List of weapons in the American Civil War
Encyclopedia
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
by Union
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
and Confederacy soldiers during the years 1861–1865. During the war, a variety of weapons were used on both sides. These weapons include edged weapons such as knives and swords, firearms such as handguns, rifled-muskets
Rifled musket
The term rifled musket or rifle musket refers to a specific type of weapon made in the mid-19th century. Originally the term referred only to muskets that had been produced as a smoothbore weapon and later had their barrels rifled...
, breech loaders
Breech-loading weapon
A breech-loading weapon is a firearm in which the cartridge or shell is inserted or loaded into a chamber integral to the rear portion of a barrel....
and repeating weapons, various field guns such as artillery, and new weapons such as the early grenade and machine gun.
The Civil War is often to referred as the first "modern" war in history as it included the most advanced technology and innovations of warfare available at the time. Some of the innovations and advances of the Civil War included mass production
Mass production
Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines...
of war material, rifling
Rifling
Rifling is the process of making helical grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis...
of gun barrels and the use of the Minié ball
Minié ball
The Minié ball is a type of muzzle-loading spin-stabilising rifle bullet named after its co-developer, Claude-Étienne Minié, inventor of the Minié rifle...
, the advent of repeating firearms and metallic cartridges, ironclad warships, advances in medicine
Battlefield medicine
Battlefield medicine, also called field surgery and later combat casualty care, is the treatment of wounded soldiers in or near an area of combat. Civilian medicine has been greatly advanced by procedures that were first developed to treat the wounds inflicted during combat...
, communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
(especially the telegraph), and transportation (railroads
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
), and the gradual decline of tactics from previous centuries.
Edged weapons
| Model | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model 1832 Foot Artillery Sword Model 1832 Foot Artillery Sword The Model 1832 Foot Artillery Sword was a shortsword with a straight, double-edged blade and brass-mounted leather scabbard.-History:The U.S. Model 1832 foot artillery shortsword has a solid brass hilt, a crossguard, and a blade usually in length. This model was the first sword contracted by... |
Issued to artillerymen. Based on the Roman Ancient Rome Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world.... gladius Gladius Gladius was the Latin word for sword, and is used to represent the primary sword of Ancient Roman soldiers. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those used by the Greeks. From the 3rd century BC, the Romans adopted swords similar to those used by the Celtiberians and others during the early... . |
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| Model 1832 Dragoon Dragoon The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel... Saber |
a single-edged blade often used by those on horseback. | |||
| Model 1840 Light Artillery Saber | Issued to mounted artillery. | |||
| Model 1840 Army Noncommissioned Officers' Sword Model 1840 Army Noncommissioned Officers' Sword The Model 1840 Noncommissioned Officers' Sword was based on a German version of the infantry sword used by British troops during the Napoleonic Wars... |
Issued to infantry sergeants. The Marines had their own version Marine Noncommissioned Officers' Sword, 1859-Present -Description:The sword adopted in 1859 and subsequently carried by noncommissioned officers of the United States Marine Corps is patterned after the United States Army’s foot officers’ sword of 1850, with minor differences... . |
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| Model 1840 Cavalry Saber Model 1840 Cavalry Saber The Model 1840 Cavalry Saber was based on the 1822 French hussar's sabre. Unlike its replacement the Model 1860 Light Cavalry Saber the M1840 has a ridge around its quillon, a leather grip wrapped in wire and a flat, slotted throat... |
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| Model 1860 Light Cavalry Saber Model 1860 Light Cavalry Saber The Model 1860 Light Cavalry Sabre was used by US cavalry from the American Civil War until the end of the Indian wars; some were still in use during the Spanish-American War... |
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| M1860 Cutlass Cutlass A cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword, with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge, and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket shaped guard... |
Issued to naval boarding parties. Sailors also had access to axe Axe The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol... s, harpoon Harpoon A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument used in fishing to catch fish or large marine mammals such as whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal, allowing the fishermen to use a rope or chain attached to the butt of the projectile to catch the animal... s and grappling hook Grappling hook A grappling hook is an anchor with multiple hooks , attached to a rope; it is thrown, dropped, sunk, projected, or fastened directly by hand to where at least one hook may catch and hold. Generally, grappling hooks are used to temporarily secure one end of a rope. They may also be used to dredge... s. |
