American Civil War Weapons

American Civil War Weapons
US Springfield Rifled Musket, Pattern 1861
Originally made during 1861, in limited quantities, by the “Springfield” Armory, this was one of
America’s most historical firearms. More efficient than the earlier smooth bored muskets used
the pattern 1861 was used by both sides in the American Civil War, being the most common
rifled musket used by the Union and second-most common used by the Confederacy.
The technological improvements of percussion caps (small, brass cylinders with a fulminate of
mercury explosive which was pressure-sensitive to prime the black powder) developed in the
late 1830s and introduced into America in the 1840s, and the Minié bullet (a conical bullet with
a hollow base and grooves to permit it to be smaller than the bore so it could be more easily
loaded) made the gun far more accurate at longer ranges than anything available during
previous American wars.
Rifled muskets changed tactics during the war. At the outset of the war, Napoleonic tactics of
close-order (shoulder to shoulder) ranks of men firing were prevalent. By mid-war, the accuracy
of rifles demanded new tactics and looser lines were formed to avoid deadly barrages of fire.
British 1853 Pattern 3-Band Enfield Rifled Musket
As relatively few 1861 Springfield rifled muskets were available early in the war, and the South
had only limited manufacturing capabilities for arms, many British Enfield rifled muskets were
imported.
Functionally, these weapons were extremely similar to the Springfield, using the same priming
cap and same bore diameter (.577, commonly called a .58 caliber) so ammunition was
interchangeable between the two.
Although the Confederates imported more Enfields during the course of the war than any other
small arm, buying from private contractors and gun runners when the British government
refused to sell them arms after it became obvious that the Confederacy could not win the war. It
has been estimated that over 900,000 Enfields were imported to America and saw service in
every major engagement from the Battle of Shiloh (April, 1862) and the Siege of Vicksburg (May
1863), to the final battles of 1865. At the Battle of Gettysburg on July 2nd, 1863, the 20th Maine
Volunteer Infantry, led by Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain, were armed with Enfield 1853 RifleMuskets during their famous bayonet charge against Confederate Forces attempting to destroy
the left flank of the Union Army on Little Round Top.
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Sharps 1859 Model Sharpshooter (Berdan) Breech-loading Rifle
Christian Sharps designed a series of weapons which made their way into the Union Army (and
sometimes copies were made by the Confederacy) which included the Cavalry Carbine (below), a
long-barreled Infantry model and this rifle, nicknamed the Berdan because it was almost
exclusively used by the 1st United States Sharpshooters (1st USSS) commanded by Col. Hiram
Berdan. The Berdan version featured the dual trigger mechanism designed to reduce the pull
weight on the trigger when fired, increasing the accuracy of the gun, although as there was a
shortage of these early in the war, many members of the USSS were outfitted with the singletrigger model, the Morgan-James Heavy Target Rifle or the Colt Revolving Rifle.
However, the USSS was something of a controversial outfit among the officers of the Union
Army, as they employed the tactic of using their green-clad soldiers in forward assignments,
concealed from view, as snipers to target and shoot enemy officers, which many officers
regarded as “murder,” not warfare.
J. P. Murray Carbine
One rifle unique to the South, the Murray Carbine was developed around 1862 for the
Confederate Cavalry and Artillery during the Civil War. Southern citizens donated their personal
brass items to be melted down to manufacture some of the hardware for these guns. NSSA
approved.
The overall design of the Murray is nearly identical to the 1853 Enfield, with similar trigger, lock
and hammer mechanisms. In fact, damaged rifles could often be used for parts on the other
weapon, though they would require “fitting” before use.
However, the Murray was a muzzle-loading carbine which made it slower to load and impossible
to use unless the soldier was completely dismounted and able to stand to load.
1859 Sharps Breech-loading Carbine
First introduced in 1848, the Christian Sharps Arms Company had a major advantage in the
battlefield in that it was not a muzzle-loaded longarm, but a breech-loader, a rifle loaded from
the back end of the barrel.
