how to identify civil war rifles

The key may be pinned and not come all the way out. This musket has been identified as one having been purchased by the Confederacy due to chronic arms shortages throughout the conflict. Christian Sharps falling-block still stirs the hearts of marksmen today. Charles Pate found records while researching his book "The Colt Model 1860 Army Revolver" that indicated this revolver was shipped to Colt's New York sales office, a common destination for many of the fluted cylinder Army revolvers. The 130th Illinois reported that one-third or three-eights of these arms [Austrian] are defective.. Cal. 10,000 of the muskets were sent to Hall, Carrol and Co and Greenwood and Co, both of Cincinnati, Ohio. In this situation, anecdotal evidence and photographs or written documentation placing a specific rifle in the period can be very helpful. Due to their history and extreme rarity, surviving Confederate revolvers are some of the most sought-after treasures in arms collecting today. Officially, less than 2,000 of the revolutionary, lever-action repeating rifles were procured by the Union. A rugged design that was simple to construct, the Model 1861 and its derivatives (including the Springfield Model 1863) were the most common rifles in the war, with Northern arsenals producing over a million examples. Hi Folks, this bayonet it 291/2" long with a blade length of 25", maybe as much as 251/4" if it were at original length. During the American Civil War, the rifle was the most common weapon found on the battlefield. The rifle was completely original and still retains almost all its blue coloring on the barrel. Near the breech on the octagonal barrel is 78192, Length of the barrel please and I should be able to give you an answer. Military leaders therefore preferred the faster loading smooth bore weapons over the more accurate rifles. Went off and smoked up the shop, I have unloaded a few old doubles myself . Some Confederates got a hold of Henry rifles too, but faced the same problem they did when they captured a Sharps or a Spencer ammunition. Manufactured in New Haven, Connecticut, these rifles have an iconic gold lever-action mechanism and blue finish. A handsome, durable and accurate rifle . To others, they were next to trash. Back in our 2018 December Premiere Auction, RIAC sold a standard, good conditioned Springfield Model 1861 for $3,163. April 28, 2023 at 6:36 a.m. EDT. The military tried to work around this in various ways, but the Colt Revolving rifle was discontinued. However, it was the invention of the Mini ball which ultimately solved the problem of the slow-loading rifle. With a B.S. Only about 2,500 made it to the Confederacy by means of their gun runners. DANIEL SIVILICH 21 JUL 2017 . army weapons were often marked with unit markings on the barrels, butt plates, or side plates. Armies South, Armies North. 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. Thank you for the quick and enlightening responses. The Lorenz rifle was originally .54 caliber. 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 Whitworth rifle featured a unique hexagonal shaped bullet (with a matching hexagonal barrel) that gave it superior accuracy. Civil War Rifle Identification | The Firearms Forum I can't tell from the pictures if the barrels are Damascus or not. Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Since the South lacked sufficient manufacturing capability, most of the Springfields in Southern hands were captured on the battlefields during the war.[2]. We have an old rifle that has been passed on through my wife's family from, we believe, the Ciivil War. Analysis | China committee seeks Taiwan war-game lessons Italy:Oxford University Press, USA. Available May 2022. The Austrian-made firearm was used by both sides and was considered by some to be superior to the 1853 Enfield. The caplock replaced the flintlock, improving performance in wet weather and allowing for a slightly higher rate of fire, and the use of rifling with mechanically fitted bullets was tested by several inventors. [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. A spectacular Civil War U.S. Burnside Fifth Model breech loading saddle ring carbine. If it was manufactured between 1860-1864, chances are pretty high that it was used in some capacity in the war. This allowed the projectile to expand upon firing and take hold of the rifling, and in turn stabilize and be truly accurate. Thus, the short-lived Burnside rifle didn't become a major winner with soldiers during the war. However, most American army officers in 1861 had been schooled in obsolete Napoleonic tactics, especially since many of them had served in the Mexican War, which was still fought in the old way with smoothbore muskets and linear formations. Trying to remove nipples and they would not budge. The rifled musket was the dominant military long-gun design of the day and, as its name suggests, was a stepping stone between the musket and rifle. [20][25] Later in the war, even factory-direct Lorenz rifles tended to be of poor craftsmanship. With 16+1 rounds of .44 Henry rimfire ammunition on tap, the rifle would have been money well spent. [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. To reflect this longer range, the Springfield was fitted with two flip up sights, one set for 300 yards (270m) and the other for 500. Chambered in the powerful .45-70 Government, the rifle was the choice of many commercial buffalo hunters on the American frontier. In the decades leading up to the Civil War, several advances helped make the rifle a more practical weapon for the average soldier. Some southern cavalry and guerrillas used shotguns but their barrels were cut off short. Typically, these rifles are sold for $1,000-$3,000 depending on their condition. These rifles, while more accurate than smoothbore muskets, had been designed for hunting, and fired less deadly smaller caliber ammunition. 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. The rifles differed from each other mainly in the different "actions" they had. 10 Facts: Civil War Artillery | American Battlefield Trust From the start of the war, the Colt Model 1860 Army took over as the hand gun primarily used by Union forces. The Civil War gun was a breech loading falling block in .52 caliber and proved to have excellent accuracy and rapid-fire ability. for cover. During the American Civil War, there was a real transitory period happening within the firearms industry. Rifled muskets quickly became the standard weapon of modern armies of the period, including the United States, while some smoothbore muskets were converted into rifles. 