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| Model 1850 Army Staff & Field Officers' Sword Model 1850 Army Staff & Field Officers' Sword The Model 1850 Army Staff and Field Officers' Sword was carried by all members of staff departments,Field Grade officers of Artillery and Infantry, Company Grade Officers of Light Artillery, Staff Officers and... |
The regulation officer's sword, though in practice most officers used cavalry sabers. Southern officers sometimes carried ancestral blades from the War of 1812 War of 1812 The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant... or even the American Revolutionary War American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the... . |
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| Mameluke sword Mameluke Sword A Mameluke sword is a cross-hilted, curved, scimitar-like sword historically derived from sabres used by Mamluk warriors of Mamluk Egypt from whom the sword derives its name. It is related to the shamshir, which had its origins in Persia from where the style migrated to India, Egypt and North... |
Carried by Marine officers. | |||
| Bowie knife Bowie knife A Bowie knife is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knife first popularized by Colonel James "Jim" Bowie in the early 19th Century. Since the first incarnation was created by James Black, the Bowie knife has come to incorporate several recognizable and characteristic design features, although its... |
Often carried by Confederates instead of bayonet Bayonet A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear... s, including the Arkansas toothpick Arkansas toothpick The Arkansas toothpick is a heavy dagger with a pointed, straight blade. The knife is balanced and weighted for throwing and can be used for thrusting and slashing... which could be used as a sword in combat, a hatchet to chop wood, a razor Razor A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of unwanted body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, disposable razors and electric razors.... and a paddle Paddle A paddle is a tool used for pushing against liquids, either as a form of propulsion in a boat or as an implement for mixing.-Materials and designs:... in emergencies. |
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Early in the war Robert E Lee proposed issuing pikes
Pike (weapon)
A pike is a pole weapon, a very long thrusting spear used extensively by infantry both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. Unlike many similar weapons, the pike is not intended to be thrown. Pikes were used regularly in European warfare from the...
to the Confederate army to compensate for the shortage of guns. A few were made and used for training but were never issued for combat.
Handguns
| Model | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colt Army Model 1860 Colt Army Model 1860 The Colt Army Model 1860 is a muzzle-loaded cap & ball .44-caliber revolver used during the American Civil War, made by Colt's Manufacturing Company. It was used as a side arm by cavalry, infantry, artillery troops, and naval forces.... |
The most popular Colt handgun in the Union Union (American Civil War) During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the... army was a .44 caliber Caliber In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it.... six-shot revolver. Stocks Stock (firearm) A stock, also known as a buttstock or shoulder stock, is a part of a rifle or other firearm, to which the barrel and firing mechanism are attached, that is held against one's shoulder when firing the gun. Stocks are also found on crossbows though a crossbow stock is more properly referred to as a... were made that could be screwed onto the butt of the pistol allowing it to be held at the shoulder, increasing accuracy. Some had a second function such as a liquor flask or storage for cartridges. |
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| Colt M1861 Navy Colt M1861 Navy The Colt Model 1861 Navy cap & ball .36-caliber revolver was a six-shot, single-action percussion weapon produced by Colt's Manufacturing Company from 1861 until 1873. It incorporated the "creeping" or ratchet loading lever and round barrel of the .44-caliber Army Model of 1860 but had a barrel one... |
Similar in size and appearance to the Colt Army, the main difference of the Colt Navy was the change in caliber from .44 to .36 and the fact that it was primarily issued to the US Navy. | |||
| Colt 1851 Navy Revolver Colt 1851 Navy Revolver The Colt Revolving Belt Pistol of Naval Caliber , later known as the Colt 1851 Navy or Navy Revolver, is a cap and ball revolver. It was designed by Samuel Colt between 1847 and 1850. It remained in production until 1873, when revolvers using fixed metallic cartridges came into widespread use... |
The preferred weapon of the Confederacy. Copies were made all over the South in former cotton mills. | |||
| Colt Dragoon Revolver Colt Dragoon Revolver The Colt Model 1848 Percussion Army Revolver is a .44 caliber revolver designed by Samuel Colt for the U.S. Army's Mounted Rifles, also known as "Dragoons". This revolver was designed as a solution to numerous problems encountered with the Walker Colt... |
Issued to the US Cavalry. A heavy large-caliber pistol invented during the Mexican War Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S... and designed for killing the mounts of charging enemy troopers. |
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| Remington Model 1858 Remington Model 1858 The Remington New Model, was a percussion revolver manufactured by Eliphalet Remington & Sons in .36- or .44- caliber revolver used during the American Civil War. Known as it was used primarily by Union soldiers, and widely favored over the standard issue Colt Army Model 1860... |