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While the Sharps still used paper cartridges, but these were developed with the bullet attached
at the front of the cartridge. To load, the soldier dropped the trigger guard which acted as a
lever to lower a breech-block where the vent from the primer cone to the breech was located.
Raising the guard would clip off the rear of the cartridge, exposing the powder.
Because of the elimination of the need to ram cartridges, the Sharps was much faster to load and
fire, with an expert being able to load and fire 4-6 rounds per minute as opposed to the 2-3
rounds per minute for muzzle-loaded rifles.
The early design of the Sharps did not use metal primers, but had a paper tape with primer
embedded (like a roll of caps for a cap pistol) which advanced with the working of the lever.
However, this priming method was poor in battle conditions as the tape could jam, foul in wet
weather and so on, and was dropped from most of the guns used in the Civil War.
Sharps also made an Infantry Model of their breechloader with the same basic design, but a
longer barrel and forestock, but the cost of the weapon was too high for widespread use.
Another model with a barrel longer than that of a carbine, but shorter than the Infantry model,
was made for the United States Sharpshooters (also referred to as the Berdan Sharpshooters).
The Berdan model also featured a dual trigger mechanism, with one trigger used as a “set”
trigger to reduce the pull weight on the “fire” trigger.
Spencer Repeater Rifled Carbine
Christian Spencer developed his first version of the rifle that would bear his name in 1860, but
at first, conservatism from the Department of War delayed its introduction to service. However,
Christopher Spencer was eventually able to gain an audience with President Abraham Lincoln,
who subsequently invited him to a shooting match and demonstration of the weapon. Lincoln
was impressed with the weapon, and ordered that it be adopted for production.
While not the first weapon to use metallic cartridges (the Henry rifle manufactured in 1849 used
a copper cartridge as well) the Spencer had significant advantages as the .56 caliber bullet and
50 grain powder load developed 1525 joules of force vs. the 900 foot-pounds developed by the
.45 caliber Henry cartridge.
To load the weapon, soldiers carried a Blakesley Cartidge Box, consisting of a leather case with a
wooden block that could hold 6-12 metal tubes, each loaded with 7 rounds of 56-50 rimfire
ammunition (.56 caliber, 50 grains FFFg powder). The primer was fixed in the rim of the
cartridge (like that of a .22 LR today) so there was no need to separately prime the weapon for
firing. A spring-loaded follower was removed from the butt of the rifle and the cartridges were
tipped into the magazine, so the follower could be returned. When the rifle guard was dropped,
the lever action would eject the expended cartridge and raising the lever would chamber a new
round. The hammer still had to be manually pulled back to fire, but the action was fast enough
that experts could reach a rate of fire exceeding 28 rounds per minute.
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The Spencer repeating rifle was first adopted by the United States Navy, and subsequently
adopted by the United States Army. While the South occasionally captured some of these
weapons and ammunition, but as they were unable to manufacture the cartridges due to
shortages of copper, their ability to take advantage of the weapons was limited. Notable early
instances of use included the Battle of Hoover's Gap (where Col. John T. Wilder's "Lightning
Brigade" effectively demonstrated the firepower of repeaters), and the Gettysburg Campaign,
where two regiments of the Michigan Brigade (under Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer)
carried them at the Battle of Hanover and at East Cavalry Field. As the war progressed,
Spencers were carried by a number of Union cavalry and mounted infantry regiments and
provided the Union army with additional firepower versus their Confederate counterparts.
Handguns
In general, revolvers and other handguns of the era were issued to Officers as well as enlisted
members of the Cavalry (because they could be fired from horseback) and Artillery.
Infantrymen were not generally issued revolvers, but several men purchased them for close
range fighting because the loaded revolver would provide 6 rapid-fire shots (albeit at short
range). In addition, Officers often purchased their own preferred make and model of handgun,
rather than accept the “Army issue” weapon.
