Others, especially those in later purchases, were described as horrible in both design and condition. The Sharps rifle was a falling block rifle that also used a unique pellet primer feed. Mike, a NPS Ranger at Fort Pulaski in GA, demonstrates how to fire a Civil War style rifle, demonstrating the commands for e. Box 160 Llano, Texas 78643 If you have a specific identification question, please see our Identification Request Page. Her ancestors fought for both sides, however, the gun in question arrived to us through her late father who grew up in rural Mississippi (born 1940s) and moved to North Carolina in the 1970s. He certainly built a gun that outperformed it, at one trial striking targets at 2,000 yards, 600 yards better than the Enfield. It was a advertisement at a market. The Civil War witnessed a technological revolution in weaponry. Behind the Sharps, it was the most used cavalry carbine of the war. Rifled muskets not only blunted the frontal assault by enemy infantry but also neutralized the offensive capabilities of cavalry and field artillery and thereby led to the increased usage of trench warfare. In September of 2018, RIAC sold a confederate copy of a Sharps rifle for a whopping $28,750. Length of barrel is 42 inches. The carbine was the third most used amongst forces during the war only trailing behind the Spencer and Sharps. While both sides used the 1853, it was a particularly important arm in Confederates' hodgepodge arsenal. It was also a time of great technological change. The Confederacy also produced a variety of weapons itself, standardizing on .58 caliber in 1862. Such bullets were included in each packet of regular ammunition and designed to clear any residue out of the barrel when fired. Historically, the smoothbore musket had been the primary weapon of the infantry while the rifle was reserved for specialist units. ammunition used by both Union and Confederate armies. 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. The Fora platform includes forum software by XenForo. 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. Nevertheless, the Federal government did eventually purchase thousands of these weapons, and thousands more were purchased by Union soldiers using their own money. With a B.S. One of the most popular items to collect from the annals of American history is Civil War rifles. Despite the rifles impressive capabilities the British military did not adopt the .451-caliber Whitworth. This page is not available in other languages. Bridesburg Model 1861. The Napoleonic cavalry charge was thus made both obsolete and suicidal by rifles. The government was impressed with the inventive gun, however, the first carbine order took Burnsides company two years to produce and the government had no money left for contracts to produce more by the time the guns were delivered. 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. Yes Sir, I unloaded one just the other day. Western armies were slower to obtain Springfield rifles, and they were not widely used there until the middle of 1863. The majority of Le Mats that actually saw use in battle were produced in France and shipped via the United Kingdom to the Confederacy. I can't tell from the pictures if the barrels are Damascus or not. [20][25] Later in the war, even factory-direct Lorenz rifles tended to be of poor craftsmanship. Good thing, too, because battlefield surgeons already had their hands more than full at the pace soldiers were being wounded and killed by the Model 1861. The new repeater rifles would see fairly limited use in the Civil War. But the 24-inch, 9-pound brainchild of Benjamin Henry did have its weak points. 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). Reference materials are a must-have for any person interested in Civil War firearms or antique firearm collecting in general. 2.6K views, 382 likes, 124 loves, 77 comments, 48 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from NET25: Mata ng Agila International | April 20, 2023 Gun - Musket - 1861 Springfield. [19], The use of more exotic types of ammunition during the Civil War is harder to confirm. 27, No. One particular area that tends to see a boost during wars is artillery development and the 1860s assuredly had its fair share of firearm improvements. Shooting 475-grain bullets, thats a lot of lead down range. Countless firearm experts have lent their own perspective to the subject, and a few contemporary books to check out are: Rifles from the Civil War are important pieces of history, and as such, they can command top prices from avid collectors, military enthusiasts, and Civil War fanatics. [11] The 14th Illinois once attempted target practice with a barrel set up 180 yards from the firing line, but of 160 shots fired only four actually hit it. Though, its strange conical-shaped cartridge could occasionally get stuck in the breech after firing. In the few weeks between its formation and going into battle, for example, the 24th Michigan had one recorded instance of target practice, during which three men were wounded and one died of a heart attack. 