Colt's chief competitor, Remington Repeating Arms Company, also made revolvers during the Civil War. The most common was the Remington Model 1858. This pistol was highly favored by troops. The Remington had a quick cylinder release catch which made reloading much faster.It was used in large quantities during the war. | |||
| Smith & Wesson Model 1 Smith & Wesson Model 1 The Smith & Wesson Model 1 was the first firearm manufactured by Smith & Wesson, with production commencing in 1857. It was also the first commercially available revolver to use rimfire cartridges instead of loose powder, musket ball, and percussion caps... |
Used as an alternative to the Colt and Remington. These fired brass rimfire cartridges. | |||
| Starr revolver | A double-action revolver which was briefly used in the western theater of the war, until the U.S. Ordnance Department persuaded Starr Arms Co. to create a single-action variant after the discontinuation of the Colt. The company eventually complied, and the Union acquired 25,000 of the single-action revolvers for $12 each. | |||
| Beaumont-Adams Revolver Beaumont-Adams Revolver The Beaumont-Adams Revolver was a muzzle-loading percussion revolver. Originally adopted by the British Army in .442 calibre in 1856, many were later converted to use centrefire cartridges. It was replaced in British service in 1880 by the .476 calibre Enfield Mk I revolver.-History:On 20... |
A reliable double-action British handgun was privately purchased by many Northern and Southern officers. | |||
| Kerrs Patent Revolver Kerrs Patent Revolver Kerr's Patent Revolver was an unusual 5-shot single-action revolver manufactured from 1859 to 1866 by the London Armoury Company. It was used by Confederate cavalrymen during the U.S. Civil War. It is easily recognized by its side-mounted hammer.-History:... |
A 5-shot back-action revolver made by the London Armoury Company London Armoury Company The London Armoury Company was a London arms manufactory that existed from 1856 until 1866. It was the major arms supplier to the Confederacy during the U.S. Civil War.... was used by Confederate cavalry. |
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| LeMat Revolver LeMat Revolver The LeMat revolver was a .42 or .36 caliber cap & ball black powder revolver invented by Dr. Jean Alexandre LeMat of New Orleans, which featured a rather unusual secondary 16 gauge smoothbore barrel capable of firing buckshot, and saw service with the armed forces of the Confederate States of... |
Perhaps the most well-known foreign-designed revolver during the Civil War. It had two barrels, one on top of the other. The top barrel could fire up to nine .42 caliber balls while the bottom could fire a 16 gauge shotshell, making it a deadly weapon in theory. The creator, a French France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... doctor living in New Orleans, Jean Alexandre LeMat Jean Alexandre LeMat Dr. Jean Alexandre Francois LeMat , is best known for the percussion cap revolver that bears his name .LeMat, then a New Orleans physician, secured for his design on October 21, 1856. British patents for the same design were issued in 1859, and he later designed a revolver rifle of similar concept... , moved back to France to create more revolvers for the Confederacy. The French-made revolvers, however, proved unreliable and difficult to manufacture. |
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| Lefaucheux M1858 Lefaucheux M1858 The Lefaucheux M1858 was a French military revolver, chambered for the 12mm pinfire cartridge, based on a design by Casimir Lefaucheux. It was the first metallic-cartridge revolver adopted by a national government... |
A pinfire Pinfire A pinfire firearm cartridge is an obsolete type of brass cartridge in which the priming compound is ignited by striking a small pin which protrudes radially from just above the base of the cartridge.... revolver imported from France by Union and Confederate officers. |
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| Elgin Cutlass pistol Pistol sword A pistol sword is a sword with a pistol or revolver attached, usually alongside the blade. It differs from a rifle with a bayonet in that the weapon is designed primarily for use as a sword, and the firearm component is typically considered a secondary weapon designed to be an addition to the... |
Issued to navy personnel but proved unpopular with the men and was quickly replaced with the M1860 Cutlass | |||
Derringer
Derringer
The term derringer is a genericized misspelling of the last name of Henry Deringer, a famous 19th-century maker of small pocket pistols. Many copies of the original Philadelphia Deringer pistol were made by other gun makers worldwide, and the name was often misspelled; this misspelling soon became...
s, pepper-box
Pepper-box
The pepper-box revolver or simply pepperbox is a multiple-barrel repeating firearm that has three or more barrels grouped around a central axis. It mostly appears in the form of a multi-shot handheld firearm...
pocket pistols, and small revolvers like the Colt Baby Dragoon
Colt Pocket Percussion Revolvers
The family of Colt Pocket Percussion Revolvers evolved from the earlier commercial revolvers marketed by the Paterson Arms Company of Paterson, NJ. The smaller versions of Colt's first revolvers are also called "Baby Patersons" by collectors and were produced in .24 to .31 calibers...
or teat-fire were often carried by enlisted men as a backup gun for close-quarters fighting.