Walker Colt Revolver
The Walker Colt is the largest and most powerful black powder repeating handgun ever made. It
was created in the mid-1840s in a collaboration between Captain Samuel Hamilton Walker
(1815-47) and American firearms inventor Samuel Colt (1814-62), building upon the earlier Colt
Paterson design. Walker wanted a handgun that was extremely powerful at close range, and that
is precisely what he got. The Walker Colt holds a powder charge of 60 grains FFFg powder in
each chamber, more than twice what a typical black powder revolver holds. It weighs nearly
pounds unloaded, has a 9-inch barrel, and fires a .44 caliber conical and round ball.
Originally designed for use by the US Army in the Mexican-American War, the Walker Colt was
sold to Russian troops in the Crimean War and was retained by many US Army and CS Army
Officers because they preferred the gun’s higher firepower to the smaller replacement.
1858 Remington Army Revolver
By the time of the Civil War, most percussion revolvers were fired with commercially made
combustible paper cartridges, constructed of a powder envelope (usually paper) glued to the
base of a conical bullet. The treated envelope self-consumed upon firing. To load a combustible,
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a cartridge was dropped envelope first into each chamber and seated firmly with the loading
lever, the process continuing until all six chambers were loaded.
After all six chambers were loaded, placing a percussion cap on each of the six nipples at the rear
of the cylinder readied the revolver for firing. The six chambers of a revolver cylinder could also
be loaded one chamber at a time, by dropping in a powder charge from a flask, followed by
seating either a round ball or conical bullet in each chamber with the loading lever. For safety,
and to reduce black powder fouling, grease, (such as tallow), was put into each chamber on top
of the loaded projectile. (Combustible cartridge bullets were already pre-greased with beeswax,
so the greasing step was unnecessary). The final loading step was capping as in the combustible
cartridge loading method described earlier.
The Remington 1858 represented significant improvements over the older Walker Colt. It fired
the same bullet (though with half the amount of powder) and the gun was made to allow the
cylinder to be dropped out of the frame without dismantling it – allowing the insertion of a
loaded cylinder for rapid reloading. At about 2.4 lbs, it was also significantly lighter than the
Walker.
However, insertion of the replacement cylinder was not easily accomplished and the cost of the
gun prevented widespread acceptance, except by individual units within the Union Army.
1860 Colt New Army Revolver
By 1860, Colt had streamlined and improved their own design for an Army revolver. While the
result was similar to Remington’s 1858, it retained the basic concepts of the Walker in that the
entire barrel assembly had to be removed to change the cylinder.
In addition to streamlining the design to cut the weight of the New Army to half that of the
Walker, Colt improved the loading lever “catch” (which was beneath the barrel and had tended
to come loose on the Walker) and put in small points between cylinders where the hammer
could be “locked” while carried, so as to prevent accidental discharges.
However, this model of the .44 Colt was far less expensive for the Army to acquire and became
the standard revolver for most cavalry, artillery and commissioned officers. Remingtons where
widely used as well, but as the two were of the same caliber, the ammunition was
interchangeable.
1862 Confederate Colt Revolver
The Colt New Army Revolver was so popular that two companies in the Confederacy, Leech &
Rigdon and Rigdon-Ansley designed copies of the handgun for use by Confederate Cavalry,
Artillery and Commissioned Officers.
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However, while the designs of the 1860 New Army and the Confederate Colt are extremely
similar, they are not identical. Due to a shortage of steel and the lack of sufficient hardened
tooling to drill into it, more brass was used in the frame of the Confederate model, and the
loading lever was closer in design to the Walker than the New Army model.
Sadly, the use of softer brass in the frame coupled with the tight tolerances meant after repeated
firings the gun needed to cool down as the frame would expand too much and cause it to jam.
The result was a cry from many owners that the gun was “as effective to throw at the enemy as it
was to shoot at them.”
1862 Colt Pocket Revolver
This smaller version of the Colt Revolver sacrificed both bullet size and capacity to make a
lighter handgun that could be more easily carried.
As opposed to the Army Colt, the Pocket Revolver was originally designed for Police use, but
many were privately purchased by senior Commissioned Officers, who rarely at the front of the
fighting in actual combat. It’s 5 chambers could fire a .36 caliber bullets with very lethal effect at
close range and were often aimed at stragglers, cowards, or troops who were trying to retreat
against orders.