4 | "War in an Age of Wonders" By Michael P. Musick The information most sought after in ordnance records is data on the issuance of arms by serial number. In our 2019 May Premier Auction, we had four Colt Model 1860 Army revolver sell at auction. 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. Both Union and Confederate armies used this accuracy to devastating effect, flinging the .58-caliber, 500-grain Mini balls at each other from up to 500 yards out. It is a nice looking shotgun as far as I can see. 6. I learned this the hard way. "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools" The Apostle Paul in Romans 1:22. That is, if you consider a gun designed to fire hexagonal bullets a bit odd. Dec 13, 2014. Those familiar with twentieth-century records often assume that official records of some kind will enable the possessor of a particular Colt percussion Army Model 1860 revolver (for . This Enfield model 1853 was commonly used by both Union and Confederate infantry troops during 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. 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. Both sides fielded what ever guns could be . PLEASE READ BEFORE COMMENTING! The Confederacy, having a very limited ability to produce weapons, bought over 2,000 Brunswick rifles for delivery to their troops. This weapon gave the Union an advantage over the Confederate troops. A Colt Model 1860 Army revolver, shipped to New Orleans on April 9, 1861, only three days before the Confederates attacked Fort Sumter. Calibre .577, Cosmopolitan, rifled. Their primary use was anti-materiel such as setting fire to vehicles and ammunition, since their fragmentary properties were deemed at best to cause unnecessarily cruel wounds. (2008). It looks like the wood has been sanded and refinished. Western armies were slower to obtain Springfield rifles, and they were not widely used there until the middle of 1863. List of Civil War Rifles and Their Unique Features | LoveToKnow I don't know anything about your "rifle" except to tell you that it is NOT a rifle, it is a double barreled shotgun. The American Civil War still remains the deadliest conflict in our nation's history. you read and agreed to the, American Civil War Artifacts & Collectibles. Spencer Repeating Rifle/Carbine. Examples altered by them feature a cone-in-barrel conversion, and some are fitted with a US M1855 style long range sight and are rifled. With more than 650 types of bullets used during the War. Designed by Jean Alexandre Le Mat with his manufacturing backed by P.G.T. 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. The back action lock is European for the most part and even US made guns for the most part used imported locks. The Colt revolver made its way to be the second most common military hand gun of the Confederacy. [18] To combat the arms shortage, the Union and Confederacy both imported large quantities of rifles from Europe, with each side buying whatever it could get. It is a nice family heirloom, Congratulations! They acquired more through battlefield pickups and would use them throughout the war (although the 1855 rifle was eventually replaced in the Union ranks by 1861 Springfields). [20] Despite their extensive use by both sides in the war, soldiers' opinions on the rifle were decidedly negative. On this Day in the Life, I describe some of the observations necessary to identify Civil War bullets. Black powder fouled the rifling in the barrel and produced thick clouds of smoke which hung about the battlefield and obscured targets. [17] Accordingly, during the first two years of the war soldiers from both sides used a wide variety of rifles, including many that were over 50 years old and were considered obsolete. Nevertheless, the rifles were heavily imported with an estimated 350,000 making their way into the hands of both Union and Confederate soldiers. The markings identify the regiment . Many officers, however, preferred the Springfield muskets over the Enfield musketslargely due to the interchangeability of parts that the machine-made Springfields offered. The gun is 50 long and 36 from the business end to trigger. Civil War Guns, Revolvers, Pistols, Union and Confederate Appraiser I would guess the gun originated in Belgium. One of the things we used to do was collect up everything that came out of the barrels to see how and what they were loaded with. Each of Rock Island Auction Company's Premier and Sporting & Collector Firearms auctions include collectible U.S. martial arms from 18 th, 19 th, and 20 th centuries, but no era has the variety of interesting American firearms . The enterprising Confederates adapted these rifles to better suit their needs. The long gun eventually was approved for battle later in the war and made its first official appearance in the Battle of Gettysburg. The gun is 50" long and 36" from the . The most widely accepted figure estimates 620,000 men lost their lives in the four years of war. The only breechloading rifle (not built as a carbine like the Burnside) firing a primed-metallic cartridge (a .50 cal. All rights reserved. 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. This page is not available in other languages. Crisis averted, but the . During 1863, Sharps was the carbine prominently used by Union soldiers. The power of a Henry Rifle was comparable in power to military pistols, but that was not enough to be used as a shoulder fired rifle for the military. Therefore, you can't always rely on age to be an indicator as to whether a weapon saw action during the Civil War. Identifying A Firearm | American Civil War Forum Its external tubular magazine could get fouled or damaged, which was trouble for a weapon thats advantage was rate of fire. Suspected it was loaded. These rifles were used by both the United States of America ("Union") and the Confederate States of America. The action was excellent which is more than one can ask for in a gun that is over 150 years old. Check out This Historic Civil War P53 Enfield Rifle - YouTube Most suggestions that I have received is the Whitney/Plymouth Naval rifle. Pulled wads, shot and powder. 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. It was capable of firing three rounds a minute at an effective range of 500 yards but could be deadly at longer ranges. 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.

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