Single-shot caplock
Caplock mechanism
The caplock mechanism or "percussion" lock was the successor of the flintlock mechanism in firearm technology, and used a percussion cap struck by the hammer to set off the main charge, rather than using a piece of flint to strike a steel frizzen....
pistol
Handgun
A handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....
s copied from the prewar French model were issued to the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. These had brass barrels to prevent corrosion. Some Confederate cavalry units were equipped with single-shot percussion cap
Percussion cap
The percussion cap, introduced around 1830, was the crucial invention that enabled muzzleloading firearms to fire reliably in any weather.Before this development, firearms used flintlock ignition systems which produced flint-on-steel sparks to ignite a pan of priming powder and thereby fire the...
or even flintlock
Flintlock
Flintlock is the general term for any firearm based on the flintlock mechanism. The term may also apply to the mechanism itself. Introduced at the beginning of the 17th century, the flintlock rapidly replaced earlier firearm-ignition technologies, such as the doglock, matchlock and wheellock...
pistols early in the war which were sometimes fitted with stocks to improve accuracy. These had been issued to the US Army until the 1840s but were obsolete by the time of the Civil War due to the introduction of the Colt revolver.
Rifles
| Model | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield Model 1861 Springfield Model 1861 The Springfield Model 1861 was a Minié-type rifled musket shoulder arm used by the United States Army and Marine Corps during the American Civil War. Commonly referred to as the "Springfield" , it was the most widely used U.S... |
The Springfield Model 1861 was the most widely-used shoulder arm during the Civil War. It was favored for its range, accuracy, and reliability. | |||
| Pattern 1853 Enfield Pattern 1853 Enfield The Enfield Pattern 1853 Rifle-Musket was a .577 calibre Minié-type muzzle-loading rifle-musket, used by the British Empire from 1853 to 1867, after which many Enfield 1853 Rifle-Muskets were converted to the cartridge-loaded Snider-Enfield rifle.-History &... |
The Enfield 1853 rifled musket was used by both the North and the South in the American Civil War, and was the second most widely used infantry weapon in the war. | |||
| Pattern 1861 Enfield Musketoon Pattern 1861 Enfield Musketoon The Pattern 1861 Enfield Musketoon was an alteration to the Pattern 1853 Enfield Musketoon. The alteration gave the Pattern 1861 a faster twist, which gave it more accuracy than the longer infantry rifle. In the British Army, it was issued to artillery units, who required a weapon for personal... |
A carbine used by artillerymen. | |||
| Lorenz Rifle Lorenz Rifle The Lorenz rifle was an Austrian rifle used in the mid 19th century. It was used in several European wars, and also featured prominently in the U.S. Civil War.-History:... |
This Austrian gun was the third-most common musket and was imported by both sides. It fired the same .58 caliber Minie ball Minié ball The Minié ball is a type of muzzle-loading spin-stabilising rifle bullet named after its co-developer, Claude-Étienne Minié, inventor of the Minié rifle... as the Enfield and Springfield. |
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| M1841 Mississippi Rifle M1841 Mississippi Rifle The M1841 Mississippi Rifle is a muzzle loading percussion rifle used in the Mexican–American War & the American Civil War.-History:When Eli Whitney Blake took over management of the Harpers Ferry Armory in 1842, he set about tooling up under his new contract from the U.S. government for making the... |
A 2-band rifle with sword bayonet Sword bayonet thumb|300px|right|[[Ishapore 2A1]] Lee-Enfield w/ P1907 sword bayonetA sword bayonet is any long, knife-bladed bayonet designed for mounting on a musket or rifle. Its use is thought to have begun in the 18th century and to have reached its height of popularity throughout the 19th and into the early... which was issued to Confederate NCOs. |
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| Fayetteville rifle Fayetteville rifle The Fayetteville Rifle was a 2 banded rifled musket of rifle length produced at the Confederate States Arsenal in Fayetteville, North Carolina... |
A Confederate copy of the Springfield rifle. | |||
| Richmond Rifle Richmond Rifle The Richmond Rifle was a rifled musket produced by the Richmond Armory in Richmond, Virginia, for use by the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-History:... |
Confederate copy of the Springfield Model 1861 | |||
| Whitworth rifle Whitworth rifle The Whitworth Rifle was a single-shot muzzle-loaded rifle used in the last half of the 19th century.-History:The Whitworth rifle was designed by Sir Joseph Whitworth, a prominent British engineer and entrepreneur. Whitworth had experimented with cannons using twisted hexagonal barrels instead of... |
Sometimes fitted with brass scopes were used by Confederate sharpshooters. | |||
| Sharps rifle Sharps Rifle Sharps rifles were those of a series begun with a design by Christian Sharps. Sharps rifles were renowned for long range and high accuracy in their day.-History:Sharps's initial rifle was patented September 17, 1848 and manufactured by A. S... |