LeMat Revolver
Developed in New Orleans in 1856 by Dr. Jean LeMat and backed by Pierre G.T. Beauregard,
who was to become a general with the Confederacy. Only about 2,900 of these unique pistols
were ever produced and these were largely made in Birmingham, England or Paris, France.
The LeMat was designed as a nine-shot, .44-caliber cylinder and rifled 6-3/4" barrel. What sets
it apart from other revolver designs is a separate 20-gauge, .645" diameter 5-7/8" smoothbore
barrel, beneath the revolver barrel, originally intended for firing buckshot. Both are fired by a
pivoting striker. In combat, the firepower from the pistol barrel plus a hefty dose of "blue
whistlers" made the LeMat a fearsome weapon to face.
However, while the LeMat was a powerful weapon, it had design flaws which would cause the
gun to misfire. Moreover, the full production quantity never reached American shores, making
it a relatively rare weapon found only in the Confederacy.
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Derringers
Single-shot, smooth bored Derringer pistols, were named for the Belgian gunsmith who first
designed these compact weapons. Such guns were the ideal “concealed carry” weapon of the
mid- to late-19th Century as their light weight and small size were such they could be concealed
in a gentleman’s vest.
John Wilkes Booth selected a .44 Caliber Derringer (above at right) similar to the design (above
at left) when he made his assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865. While the very short,
smooth bore barrel of the Derringer made it useless at any great distance, booth fired from
extremely close range and the round lead ball of soft lead was more than sufficient to his
purposes.
Remington Rider
The Remington Rider was extremely rare and fewer than 200 were ever produced. A .17
(smaller than most modern BBs) ball could be fired from this very small pistol using only the
percussion cap, no actual gunpowder was used for this “Parlor Gun.”
Bayonets
Because of WWII movies and such, most people think of bayonets as things with a knife-like
appearance. With the exception of the (rare) Enfield “Zouve” musket (a shorter barreled version
of the 1853 Enfield used by both US and CS “Zouve” Infantry) which more closely resembled a
short sword, bayonets of the 18th and 19th Century had a blade which was triangular in crosssection. This format was to provide flexing strength in the blade without much increase in
weight. Flexing strength was needed in case a bayonet struck a hard object: better to have it
bend and be repairable, than have it be stiff and shatter on impact.
1853 Enfield Bayonet
A close look at the 1757 Brown Bess bayonet and the 1853 Enfield bayonet shows some striking
similarities. Both have a rounder curve from the stem to the blade and a notched base, clearly
denoting a similar heritage.
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However, whereas the 18th Century bayonets were merely connected to the muzzle of the musket
by a notch that was formed by two opposing right angles (something of a straight Z), the Enfield
has a ring attached that can be turned to lock the bayonet onto the muzzle, for a tighter grip.
Despite their frightening appearance, bayonets were beginning to lose their use, however. As
rifled muskets began replacing older smoothbores, attacks could be made from greater distances
and the accuracy of the rifle meant commanders increasingly set their men in “skirmish
formations,” spreading them out at about an arm’s length apart, rather than close order. This
made bayonet charges less effective unless the men closed ranks, making them easier targets.
Springfield Bayonet
Just as the design of the Enfield bayonet echoed the designs of the Brown Bess bayonet, so did
the Charleville bayonet influence the Springfield.
After the American War of Independence, the new United States Army adopted the old
Charleville musket (of which over 200,000 were still in the hands of Americans) as the standard
for its troops.
However, the French had abandoned the older Charleville, in favor of the 1777 model (known as
the Revolutionnaire) the US embarked on making their own variant of the older French musket,
renaming it the 1795 Springfield.
Similarly, the US adopted the French design for a bayonet for the 1861 Springfield, with a tighter
angle on the blade end and a smooth transition from base to tip on the blade than the British
version. Like the Enfield, the Springfield had a locking ring to tightly fit the bayonet to the
muzzle.
