Single barrel .65 inch percussion carbine by Garden, Piccadilly, London, used by the Scinde Irregular Horse, 1850 (c)

Lieutenant John Jacob was appointed to command the Scinde Irregular Horse on 5 January 1842. At the time it was poorly armed with musket-bore carbines of obsolete type. Jacob was interested in the development of weapons and had these smaller, lighter carbines privately made by Robert Garden of Piccadilly. They incorporate German silver furniture never found on pattern weapons. The new carbines were a great success in the irregular warfare of the region. Reporting on the action at the Zamanee River in 1847, Lieutenant Merewether, second-in-command of the regiment, commented: 'The destructive effect of our little carbines, used in the hand at close quarters, was quite terrible to behold'. In spite of their effectiveness these carbines were replaced by double-barrelled weapons in 1850.