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. We have an old rifle that has been passed on through my wife's family from, we believe, the Ciivil War. RIAC believes that this website is accessible to the widest possible audience pursuant to the guidelines of the Americans with Disability Act. It is suggested by some that the Burnside Carbine was what vaulted Burnside the man to the upper ranks of the Union Army and on to debacles in the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of the Crater. The percussion musket used .58 caliber Minie balls for ammunition which provided additional range and accuracy for soldiers using the gun. Most of the rifles during that time were loaded with a small lead musket ball or with a minnie ball (or Mini ball) and black powder. [6] Another reason is that the rifling also slowed the speed of the bullet, which meant a lower muzzle velocity than smoothbore muskets and a curved trajectory. 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. barrel allowed the use of .58 cal. One of the most iconic and memorable of all Civil war guns used by the Union during is the Springfield Model 1861 musket. Arms and Equipment of the Civil War. LIFE ; TECH ; How to Identify Revolutionary War Musket Balls. The Lorenz was a bit like playing craps, if craps entailed being killed if the dice were faulty. p. 1-3, Axelrod,A. We auctioned off the beauty for $21,850. Spencer rifles and carbines are highly desirable Civil War guns to military memorabilia collectors. If . The Springfield may not have been the top of the line or most advanced gun available on the market, but it was definitely the most widely available to Northern troops and got the job done in battle. Bridesburg Model . If you are wanting to buy Antique Weapons or Curios & Relics, please visit our Online Store and view our items. 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. Napoleon normally always tried to rout opposing armies from the field after softening their line with massed artillery barrages. Burnsides company went under and he sold his patent to Charles Jackson. One has been a longtime priority of the committee's chairman, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.): accelerating the delivery of about $19 billion in weapons Taiwan has already purchased. Slight improvements were made on the rifle in 1863 and new production Springfield rifles were called the Model 1863. Engagements, however, generally happened at much closer range, making the 1861 all the more deadly. More interestingly, there is evidence that at least 7 Confederate brigades possessed Burnside carbines and used them in battle. 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. The Perpetually Frozen North. With an effective range of 600 paces, troops could fire three rounds per minute with an accuracy of up to 500 yards. Used in the Civil War? In addition to the expected spherical shape of ball ammunition, there are impacted balls (those that were fired and hit something) and spent balls (those that were fired and eventually ran out of energy without hitting something). [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. For this reason, many Civil War guns are still quite popular among firearm enthusiasts. 2002-2023 LoveToKnow Media. (2017). One of the most fascinating markings on the gun is carved initials in the stock of the gun. Perhaps the most intriguing feature of the Civil War gun is its .60 caliber, 18 gauge under shotgun barrel located right underneath its .42 barrel giving the user an addition shot. 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. [8] A lack of training resulted not only in poor accuracy but in mishandling which could render the rifle useless. But there were plenty of examples of poorly crafted Lorenzs, as historian Joseph Bilby has noted: The 125th Illinois was issued Austrian rifle-muskets in .58 caliber of which not over one-half were perfectmany will not explode a cap. The 125ths regimental historian complained that some of the Austrian guns nipples were not entirely drilled out, and some could not mount a bayonet without hammering it on. The accuracy of the Whitworth was often exaggerated, but it was capable of hitting a man sized target beyond 1,000 yards. Barn find. The six shooter, single action black powder gun could do some damage to an opponent up to about 100 yards away. These were usually clones of existing designs and tended to be poor quality due to shortages of raw material and skilled labor. The Burnside rifle was a carbine developed by General Ambrose Burnside in 1856. Some such weapons included clones of the Sharps carbine, the Richmond/Fayetteville rifles (a Springfield clone) and imitations of Enfield rifles and musketoons. If needed all that had to be done was put the caps on nipples and it was ready to shoot.. [17] Stockpiles of rifles and handguns carried by individual soldiers were limited. 3. However, some soldiers personally bought the Civil War gun before the government approved a contract. Both sides accused the other of using poisoned bullets, and while neither government authorized their use and manufacture, it is possible that individuals modified their bullets in this way. I have a Sharps New Model 1859 rifle barrel. When Confederate forces seized the manufacturing equipment from Harpers Ferry, they used it to continue production of the Model 1855 during the war. The Springfield Armory produced the most popular rifle of the Civil War, the Springfield model 1861 musket rifle. Mini ball rifles - Various rifles were able to shoot mini balls, which created large, gaping wounds in the targets that they hit. Interestingly enough, Colt Manufacturing sent around 2,200 Model 1860 Colts to the South on contract early in the war. 