Percussion carbine, 12th (Bengal) Irregular Cavalry, 1845 (c)

A carbine is a shortened version of a rifle and normally used by mounted troops. A full-length musket or rifle was too heavy and awkward to fire from horseback. This example was made by Garden of Piccadilly in 1845 and includes a German silver trigger guard and butt plate. It was used by a member of the 12th (Bengal) Irregular Cavalry, a unit raised in 1846 but disbanded during the Indian Mutiny (1857-1859).