Dickert signed 1807 Contract Rifle!