Civial War Weapons - Infantry - Repeating Rifles
Breech-loaders and repeating rifles were available by 1861 and were initially purchased in limited quantities, often by individual soldiers. Generally, however, rifles were not issued to troops in large numbers because of technical problems (poor breech seals, faulty ammunition), fear by the Ordnance Department that the troops would waste ammunition, and the cost of rifle production.
The most famous of the breech-loaders was the single-shot Sharps, produced in both carbine and rifle models. The Model 1859 rifle was 52 caliber, was 47 inches long, and weighed 8 3/4 pounds, while the carbine was .52 caliber, 39 l/8 inches long, and weighed 7 314 pounds. Both weapons used a linen cartridge and a pellet primer feed mechanism. Most Sharps carbines were issued to Federal cavalry units.
The best known of the repeaters was probably the seven-shot Spencer, -52 caliber, which also came in both rifle and carbine models. The rifle was 47 inches long and weighed 10 pounds, while the carbine was 39 inches long and weighed 8 l/4 pounds The first mounted infantry unit to use Spencer repeating rifles in combat was Colonel John T. Wilder’s “Lightning Brigade” on 24 June 1863 at Hoover’s Gap, Tennessee. The Spencer was also the first weapon adopted by the U.S. Army that fired a metallic rimfire, self-contained cartridge. Soldiers loaded rounds through an opening in the butt of the stock, which fed into the chamber through a tubular magazine by the action of the trigger guard. The hammer still had to be cocked manually before each shot.
Better than either the Sharps or the Spencer was the Henry rifle. Never adopted by the US. Army in large quantity, it was purchased privately by soldiers during the war. The Henry was a sixteen-shot, .44-caliber rimfire cartridge repeater. It was 43 1/2 inches long and weighed 9 1/4 pounds. The tubular magazine located directly beneath the barrel had a fifteen-round capacity with an additional round in the chamber. of the approximately 13,500 Henrys produced, probably 10,000 saw limited service. The government purchased only 1,731.
The Colt repeating rifle (or revolving carbine), Model 1855, also was available to Civil War soldiers in limited numbers. The weapon was produced in several lengths and calibers, the lengths varying from 32 inches to 42 l/Z inches, while its calibers were .36, .44, and 56. The -36 and .44 calibers were made to chamber six shots, while the .56 caliber had five chambers. The Colt Firearms Company was also the primary supplier of revolvers, the .44-caliber Army revolver and the .36-caliber Navy revolver being the most popular (over 146,000 purchased). This was because they were simple, sturdy, and reliable.
One unit that, had great tactical success at Chickamauga [18-20 September 1863] was Union Colonel John T. Wilder% mounted infantry brigade. Its five mounted infantry regiments, mostly armed with Spencer repeating rifles, fought dismounted and were supported by an oversized battery of artillery. In two important firefights, Wilder’s brigade shattered Confederate infantry attacks. The firepower of the Spencers, coupled with that of the artillery battery, and the mobility of horses made Wilder’s brigade unbeatable at Chickamauga.
On the northern end of the battlefield, a Confederate unit, Major General Nathaa B. Forrest’s Cavalry Corps, employed tactics similar to Wilder’s Forrest’s men also used horses for mobility and fought on foot as infantry. Although not armed with repeating rifles, they employed a more open formation in the advance, and they had good success on the northern flank at Chickamauga.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
