Oh boy.  A significantly large arms collection could be made up of just the variety of French Chassepots versions produced, including examples of all the different armories and factories producing them.  This section will attempt to do justice to all, but we cannot pretend to be comprehensive.  Additional information is always most welcome.

   Chassepot rifles are extensively marked,.  The left receiver flat is prominently marked “Mle 1866” following the manufacturing arsenal markings.

   The date of manufacture stamps on the knoxform as well as the rifles’ stock cartouches will of course also carry dates prior to 1874 but are also likely to carry, to the front (to the right if looking at the date directly) a separate 4-digit year of conversion.

   Chassepot rifles were not only manufactured by the French at their national armories and by others at a number of different arsenals abroad, but also manufactured during three different French governments.  Thus, for those Chassepots built in the first years of production while Louis Napoleon III was in power (up to his capture by and capitulation to the Prussians in September of 1870) the inscription on the upper left flat of the receiver, above the arsenal name, will read “MANUFACTURE IMPERIAL”.    The most-often encountered examples will be from the major arsenals of St. Etienne, Châtellerault, and Tulle, but there may be some examples which were originally built as mle1866 Chassepots during the 2nd Empire at Mutzig and will be so marked.

   After September, 1870, and for a period of time during the uncertainty of the provisional French Government of National Defense (Le Gouvernement de la Défense Nationale), Chassepot rifles (and thus some Gras converted rifles) may be seen with only the stamp “MANUFACTURE             ”; the word “IMPERIAL” having been omitted but the empty space for it remaining evident.  From 1871, examples are seen with only the name of the armory, e.g., “St. Etienne” centered on the receiver flat and no reference to “Manufacture” whatsoever.

   The last Chassepots manufactured carry the markings “MANUFACTURE  D’ARMES“ above the arsenal name, this system being carried over into production of the Mle.1874 Gras.

  The markings on the upper left receiver flats of  Chassepots are the most evident, but the rifles are profusely additionally marked.  Noteworthy is that the original year of manufacture is usually seen on the right knoxform flat, (as well as the year of conversion to Mle1874s if such was done, preceded by the armory letter code where conversion was undertaken).

and these codes will often be found on the rifles.  They are often located on the _____, and the following codes were assigned to rifles made at the following arsenals:   _________     __________     ___________    __________.

   As might be expected, serial numbers abound, on all three bolt components, the left side of the barrel at the receiver, on the receiver (but below the wood line), on the bayonet tenon, on the cleaning rod immediately below the tip and on the butt stock, although the buttstock numbers don’t always remain visible.