Swords
Most of the soldiers in the battles of the American Civil War were infantry and so the bayonet
was the only edged weapon issued to them. However, all officers were issued swords as were
the soldiers of the artillery and cavalry.
Despite the presence of edged weapons, these were rather ineffective in battle. Officers, like
cavalry and artillery were also issued personal sidearms, generally a revolver. Since revolvers
were effective at ranges up to 50-75 yards, the use of a sword with a blade of 30” was rare in
battle.
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1860 US Cavalry Saber
During the Mexican War, the US Cavalry had been divided into Light Cavalry, Heavy Cavalry
and Dragoons. Unfortunately, all were issued the Heavy Cavalry Saber, nicknamed “the
wristbreaker” because of the heavy weight and poor balance of the weapon (which was point
heavy).
By the time of the Civil War, Dragoons and Heavy
Cavalry were deemed inappropriate and all were
reconsolidated into 3 regiments of Cavalry. These
units, as well as the numerous State regiments,
generally adopted the Light Cavalry Saber, a weapon
which had a 30” blade with a brass hilt.
As with all sabers, this blade was curved and had
channels (to allow blood to flow out) and was intended
as a slashing weapon.
In training, cavalry soldiers were taught to “run at the heads,” an obstacle course of 20 or more
objects designed to test their ability to stab, parry a bayonet and slash (generally to decapitate
infantry). While most sabers were ineffective as weapons (less than 1% of battlefield wounds
were from any form of bladed weapon) they remained a source of fear and intimidation.
1861 CS Cavalry Saber
Like its cousin, the US Light Cavalry Saber, the basic saber in use by Confederate Troops was the
CS Light Cavalry Saber, although because there was limited manufacturing capability, many
Confederate horsemen were using the US variant either from recent manufacture or older ones
of the “wristbreaker” variety.
While similar, there are some distinctive differences
between the CS and US sabers (especially the ones
made in Tennessee by the Nashville Plow Works), in
that the tines on the hilt of the sword are far flatter,
less “finished” than the US variant. This made the
sword less expensive to produce, but also tended to
make the weapon harder to grip.
Saber charges, though common in the early part of the
war, were fading into the past. While the charges by
General George Custer and the Michigan Brigade at Gettysburg remain of note, by late 1863 the
Union Cavalry began to alter tactics and generally dismounted from their horses to make better
use of their breechloading carbines. This tactic would not be adopted by the Confederacy as
widely, but instead the Southerners had to increasingly be dismounted for want of horses.
1859 US Officer Saber
While Officers on both sides of the War were generally issued swords, there were general
differences between them. So many Officers Swords existed that it would take a great deal of
effort to document all of them.
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However, most Officers had swords with a much
more ornate guard at the hilt, as well as a decorative
etching on the blade itself.
Foot officers generally had swords which tended to be
straight, designed more as a thrusting weapon than a
slashing one (such as a saber) but neither the foot
officer or mounted officer was generally either
sufficiently trained for use with a sword in combat
nor in a position to actually use the sword as a
weapon.
Instead, most swords were used to signal to troops. Artillery Officers generally would hold their
blade aloft in a hand with a white glove or gauntlet so as to signal the order to fire by dropping
their blade. All troops on the march would be careful to watch for a signal by an officer at the
head of a column using his sword to indicate left or right turns, halts, etc.
CS Officers Swords
Again, the Confederacy largely issued swords to Officers, but many either used swords privately
purchased (generally from Europe) or blades from prior service in the US Army or State Militia.
Like their Union counterparts, the swords made in
the South (or often by contract manufacturers in
England or France) were more ornate than those
issued to the enlisted personnel, but most
Confederate Officers had far less ornate guards than
their Union brethren.
The example is of an Officer’s sword made at the
Nashville Plow Works (thus was made prior to its
capture in 1862), with a distinctive guard and blade
type.
1840 US Short Artillery Sword
Field Artillery units were generally divided into
“Heavy” Field Artillery, with large mortars or heavy
cannon (generally 6” guns or greater than 50 lbs
projectiles) where the limbers were driven by three
mounted soldiers towing guns or caissons (extra
ammunition) or “Light” guns – often called Flying
Artillery” – where all the cannoneers were either
mounted on the horses towing or riding on other
horses.