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. When one side gained the upper hand, they would finish off the attack with a bayonet charge. The North was thus able to supply its own small arms needs, while the South had to continue to rely on foreign sources, eventually purchasing 580,000 rifles. [18][20] Introduced in 1854 for the Austrian armed forces, the North imported 226,924 Lorenz rifles during the war while the South imported at least 100,000. If you can find serial numbers on your antique rifle, you can use digital collections like the Civil War Weapons Search to see if your gun's serial number correlates to a known date. But unlike previous iterations of the musket, the bore was rifled, which allowed the Model 1861 and its ilk to take full advantage of a deadly new technology the Mini ball. The rifle that you could load on Sunday and shoot all week long was a boon to the soldier who could get his hands on one. There were nevertheless drawbacks to these weapons, as early breechloaders leaked gas at the breech and repeaters were technically complex and required metallic cartridges which could be unreliable. Serial numbers are a way to pin down an exact date for antique weapons, so long as their manufacturer's historic records are publicly available. This was a single shot, muzzle-loading gun that used the percussion cap firing mechanism. Whitworth rifles were equipped with either Enfield style sights or telescopic sights. Turkish evacuation plane shot at as latest cease-fire struggles in Sudan. Civil War Bullet Types - Pistol and Rifle Such a far-reaching war required a large collection of firearms which, in turn, relied on a vast collection of ammunition types. Remove the ramrod, put the hammers on half cock, remove the key and lift the barrels up. 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. Whereas a smoothbore musket like the Brown Bess could be expected to accurately hit a target at a distance of several dozen yards, rifled muskets were reasonably accurate at a distance of 500 yards. The Brunswick was a muzzle loader rifle that was manufactured for the British Army in the early 19th century. Rifles had been in use for many years, but prior to the civil war had been rare in military use. Although it had a .577 caliber bore it could use the same .58 caliber Mini ball as the Springfield. And despite its overall popularity with the troops, few of the rifle variation made it into their hands. It was basically a Joslyn Carbine action fitted to a 1863 Springfield barrel and stock (though heavily modified). It MIGHT have been fired during the War - but was NOT a war weapon - it was used to hunt birds, rabbits and squirrels. 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. The third most widely used weapon of the Civil War was the Lorenz Rifle. This rifle was invented in 1854 by Austrian lieutenant Joseph Lorenz. The rare Confederate Le Mat revolver is another highly desirable Civil War gun. A family tintype of an ancestor holding the weapon in their uniform can give you some context as to whether the firearm was active during the 1860s, or is just a family heirloom. Get the latest news and reviews from Gundigest.com. It performed so well under combat conditions that the Confederate armies believed that they had attacked an entire division instead of a single regiment during the Battle of Chickamauga. Both sides fielded what ever guns could be . This was not Britains first go-around with a rifle bound to shoot Mini-style projectiles. 1863. We have an old rifle that has been passed on through my wifes family from, we believe, the Ciivil War. In that same auction, we had a selection of regular Burnside rifles sell from $2,300 to $4,025 depending on condition and provenance. 10,000 of the muskets were sent to Hall, Carrol and Co and Greenwood and Co, both of Cincinnati, Ohio. Were really interested to find out what it is and maybe gleen some additional history that might be associated with her family. The guns effective range was listed at 200 yards which was fairly impressive for a long gun of the era. But the Henry made its way into Civil War lore through soldiers spending their own hard-earned pay on the brass-receiver beasts. So there you have it, the top 7 most desirable Civil War guns for collectors and Civil War enthusiasts alike. He is a gun owner and avid reloader from Colorado. Prohibitive cost, however, stymied wider adoption. Tests conducted by the U.S. Army indicated that the .58 caliber was more accurate at a distance. During 1863, Sharps was the carbine prominently used by Union soldiers. In fact, something as simple as the Civil War hats that you c, Antique Flintlock Rifles: History, Identification & Values, Antique flintlock rifles, with their rifled barrels and simplistic construction, harken back to a time where accuracy wasn't a guarantee. Typical appearing 1840's to 1860's/early 1870's double barrel muzzleloading shotgun. A higher conditioned Colt Model 1851 can sell for quite a bit more such as the one we sold for $20,700 in September of 2017. And it might be one of the most unique long-gun designs of the war, and perhaps overall firearms history. These numbers can be printed on the stock, butt, and gun's barrel, depending on the manufacturer and model. This is a pretty accurate depiction on what owning the Civil War gun Springfield Model 1861 would run you in the current day prices.