There was also the Model 1859 Sharps rifle, a single-shot breechloader. This musket has been identified as one having been purchased by the Confederacy due to chronic arms shortages throughout the conflict. The invention of the Mini ball solved the slow loading problem, allowing smoothbore muskets to be replaced by rifles in the decades just before the civil war. The Spencer carbine and rifle were first presented to the government in 1860, but were rejected by the United States because they were 7 shooters and fired too fast for accuracy. William Brooke Johns, Hidden in Plain Sight: Compiled Service Records as Sources for Confederate Arms and Equipment, Firearms Genealogy: The Impossible Takes Longer. The Henry rifle had a copper or brass cartridge that effectively sealed the breech of the gun so that the hot propellant gases would be held inside of the gun. (2012). This appears to have been issued to the 61st Infantry Regiment (Hungarian) (Graf von Strassoldo), Company A, 4th weapon, when it was in k.k. Back in our 2018 December Premiere Auction, RIAC sold a standard, good conditioned Springfield Model 1861 for $3,163. The South didnt have the manufacturing ability to produce the guns they needed, so they contracted 5,000 to be produced overseas. In this situation, anecdotal evidence and photographs or written documentation placing a specific rifle in the period can be very helpful. 6. Advances in firearms technology were quickly progressing in the mid-1800s making for some seriously well designed and powerful arms development during the Civil War. It is said Gen. Hiram Berdan had to circumvent his superiors and essentially appeal to President Lincoln himself to get the Sharps in play. Given the Souths smaller manufacturing base compared to the North, it was imperative it import arms. At 56 inches long and weighing nine pounds, the Model 1861 was a single-shot, muzzleloading rifle that used the percussion cap mechanism to fire a .58 caliber Mini ball. I say that because of the blow out plugs which one normally doesn't see on lower grade guns. At the same time, Northern rifle and gun manufacturers such as Sharps, Colt, Remington, and the Springfield Armory quickly increased their production of rifles;[18] Springfield alone increased its annual output from 20,000 to 200,000. Many soldiers were forced to use their own personal hunting rifles, which were typically Kentucky or Pennsylvania type rifles. The gun is 50" long and 36" from the . According to US Army records, up to 200,000 fragmentation bullets were ordered from Ira W. Shaler, although there is no evidence they were actually issued to troops. The action was excellent which is more than one can ask for in a gun that is over 150 years old. army service. ammunition used by both Union and Confederate armies. The Civil War era is an antique arms collector's dream for the same reason it was a nightmare for the Ordnance Department: a dizzying array of weapons and ammunition. The Ask the Pros & What's It Worth? The gun is 50 long and 36 from the business end to trigger. [16], When the American Civil War broke out in April 1861, neither the North (about 360,000 small arms) nor the South (about 240,000) had enough weapons to fight a major war. But weaponry advancements also played a large role. The balance is believed to have been altered by Henry Leman, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania using a patent breech like the ones used on his alterations of US M1816 muskets and M1803, M1814, and M1817 common rifles. The Confederacy had at least seven units that were armed with Burnside rifles that had been captured from the Union armies. The majority of Le Mats that actually saw use in battle were produced in France and shipped via the United Kingdom to the Confederacy. Burnsides company went under and he sold his patent to Charles Jackson. Due to this, it's statistically more likely for a family with a Union ancestor to have an Enfield in their collection than a Confederate family is to. rimfire) made by the Federal Government (at Springfield Armory) and actually designed for issue to infantrymen was the Model 1865 Springfield Joslyn Rifle, of which only 3,007 were made. Many of these poorer quality weapons were swapped out on the battlefield for Enfield rifle-muskets whenever one became available. Like the Springfield, this was a three-band, single-shot, muzzle-loading rifle musket. The American Civil War of 1861-1865 relied on many different kinds of firearms during the years-long progression of the conflict. Confederate General Braxton Braggs LeMat revolver realized an incredible $103,500 during Rock Island Auction Company's December 2021 Premier Firearms Auction. But the Henry made its way into Civil War lore through soldiers spending their own hard-earned pay on the brass-receiver beasts. The relatively poor South only bought 50,000 by August 1862, while the North bought 726,000. The telescopic sights were more accurate, but had a reputation for bruising the user's eye due to the rifle's recoil. Unknown No More: Identifying A Civil War Soldier : NPR Arms and Equipment of the Civil War. I have a sword it has a straight blade a bent brass hilt, total length 38 1 Smoothbore vs Rifled Musket, a Tactical Reality Check. Like other Springfield rifles it was first produced at the Springfield Armory, but to meet war demands twenty arms manufacturers were contracted to increase production. This rifle was mostly used by Confederate snipers. The long gun eventually was approved for battle later in the war and made its first official appearance in the Battle of Gettysburg. The third most widely used weapon of the Civil War was the Lorenz Rifle. The Rifle Musket in Civil War Combat: Reality and Myth. In fact, this rifle was the first