Heavy Artillery soldiers were generally issued the old
1840 US Short Artillery Sword, a weapon that looks very much like a Roman Gladius. This stout
blade was not effective as a combat weapon (being less than 24” long) but could be readily used
to cut the heavy leather “traces” used to connect horse teams when a single animal was felled,
allowing the other horses to move away.
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1841 US Artillery Saber
Light Artillery, which comprised the very common 3”
Ordnance Rifle, the 10-pounder Parrott Rifle as well
as the smoothbored 12-pound field guns, were quite
often provided with full mounted units in the Union
Artillery. Because the horsemen could receive the
same threat as Cavalry, the men riding single horses (as opposed to those on limbers) were
issued the Artillery Saber, a much lighter weapon than the Cavalry variant and with a more
deeply curved blade.
The thought was that if the need arose to defend the guns while they were being connected to
their limbers for a retreat, these sabers would be effective weapons. This was generally untrue.
In the Confederacy, fully mounted Artillery units were rarely seen due to a lack of suitable
mounts. In fact in the late period of the war a special harness was created for Confederate
limbers that allowed up to 20 men to pull the limber and gun in place of the 6 horses. While in
some cases this duty was regulated to slaves who were “leased” to the army (and not considered
soldiers) it generally fell to the members of the cannon crew.
Not Displayed – Artillery Terms
One thing Hollywood has done is to completely scramble the terms used in Artillery for the
various items.
Generally, all Artillery and most other horse-drawn items of the Civil War were pulled by a
Limber, the Tractor-trailer rig of the day. This was a small, two-wheeled cart with a single
ammunition chest on it. While passengers might sit on the chest, the drivers were astride the
horses on the left side of the teams, generally at least 6 horses per limber.
Limber and Gun Page 11
Drivers rode astride the left side horses (as horses are always mounted from the left side) and
had the reins for both their own horse and the riderless horse to their right.
The three teams (2 horses per team) were referred to as the Lead (front pair) Swing (middle
pair) and Wheel (rear pair) teams and served as both driving force and brake – there was no
other means of stopping the rig. If needed to climb a steep grade, up to 10 teams (20 horses)
could be connected to a single limber, requiring one rider per team. However, after 10 teams no
further power could be realized even from the addition of more horses as the weight of men and
tethers began to exert more drag on the rig.
Limber and Caisson Most people who hear the term caisson think it refers to the wagon pulled by the teams of
horses, remembering it from military or Presidential funerals, but this is where they have it
confused with the limber. The caisson was designed to carry a spare wheel and two additional
ammunition chests into the field, but the wheel and chests can be dismounted and the flat base
of the caisson used to hold the casket in a funeral. It was also used in punishments, with a man
tied to the spare wheel, “spread eagled” and driven down a path, his back battered by the hub.
Few men survived this for long.
The Battery Wagon was used for supplies provided for the artillery other than ammunition,
which included spare parts, food, tentage and so on. Because a single Battery (generally about
120 soldiers and 6 officers) was accorded a Battery Wagon (whereas Cavalry and Infantry
regiments had only one wagon per regiment of about 1000 men) the artillery was generally
better supplied.
However, Artillery was generally regarded as a defensive force, used to hold ground. It could
not, of its own accord, take ground from the enemy, though it could be used to soften the
position for a Cavalry or Infantry attack.
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Limber and Battery Wagon Both Cavalry and Artillery were issued Field Forges for use in shoeing the horses of the outfit
and in maintaining the equipment of the Artillery – but while Cavalry was issued one forge per
regiment, the Artillery generally had one per battery, as it was rare when all batteries of a
regiment were in the field together.
Limber and Field Forge The Field Forge had a bellows which could be used to heat the small coal fire of the forge to
allow a Ferrier to forge and shape horseshoes and other works. Generally, Ferriers were of the
rank of Sergeant and received better pay than most soldiers.
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