The development of the rifled barrel, with the discarding of the round ball type bullet, so effectively increased the range that it changed the theory and practice of battle tactics. With an effective range of 1000 yards and an aimed rate of fire of three shots per minute, the bayonet charge became much more hazardous. Engagements covered larger areas, opposing forces were apart and increased losses were appalling.

We shall consider the arms of the North and South separately because the problems of the Confederates were so different and varied.

The beginning of the war period found the Model 1855 Rifle Musket as the principal arm of the service. What is a rifle musket? Literally, what it says - a musket with a rifled barrel. All thru the flint-lock era - to the end of the Mexican War - our shoulder arms had been smooth-bore, 69 calibre, 44 and 42 inch barrel, flint-locks, officially designated as muskets. With the adoption of the percussion system, it was deemed wise to shorten the barrel, decrease the calibre to 58, and rifle it. Hence the designation "rifle musket".

The 1855 rifle musket is a 40 inch barrel, 58 calibre, muzzle loading gun with a Maynard primer attachment. The primer is contained in a roll of tape, automatically fed over the nipple as the hammer is pulled back. The regular copper percussion cap could also be used. Some of the pictures in Miller's Photographic History show troops armed with this gun. The cartridge was a paper enveloped Minie bullet - hollow based - weighing 500 grams, with 60 grains of black powder. It is sighted for 800 yards, and it was considered accurate enough to hit the figure of a man on horseback at 600 yards, with power to penetrate 4 inches of soft pine at 1000 yards. On tests it had repeatedly put 10 shots in a 4 inch ring at 100 yards and 10 in a 27 inch ring at 500 yards. In use also was the Model 1855 Rifle, equipped with Maynard primer attachment, with a 44 inch barrel. It used the same cartridge as the rifle musket. Incidentally, the production of the Model 1855 Rifle was authorized on July 5, 1855 by the Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis.

Actual use in the field had demonstrated that the Maynard primer attachment was not as dependable or as efficient as it had been hoped it would be. The tapes were harder to carry and supply, than the ordinary percussion caps, they became wet and misfired besides taking longer to manufacture. The War Department had been considering abolishing its use, so when the Civil War broke out, the primer attachment was immediately discarded for the sake of efficiency, economy and ease of production.

So the new Model of 1861 Rifle Musket came into being. It was essentially the Model 1855 Rifle Musket without the primer attachment. It used the same cartridge and developed the same properties. With bayonet it weighed 9 and 3/4 pounds.

This was the principal arm of the Federal troops. Records show that 1,472,614 were produced at Springfield or made on contract by some twenty-eight different contractors, at an average price of $19.00 by contractors - and $13.00 by Springfield. Records also show that 1,168,367 rifle muskets and muskets were imported from abroad, purchased in England, France, Austria and Belgium. These were mostly of 58 calibre, but some 69 calibre converted flint muskets were also secured. A large proportion of arms secured from abroad, by noth the North and the South, were Enfield rifle muskets made in England. The Enfield was the British service arm corresponding to our Springfield, Model 1861. It was a brass mounted, slightly lighter in weight, arm of calibre 577, so our ammunition could be used in it. It should be pointed out that the Federals had perhaps 500,000 muskets of 69 calibre in storage, which were promptly issued to the first troops raised. These were gradually replaced as calibre 58 rifle muskets became available.

The Ordnance Department must have had terrific headaches with cartridge supply problems. This unit had 69 calibre weapons, that unit had 58 calibre arms, and later in the War, when breech loading carbines were issued, the confusion must have been terrific, for they were not only of different calibres, but also used different type cartridges. It wouldn't be at all surprising if many a commander didn't heartily curse Ordnance for sending him Sharps linen cartridges when he needed Burnside brass cases.

Breech loading rifles were used in limited numbers - the quantity being insignificant when compared to the total number of 58 calibre rifle muskets in use. Since they are well known and the actions are interesting it may be wise to mention those most used.

The Henry rifle was patented Oct. 16, 1860 by B. Tyler Henry. It was a calibre 44, using a Henry rim fire metallic cartridge, with an under lever action similar to the 93 Winchester, which you probably are all familiar. It had a tubular magazine, holding 12 cartridges, under the barrel, and the gun could be fired 25 times per minute. It was manufactured by the New Haven Arms Co., which was the parent of the Winchester Arms Co. Winchester still uses an "H" stamped on the base of their rim-fire ammunition in honor of Henry. The Government purchased 1731 Henry rifles during the war years, and it is estimated that about 10,000 more were furnished by States and by various units themselves. Two regiments of Sherman's Army in the march to the sea were armed with Henry rifles.

