Civil War Weapons: The Basics

Lastly, they listed the following weapons as “Third Class Arms”

• Smoothbored Musket altered to percussion (.69 Caliber)
• Smoothbored Musket model 1842 (.69 Caliber)
• Austrian, Prussion, and Saxony Rifled Musket (.71 & .72 Caliber)
• Austrian, and Prussion Rifled Muskets (.69 to .70 Caliber)
• Austrian and Prussian Smoothbored Muskets (.71 to .72 Caliber)
• Austrian, Prussian, and French Smoothbored Muskets (.69 and .70 Caliber)
• English Smoothbored Musket (.69 and .70 Caliber)

The Springfield Rifle

Out of all the options listed above, the most common weapon issued to federal troops during the American Civil War was the 1861-’63 Springfield Rifle. The Springfield was considered the standard rifle of the Civil War. Like other Springfield rifles it was first produced at the Springfield Armory, but to meet war demands many other arms manufacturers were contracted to increase production. At an average of 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 Minié ball. It was capable of firing three rounds a minute at an effective range of 500 yards but could be deadly at longer ranges. 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.

The Springfield Model 1855 was the first standard-issue rifle for the US Army to fire the Minié ball, with 60,000 having been built from 1856 to 1860 at both the Springfield and Harpers Ferry Armory. These used the less reliable Maynard tape primer firing mechanism which when damp could cause misfires, a flaw that had forced its original retirement in 1860 until it was re-introduced to meet the arms shortage. When Confederate forces seized the manufacturing equipment from Harpers Ferry, they used it to continue production of the Model 1855 during the war. Depending on the location where they were manufactured, these were known as Richmond or Fayetteville rifles.

Many older Springfield muskets, such as the Springfield Model 1842, which had been converted into rifles were also brought out of storage due to the arms shortage. However, these old and obsolete weapons were replaced by newer weapons as they became available.

Other rifles

The Sharps rifles were a series of single-shot, breechloading rifles made famous for their use by Hiram Berdan’s 1st and 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters regiments. Utilizing a unique pelleted primer mechanism and paper cartridges, the Sharps could fire a .52 caliber bullet three times faster than a muzzleloading rifle. A shorter, lighter carbine version was suitable for use by cavalry force. The Union purchased 10,000 Sharps rifles and 80,000 carbines, with many more bought by state governments or soldiers themselves.

Spencer rifle, while popular with the cavalry, found little use in the hands of the infantry. The Spencer was a .52 caliber repeating rifle with a spring-fed tubular magazine for seven metallic cartridges in the stock. The government puchased 12,000 Spencer rifles.

The Henry repeating rifle was similar to the Spencer rifle in that it used a lever action and had a magazine in the stock, but it fired a smaller .44 caliber bullet and the magazine could hold fifteen cartridges. While the Spencer was more mechanically reliable the Henry had a greater rate of fire which, with its larger magazine, put it in high demand among Civil War soldiers. Only 1,731 Henry rifles were bought by the federal government, with thousands more bought by states and private individuals.

The Colt Revolving Rifle was the first repeating rifles to be purchased by the US government, these were a series of revolving rifles which used a rotating multi-chamber cylinder loaded with cartridges. They were available in several sizes and calibers, and most had a cylinder which could hold five to six rounds.

A predecessor of the Springfield rifle, the Mississippi rifle was a single-shot, muzzleloading rifle produced at the Harpers Ferry Armory until 1855, although a number of private contractors continued to produce examples through 1862. Both sides equipped their soldiers with Mississippi rifles early in the war due to arms shortages. By 1863 the rifle had ceased service with Union forces, although the Confederates would continue to use it through the end of the war.

American Civil War Rifles:

The weapons listed as “Muzzle-loading Carbines” were the following:

• Austrian, rifled. Cal. .70 and .71.
• English Artillery, rifled. Calibre .54.
• English Sapper, rifled, “Enfield” pattern. Calibre .577.
• French Rifled Carbines. Calibre .60.
• Pistol Carbine, rifled. Calibre .58.
• Musketoons, U.S. model, rifled. Calibre .69.
• Musketoons, U.S. model, smooth-bore. Calibre .69.
• Musketoons, English, smooth-bore. Calibre .64.

The third most popular carbine was the Burnside rifled carbine. In 1857, the Burnside carbine won a competition at West Point against 17 other carbine designs. In spite of this, few of the carbines were immediately ordered by the government, but this changed with the outbreak of the Civil War, when over 55,000 were ordered for use by Union cavalrymen. The Burnside carbine saw action in all theatres of the war. There were so many in service that many were captured and used by Confederates. A common complaint by users was that the unusually shaped cartridge sometimes became stuck in the breech after firing.

On the basis of the quarterly ordnance returns found on the Research Arsenal’s research database, it has been estimated that 0+3 Union cavalry regiments were using the Burnside carbine during the 1863-1864 period. Five different models were produced. Production was discontinued towards the end of the Civil War, when the Burnside Rifle Company was given a contract to make Spencer carbines instead.

Lastly, before moving on to the artillery, one last carbine has to be discussed that was actually the second most common carbine in the ordnance department of the federal army at the beginning of the war. That carbine was the Hall Carbine. This weapon platform was a hold over from the previous decades and was popular among cavalry due to it’s breech-loading design. However, it was considered so old or “ancient” by troops that it was hated by cavalry regiments that were issued this weapon early in the war. Additionally, the weight of this weapon, with its cumbersome breech was too much for many soldiers and they opted to obtain a better weapon to go to war with. 

The history lesson that can be learned from Union & Confederate weapons

The explosion of weapons design and the rapid technological advancement brought out by the war created a ripple effect around the world. From transitioning from paper cartridges to brass and from muzzle loading to repeating breach loading weapons, the American Civil War facilitated how future wars would be fought. 

The Research Arsenal has made it easier than ever to search through thousands of ordnance returns to see exactly what each federal regiment was issued. You can search by regiment, date, year, etc to find your favorite unit and see what weapons they carried. 

Additionally, the Research Arsenal offers more than 10,000 images that have been tagged with every item in the image including weapons. Easily filter through thousands of images for all the ones that have a specific carbine or specific bayonet! Join one of the fastest growing Civil War research communities on the internet! Search for your favorite weapon today!