The Sharps rifle was a falling block rifle used during and after the American Civil War. The carbine version was very popular with the cavalry of both the Union and Confederate armies and was issued in much larger numbers than the full-length rifle. | |||
| Colt revolving rifle Colt revolving rifle The Colt Revolving Rifle Model 1855 was an early repeating rifle produced by the Colt's Manufacturing Company.-History:Revolving rifles were an attempt to increase the rate of fire of rifles by combining them with the revolving firing mechanism that had been developed earlier for revolving pistols... |
A few of these experimental guns were issued to Berdan's Sharpshooters but due to their unreliability were replaced with Sharps Rifles. | |||
| Burnside carbine Burnside carbine The Burnside carbine was a breech-loading carbine that saw widespread use during the American Civil War.-Design:The carbine was designed and patented by Ambrose Burnside, who resigned his commission in the U.S. Army to devote himself full time to working on the weapon. The carbine used a special... |
A breech-loader invented by Ambrose Burnside Ambrose Burnside Ambrose Everett Burnside was an American soldier, railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a U.S. Senator... and issued to the US Cavalry. |
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| Tarpley carbine Tarpley carbine The Tarpley Carbine was a Confederate weapon produced and used during the American Civil War, however, it was not produced in great numbers. The Tarpley Carbine was a breechloader, and was comparable in this sense to the Sharps Rifle and Carbine more widely used by the Union.On , there are some... |
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| Smith carbine Smith carbine The Smith Carbine was patented by Gilbert Smith on June 23, 1857 and successfully completed the Military Trials of the late 1850's.-Service history:Units known to have received the Smith carbine include:* 3rd West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment... |
Patented by Gilbert Smith in 1857. | |||
| Henry rifle Henry rifle The Henry repeating rifle was a lever-action, breech-loading, tubular magazine rifle.-History:The original Henry rifle was a .44 caliber rimfire, lever-action, breech-loading rifle designed by Benjamin Tyler Henry in the late 1850s. The Henry rifle was an improved version of the earlier Volcanic... |
The Civil War precursor to the Winchester Rifle Winchester rifle In common usage, Winchester rifle usually means any of the lever-action rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, though the company has also manufactured many rifles of other action types... based on early lever-action Lever-action Lever-action is a type of firearm action which uses a lever located around the trigger guard area, to load fresh cartridges into the chamber of the barrel when the lever is worked. Most lever-action firearms are rifles, but lever-action shotguns and a few pistols have also been made... rifles made by Volcanic Repeating Arms Volcanic Repeating Arms The Volcanic Repeating Arms Company was a company formed in 1855 by partners Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson to develop Walter Hunt's Rocket Ball ammunition and lever action mechanism. Volcanic made an improved version of the Rocket Ball ammunition, and a carbine and pistol version of the lever... Co. These highly-prized weapons were privately purchased by those who could afford them. |
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| Spencer repeating rifle Spencer repeating rifle The Spencer repeating rifle was a manually operated lever-action, repeating rifle fed from a tube magazine with cartridges. It was adopted by the Union Army, especially by the cavalry, during the American Civil War, but did not replace the standard issue muzzle-loading rifled muskets in use at the... |
The Spencer repeating rifle was a manually operated lever-action, repeating rifle fed from a tube magazine with cartridges. It was adopted by the Union army, especially by the cavalry, during the American Civil War, but did not really replace the standard issue muzzle-loading rifled muskets in use at the time. The Spencer carbine was a shorter and lighter version of the Spencer repeating rifle. | |||
| M1819 Hall rifle M1819 Hall rifle The M1819 Hall rifle was a single-shot breech loading rifle designed by John Harris Hall, patented on May 21, 1811, and adopted by the U.S. Army in 1819. It used a pivoting chamber breech design and was made with either flint-lock or percussion cap ignition systems. The main years of production... |
A single-shot breechloader invented in 1811. A few were used by the Confederacy. | |||
Early in the war Confederates would use civilian arms including shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
s and hunting rifles like the Kentucky or Hawken
Hawken rifle
The Hawken rifle was a brand of black powder long rifle used on the prairies and in the Rocky Mountains of the United States during the early frontier days. It has become synonymous with the "plains rifle", the buffalo gun, and the fur trapper's gun...