The Colt Revolving Rifle was a product of the fertile brain of Samuel Colt. It, patented in 1855, was a 36 inch barrel, 58 calibre 5 shot, revolving cylinder gun, using a skin enveloped cartridge, with a percussion cap. It leaked gas badly between the cylinder and barrel, and was prone to fire several cartridges at one time, with consequent injury to the user. The government purchased 4612 revolving rifles during the war, and various states furnished many units armed with them. The 2nd Michigan Cavalry, Sheridan's first command, was armed with revolving rifels, but was later rearmed with Spencers.

The Spencer Repeating Rifle was patented in March 1860, and became the most used repeating rifle of the war. It was calibre 56 rim-fire, using a copper metallic cartridge, and had a magazine in the butt stock, which held 7 cartridges. It could deliver 15 shots per minute and is quoted as being effective at 1000 yards. It was slow to load until a man named Blakeslee patented a tin container containing holding 7 cartridges which could be slipped into the magazine as a unit. A soldier was equipped with a leather case holding 10 of these tubes, so he had 70 shots immediately available. With this system it equaled the Henry in fire power. The government bought 12,471 Spencer rifles, and various states furnished many more.

The Sharps Rifle, patented in October 1852, was a falling breech block type, using a 52 calibre linen combustible cartridge, with a percussion cap. The breech block had a knife edge which sheared off the base of the cartridge for the quick action of the percussion cap. The Government purchased 9,141 Sharps rifles during the war. Colonel Hiram Berdan raised two regiments of Sharp shooters for the Army of the Potomac and finally succeeded in getting them armed with Sharps rifles.

We will now to the carbine story of the Civil War. The carbine is essentially a short barreled, short range, weapon designed for mounted troops. Since it was hard to load a muzzle loading carbine on a moving horse, the breech loading, metallic cartridge, carbine was born of a necessity and adopted with gladness. It was just coincidence that the war happened during the development of the metallic cartridge, and most certainly the war hastened its adoption. The war period hastened the height of firearms manufacture in our history. Some 60 different types of breech loading carbines were patented and the Government bought some 400,000 breech loading carbines of about 40 different makes. In order of number purchased, the Spencer is first, Sharps is second and Burnside is third. It is a curious fact that each of these three used a different type of ammunition -- more headaches for Ordnance. The Spencer used a metallic rimfire cartridge, the Sharps a linen combustible cartridge with a percussion cap, while Burnside used a metallic cartridge with an open end and a percussion cap.

The carbine calibres were almost as varied as the manufacturers. They varied from the Henry 44 to the Colt 58, with 52 and 54 calibres being quite popular. Most of the carbines were sighted for 300 to 500 yards, but 150 yards was considered the effective aimed range. After the Battle of Gettysburg, cavalry operations in the Federal Army played a much greater part in Army operations, due to a better understanding by Army Commanders of their proper sphere and usefulness. Some credit for the effectiveness of the cavalry operations should be given to the breech loading carbine, and particularly the Spencer. The increased fire-power in the hands of dismounted Cavalry troops was a big, and sometimes, deciding factor in many engagements.

The story of the efforts of the Confederacy to arm and equip their troops -- and the remarkable success they attained -- is astounding and almost unbelievable. It is the story of a region with very little industry, very few natural resources and very little skilled labor. How they were able to procure the armaments necessary to carry on the war for four years is very difficult to understand. It is far beyond the scope of this paper to relate this story -- we can only go into the arms procured and used.

It has been estimated that the Southern States had about 150,000 arms on hand when the war started. Most of these were of late model rifles and rifle muskets, for the astute Southerners had foreseen the coming inevitable conflict and had stocked the U.S. arsenals and store rooms in the South to the brim, and the States had even tried to draw in advance their quotas of arms under the Militia Act of 1808.

The only plant in the whole South capable of turning out any appreciable quantity of arms was the Virginia Manufactory at Richmond -- owned by the State of Virginia -- and their peak production never reached 1500 rifle muskets per month. Tredegar Iron Works, also at Richmond, was a foundry capable of turning out machinery, and casting ordnance, but no small arms were produced there.

The Confederacy immediately sent agents to Europe to purchase arms and munitions of all kinds. Like the competing Federal agents abroad, they took anything available, but they were successful in obtaining a large quantity of Enfield Rifle Muskets from England. The number of arms imported by the South has been estimated at about 185,000, of various descriptions.