breechloader ever made in any national armory that fired a primed metallic cartridge. The tubular magazine in the buttstock was quick on the reload too, particularly with the aid of a Blakeslee cartridge tube, which made its appearance later in the war. [19], The use of more exotic types of ammunition during the Civil War is harder to confirm. I need help in identifying the attached photo, Need help identifying uniforms and building, Looking for help identifying a Civil War era sword -, I need help identifying a possible Civil War Uniform. These home goods ranged from coats to shoes to even weapons. Only 13,000 Spencer rifles were purchased by the Union. Firearms. I don't know anything about your "rifle" except to tell you that it is NOT a rifle, it is a double barreled shotgun. One of the most iconic and memorable of all Civil war guns used by the Union during is the Springfield Model 1861 musket. This rare Spencer Model 1860 carbine is identified as a War Department pattern gun and the top of the breech end of the barrel is bearing a flaming bomb stamp above "W.D" (War Department) surrounded by an oval and "1864" in three lines. Griffith,P.(2001). The Colt repeating rifle was one of the first repeating rifles, alongside with the Henry. Guns with a story and background are extremely interesting and exciting to collect with the Civil War era being a time that has many tales to tell. Outstanding Civil War U.S. Springfield Model 1861 percussion rifle-musket dated 1862 with bayonet. Model 1861 Springfield rifle-muskets became one of the favorite longarms for the Union. The first such weapon adopted by the US Army was the Model 1855 Colt Revolving Rifle (and a companion carbine), but it had a serious defect in that the gun would often discharge several chambers at once, the extra rounds flying straight into the hand that was holding the barrel up. The .52-calibers self-contained cartridges could be easily loaded on horseback, giving a mounted soldier a weapon that had an effective rate of fire of 8 to 10 shots a minute. If a soldier needed a firearm that had versatility and good repeating capability, it doesnt get much handier than this grapeshot revolver combo. k.k. The Civil War rifle was the model that John Brown used in his raid of Harpers Ferry. [1] Stockpiles of rifles and handguns carried by individual soldiers were limited. Though there were several models of the Springfield rifle created during the conflict, the 1861 model was the most heavily used and the easiest Civil War rifle to find on the antiques market today. While perhaps not as fast between shots as other repeaters that made their appearance in the Civil War it had to be manually cocked the Spencer was perhaps the most reliable. At least two major battles in the Civil War, Gaines Mill and Gettysburg, saw such attempts, both with predictable results. At the same time, Northern rifle and gun manufacturers such as Sharps, Colt, Remington, and the United States armory at Springfield, Massachusetts quickly increased their production of rifles;[2] Springfield alone increased its annual output from 20,000 to 200,000. The new repeater rifles would see fairly limited use in the Civil War. (2008). [2] Soldiers were often forced to use older smooth bore and flintlock muskets, which had been considered to be obsolete, simply because the newer rifles were not available in sufficient quantities. The rifle potentially had another downside however. How John Roberts Saved the GOP (and Sparked Its Civil War) - Yahoo 60th North Carolina Infantry Inscribed Rifle. A few fell into Confederate hands, but proved largely unusable due to a lack of ammunition (the Confederacy had insufficient supplies of copper to manufacture the Spencer's rimfire cartridges). A large variety of weapons were used during the Civil War, with rifles being the primary firearm soldiers employed during fighting. The unfortunate experience the army had had with these led to a stigma against repeating rifles, combined with the old fear that they (and single-shot breech loaders) would encourage men to waste ammunition. A common practice was to load them and leave precussion cap off. Instead, the .58-caliber rifle (it shot a .577-caliber Mini ball) was an improvement on larger-bore predecessors. This rifle was invented in 1854 by Austrian lieutenant Joseph Lorenz. These Gardiner rounds were similar to the Mini ball but filled with fulminate and a time fuse set to detonate one to three seconds after firing. Rifles in the American Civil War - Wikipedia [11], Breechloading and repeating rifles promised significant improvements over muzzleloading rifles, particularly repeaters as they allowed a far greater rate of fire than was possible with single-shot rifles. [4] More recently, historians including Paddy Griffith, Mark Grimsley and Brent Nosworthy have challenged this interpretation. Some good pictures to go along with the article. Shooting 475-grain bullets, thats a lot of lead down range. Whether the Civil War gun youre in the market for is a rifle, carbine, or revolver, you hopefully now know a little more about which ones to purchase for your taste and budget. The US adopted the breechloading 1866 Springfield "Trapdoor" infantry rifle built from surplus rifle-musket parts after the war. DANIEL SIVILICH 21 JUL 2017 . Spencer rifles and carbines are highly desirable Civil War guns to military memorabilia collectors. Italy:Oxford University Press, USA. Nevertheless, the rifles were heavily imported with an estimated 350,000 making their way into the hands of both Union and Confederate soldiers. The gun was very popular with the army because of its large caliber .42 caliber and up to 100 yard firing range and 9 shot capability.

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