due to the shortage of military weapons. These remained in service as late as 1863.
Old smoothbore musket
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
s converted from flintlock to Caplock mechanism
Caplock mechanism
The caplock mechanism or "percussion" lock was the successor of the flintlock mechanism in firearm technology, and used a percussion cap struck by the hammer to set off the main charge, rather than using a piece of flint to strike a steel frizzen....
were also used, especially by the South, and had calibers as large as .74 which fired buck and ball
Buck and ball
Buck and ball was a common load for muzzle-loading muskets, and was very commonly used into the early days of the American Civil War. The load consisted of a .69 caliber round lead musket ball combined with three buckshot pellets.-Construction:...
ammunition: the Model 1816 Musket
Model 1816 Musket
thumbThe US Model 1816 Musket was a .69 caliber flintlock musket used in the United States during the early 19th century.-History:The War of 1812 had revealed many weaknesses in American muskets. The Model 1812 Musket was created in an attempt to improve both the design and manufacture of the...
, Model 1822 Musket
Model 1822 Musket
The Springfield Model 1822 Musket is a .69 caliber, flintlock musket produced by the Springfield Armory.The Model 1822 was an improvement to the Model 1816 Musket...
, Springfield Model 1835
Springfield Model 1835
The US Model 1835 Musket was a .69 caliber flintlock musket used in the United States during the early 19th Century.The Model 1835 was produced by the Springfield Armory, and was also produced by the Harper's Ferry Armory and other contractors. It was a smooth bore musket and fired a .69 caliber...
, Springfield Model 1840 Flintlock Musket
Springfield Model 1840 Flintlock Musket
The Model 1840 Flintlock Musket was produced at Springfield Armory. The .69 caliber Musket had a 42" barrel, an overall length of 58", and a weight of 9.8 lbs...
, Springfield Model 1842
Springfield Model 1842
The US Model 1842 Musket was a .69 caliber musket manufactured and used in the United States during the 19th Century. It is a continuation of the Model 1816 line of muskets but is generally referred to as its own model number rather than just a variant of the Model 1816.The Model 1842 was the last...
, remnants from the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
like the Brown Bess
Brown Bess
Brown Bess is a nickname of uncertain origin for the British Army's Land Pattern Musket and its derivatives. This musket was used in the era of the expansion of the British Empire and acquired symbolic importance at least as significant as its physical importance. It was in use for over a hundred...
and Model 1795 Musket
Model 1795 Musket
thumbThe Model 1795 Musket was a .69 caliber flintlock musket produced in the late 18th and early 19th century at both the Springfield and Harper's Ferry US Armories.The Model 1795 was the first musket to be produced in the United States...
, and surplus British Brunswick rifle
Brunswick rifle
The Brunswick rifle was a large caliber muzzle-loading percussion rifle manufactured for the British Army at the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield in the early 19th century.-History:...
s and Minié rifle
Minié rifle
The Minié rifle was an important rifle in the 19th century, developed in 1849 following the invention of the Minié ball in 1847 by the French Army captains Claude-Étienne Minié of the Chasseurs d'Orléans and Henri-Gustave Delvigne. The rifle was designed to allow rapid muzzle loading of rifles, an...
s.