The Confederate successes in the early years of the war resulted in the capture of large numbers of arms, many of which were the Springfield model of 1861. It has been estimated that by mid-year of 1863 the South had captured some 150,000 good usable arms. In fact, some wag remarked that the reason the manufacturers in the North were so busy was because they had to produce arms for the South as well.

Harpers Ferry Armory was burned by the departing Federal guards on April 18, 1861 to avoid capture by Virginia troops. The Virginians took possession, put out the fire, and salvaged the undamaged machinery and material. The rifle musket machinery was sent to Richmond and set up in the Virginia Manufactory plant, while the rifle machinery was sent to Fayetteville, North Carolina, and set up in a former U.S. Arsenal there.

The arm produced at Richmond was the Model 1855 rifle musket, without the Maynard Primer attachment, with the lock plate stamped Richmond, C.S.A. In the early days of production at Richmond many captured parts were used, and it is hard to distinguish between the parts made at Harpers Ferry and Richmond. One characteristic of Southern made arms is that many had brass mountings, due to the short supply of iron and the easier workability of brass. Most of the Richmond rifle muskets have brass butt plates.

The Fayetteville rifle is a copy of the Model 1855, without the Maynard Primer, with the lock plate marked Fayetteville, C.S.A., and the furnishings brass in place of iron. The hammer is distinctly different -- the supposition is that the machinery for making the hammer was lost or damaged in transit from Harpers Ferry.

Since the Richmond and Fayetteville plants were both burnt at the end of the war, the records were lost, so it is not known just how many arms were produced at each, but from existing specimens it is known that these two plants produced the majority of the Confederate made arms.

The largest private manufacturer in the South was Cook and Brothers in New Orleans. When New Orleans fell, the machinery was moved to Athens, Georgia where they operated until the end of the war. They produced an Enfield type brass mounted arm, rifles and carbines.

The Wytheville Hall muzzle loading rifles and carbines have perhaps the most interesting history of any of the arms made by either the North or South during the war. To understand the full story it is necessary to go back quite a few years. John Hall invented, about 1810, a breech loading rifle, which was adopted by the Government in 1819 as an official arm of the service. This has the distinction of being the first flint lock breech loading arm adopted by any Government. In 1833, the Government adopted the first breech loading percussion carbine, under the same Hall's patent. When the Virginia troops captured Harpers Ferry, they found a quantity of Hall parts, which were taken to Wytheville, Virginia, where in the shop of J.B. Barrett they were made up into muzzle loading rifles by using an entirely new breech block, with percussion nipple and a center hung hammer. The stocks were apparently all hand made, as no two are exactly alike. On most of them the offset sights are still retained as are the original rifling and calibre -- 54. The number produced is unknown, and the surviving specimens are much sought after as collectors items. This is one example of a famous breech loading gun converted to a muzzle loader for official Government use.

A very interesting gun used in small numbers by the Confederates was the Whitworth rifle. It was imported from England, was a very accurate arm and was issued only Sharpshooters. The barrel length was 33 inches, with a 45 calibre hexagonal bore, using an elongated bullet weighing 530 grams, with a range of 1800 yards. It was fired by a percussion cap, and looked a great deal like a common Enfield rifle. It is said that General Lytle was killed at Chickamauga with a bullet from a Whitworth rifle.

Several breech loading carbines were manufactured in small quantities -- one, known as the Confederate Sharps, was made by S.C. Robinson Arms Co., in Richmond, Virginia. It is a copy of the Sharps carbine, without the pellet primer attachment, and is brass mounted. They were very poorly made and greatly disliked by the troops. The Tarpley carbine was invented by Jere H. Tarpley of Greensboro, North Carolina who was granted a Confederate States patent in February 1863. It was 52 calibre, used paper ammunition, and had a swinging breech block. Very few were made.

Rifles and carbines were produced by other manufacturers but in such small numbers that their entire output had very little effect on the arms production schedule.

In summation, it may be said again that the principal arms of both North and South were the Model 1855, Model 1861 and the imported English, rifle muskets. In spite of the several millions produced they are quite scarce and are eagerly sought after by Collectors and Museums as examples of the arms that were used in the War Between the States.

Bibliography

Lewis, Colonel Berkely R., Small Arms and Ammunition in the United States Service
Sawyer, Charles W., Our Rifles
Gluckman, Colonel Arcadi, U.S. Rifles, Muskets and Carbines
Smith, Winston O., The Sharps Rifle
Fuller and Steuart, Firearms in the Confederacy
Albaugh and Simmons, Confederate Arms
Fuller, Claud E., Springfield Shoulder Arms
Fuller, Claud E., The Breechloader in the Service
Buckeridge, J.O.. Lincoln's Choice