Grenades
Hand grenade
A hand grenade is any small bomb that can be thrown by hand. Hand grenades are classified into three categories, explosive grenades, chemical and gas grenades. Explosive grenades are the most commonly used in modern warfare, and are designed to detonate after impact or after a set amount of time...
s equipped with a plunger
Plunger
A plunger is a common device that is used to release stoppages in plumbing. The tool consists of a rubber cup with an attached stick "shaft", usually made of wood or bronze. Before use, any objects such as hair in the plug grate should be removed and, if possible the overflow hole should be...
that would detonate upon impact. The North relied on experimental Ketchum Grenade
Ketchum Grenade
The Ketchum Hand Grenade was a grenade used in the American Civil War. It was patented on August 20, 1861 by William F. Ketchum, and was partially adopted in the Union Army...
s, with a tail to ensure the nose would strike the target and start the fuse. The Confederacy used spherical hand grenades that weighed about six pounds, sometimes with a paper fuse. They also used Rains and Adams grenades, which were similar to the Ketchum in appearance and mechanism.
Rapid-fire weapons
Gatling gun
The Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. It is well known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat...
was a multi-barreled, .58 caliber rapid-fire repeating gun that was capable of firing 600 rounds per minute that was created by Dr. Richard Jordan Gatling
Richard Jordan Gatling
Dr. Richard Jordan Gatling was an American inventor best known for his invention of the Gatling gun, the first successful machine gun.-Life:...
. As the crank was turned, a barrel revolved into place before the breech, a cartridge was inserted and fitted, and the empty shell was extracted in a continuous cycle. As there were multiple barrels, a Gatling gun could be fired for long periods of time without overheating. It was not as popular as common rifles, and saw very little action in the Civil War.
Similar weapons included J.D. Mill's Coffee Mill Gun. Like the Gatling Gun, the cartridges of Mill's invention were fed by a hand crank, and this is why some people believe that President Lincoln called it "the coffee grinder gun". Other infantry support weapons included the .58 caliber Agar gun
Agar gun
The Agar gun was an early rapid fire machine gun developed during the U.S. Civil War. The spelling Ager is sometimes used. The weapon was nicknamed the Coffee Mill Gun and was also called the Union Repeating Gun.-History:...
with a hopper on top and steel guard, and the Billinghurst Requa Battery
Billinghurst Requa Battery
The Billinghurst Requa Battery gun was an early rapid-fire gun used during the American Civil War. It was invented by a Dr. Josephus Requa , a dentist by profession, who had at the age of 16 spent three years as an apprentice to William Billinghurst...
which had eight banks of cartridge chambers that were rotated into alignment behind the row of 25 barrels.
Chief of Ordnance, General James Wolfe Ripley
James Wolfe Ripley
James Wolfe Ripley was an American soldier, serving as a brigadier general in the Union Army during the Civil War. He was instrumental in the early days of the war in modernizing the artillery's ordnance. However, Ripley also delayed the introduction of repeating rifles into U.S...
was against issuing repeating rifles and machine guns to the Union army as he believed it would waste ammunition. Nevertheless, several generals, including General Benjamin Butler
Benjamin Franklin Butler (politician)
Benjamin Franklin Butler was an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives and later served as the 33rd Governor of Massachusetts....
and General Winfield Scott Hancock, purchased Gatling Guns.
The Confederate used the hand-cranked single barrel Williams Gun
Williams Gun
The Williams Gun was a Confederate gun that was classified as a 1-lb cannon. It was designed by Capt. D.R. Williams, of Covington, Kentucky, who later served as an artillery captain with a battery of his design. It was a breech-loading, rapid-fire cannon that was operated by a hand-crank. The...
and the Vandenburgh volley gun, a volley gun
Volley gun
A volley gun is a gun with several barrels for firing a number of shots, either simultaneously or in sequence. They differ from modern machine guns in that they lack automatic loading and automatic fire and are limited by the number of barrels bundled together.In practice the large ones were not...
similar to the French Mitrailleuse
Mitrailleuse
Mitrailleuse is the French word used to describe all rapid-firing weapons of rifle caliber. Therefore the word mitrailleuse, when used in the French language, applies to all machine guns including modern full automatic weapons. However in the English language the word mitrailleuse applies to...
.
Artillery
External links
- Weapons of the Civil War at Smithsonian
- Small Arms of the Civil War
- Artillery, small arms and edged weapons
- Field Artillery of the Civil War
- Civil War Small Arms. National Parks Service. Accessed 14 July 2008.
- Weapon: Burnside Carbine. Antietam on the web. Accessed 15 July 2008.
- Henry rifle
- Photographic and Textual Documentation M1841 M1860 Naval Cutlass used by the Union during the Civil War