Civil War History - General DiscussionFor Discussions on Civil War Era Personalities, Politics, Issues, Campaigns, Battles, and more. Serious Civil War Discussions Only Please! All other posts will be deleted.
My interest in the Civil War is fairly new. I've been reading campaign histories, but as I read them all sorts of basic questions come to me -- so basic that the books don't cover them. I hope you don't mind my picking your brains:
1. CW-era muzzle-loading muskets required ramrods. Where/how did the soldiers carry them? I don't see any mention of soldiers being unable to fire because they lost their ramrods, so I'm guessing there was some sort of clip on the musket to hold the ramrod.
2. Civil war battles were fought in the rain, even driving rain or sleet, so I assume that the black powder could ignite although exposed to moisture, even a lot of moisture. On the other hand, I've seen reference to soldiers having to carry their cartidge boxes above their heads while fording rivers, presumably to keep their powder dry. So what's the deal? I imagine that the cartridge boxes weren't waterproof (wood? metal? leather?) and that in a driving rain powder would get pretty soaked while being loaded if it wasn't soaked already.
3. I gather that, as a practical matter, it was impracticable to load a muzzle-loading musket lying down, because you'd need to stand the musket more or less vertical to load it. At the very least, you'd have to kneel, although loading even from a kneeling position would not be easy, because the end of the barrel would be at or above eye level. Is this correct? Did soldiers generally have to stand to reload? With practice, could soldiers reload from a kneeling position with a fair amount of confidence? I assume this would be much preferred when holding a defensive position (the Confederates at Fredericksburg or the Federals on Cemetary Ridge) so as to present less of a target.
4. I understand that after loading the powder and ball, the paper was then inserted down the barrel as "wadding". What was the purpose of this? Would the musket not discharge properly without it?
Sorry if some of these questions seem so basic as to be silly. Thanks in advance for your help.
They are basic questions, but they are important to an understanding of the War. <u>An Introduction to Civil War Small Arms</u> by Coates and Thomas it is a good book to get a basic understanding of the small arms used. It's available at almost any CW National Park gift shop for under $10 I belieev and I would bet it could probaly be easily ordered through most online bookstores including www.gunshowbooks.com
It was a nine step process to load the average percussion rifle musket of the Civil War. These were the commands given or ticked off in the soldiers brain: 1.Load, 2.handle cartridge, 3.tear cartridge, 4.charge cartridge, 5.draw rammer, 6.ram cartridge, 7.return rammer, 8.cast about, 9.prime.
A well drilled soldier could send three aimed shots a minute downrange.
There was a groove w/ a retention spring underneath the barrrel in the stock of the weapon that contained the ram rod. There is no worry of it falling out; friction and the spring hold it firmly.
During the command of Prime a percussion cap is squeezed onto the nipple. THe percussion cap was a copper cap shaped to fit over the nipple. It's about the size of a #2 pencil eraser and shaped like a top hat, it had a drop of fulminate mercury in the top of the hat. When the hammer hit the cap it ignited sending spark down the nipple to the powder exploding it. Each round fired required a new cap. THese were fairly water proof and the way cartridges were carried there was little worry of moisture fouling them. I have done one route march that involved a devilish driving rain, the cartridge boxes kept the rounds completely dry.
There was a procedure for loading and firing from the prone as well as the kneeling position. The prone is uncomfortable, you lose sight of the enemy while doing it and in rough uneven ground it can be difficult. THe kneeling method is little different than the standard, it merely takes a bit longer due to less leverage when ramming home the cartridge. By 1863 both sides were quite adept at building breastworks, anything that could hide them and offer even limited protection was used. They were generally only about knee high but offered substantialy more protection than open air.
THe paper wrapping of the cartridge was often used as a wadding, the weapon would discharge w/out it but the wadding tightens the seal in the barrel insuring less propellant escapes past the bullet, this increases range and accuracy. However, at ranges of less than 150 yards...
There were numerous breech loading long arms and even a few metallic cartridge breech loaders, the end of the muzzle loader was literally only a couple years away. THe Civil War conclusivly proved the superiority of the breech loading concept as well as the metallic cartridge.
__________________ Shane Christen
American Legion Post 352
SUVCW Camp Abernethy# 48
Lifetime NRA member
3rd MN VI
For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. Eccl 1:18
Concerning rate of fire - that depends on the soldier's training, the condition of his gun, his ammunition and even if he's fighting from a fixed post. The latter is mentioned because it was not unknown for soldiers to prop their ramrod into the earthwork such that they wouldn't have to handle it. Cartridges would be placed on the ground in front of them. In combat, the soldier grabbed the cartridge and loaded it. He then raised the gun to the ramrod (that was propped horizontally into the earthworks) and rammed it.
Cartridge boxes weren't waterproofed and if immersed, would ruin the cartridges. That's one advantage of the metallic cartridge. A cavalry (Fed of course) once forded a river and got their boxes wet. They went into combat and never suffered a misfire. Modern technology is there for a reason. While we're on the topic of water & battles, with care you can load a gun in the rain and still have it fire. Broad brimmed hats help and you stoop somewhat to help protect the cartridge when you load it. Remember we're talking percussion and not flint fired firearms. A percussion cap is more reliable in wet conditions than a flintlock (even though the British developed "water proof" pans).
On loading while on the ground, either Hardee or Casey (and I'm not sure which) recommended leaning on one elbow. However, this exposes the soldier to the enemy and I've read an account (during a demonstration in a public park after the Draft Riots of NY in 1863) where the soldiers rolled over to the supine (back) position with the gun laying down along the centerline of their body. This minimized exposure and after loading, he rolled back to the prone position and fired.
Wadding? It helps keep the (minie or otherwise) ball and powder from rolling out if you're shooting downhill. If greased (and the British Enfield cartridges used a greased paper), it would also lubricate the bore and keep the fouling down (black powder fouls and leaves a deposit that can make reloading difficult).
Ok lets try to set some things straight here.
1. Ram rods were issued as part of the rifle or rifle musket. They were retained in a channel, milled into the gun stock under the barrel.
2. Black powder cannot ignite when wet, hence the admonision to keep one's powder dry. Cartridges of the day were essentially paper tubes with a lubricated bullet and measured charge of black powder inside. They were issued in paper wrapped packages of 10 with 12 percussion caps. When issued to the troops, up to 40 were stored in metal compartments, known as tins, inside of the leather cartridge box. Most versions of this box have 2 flaps to assist in keeping unwanted things (rain, sparks, mud etc.) from getting in with the cartridges. Few Federal Cavalry carbines used metallic cased ammunition. The Gallagher, Burnside, Maynard, Spencer and Henry being the most often seen in the field.
3. Yes it was difficult to load while laying down but it was done and rarely at that. No you didn't stand to do it. Laying prone or kneeling was done most frequently while skirmishing in advance of the main line of battle, hence in a closer proximity to the enemy. You were ordered prone to to kneel for a reason. Most often men fought while standing in the open, in long lines. Yes they often used whatever cover (stone walls ie Gettysburg, Fredricksburg, or earthworks at Vicksburg, Atlanta, Petersburg) was available but for the most part even at the conclusion of the war combat was performed by one side advancing in the open in long lines 2 ranks deep.
4. The cartridge paper for muzzle loading ammunition was not rammed down the barrel. The manuals specified that it was to be discarded. There simply is no need to stuff it down the bore. The elongated ball was sized to be a few thousandths of an inch smaller than the diameter of the barrel. This is so that it can be loaded from the muzzle. When rammed it was tapped (not pounded as often seen in Hollywood)to seat it on top of the powder charge. Being made from soft lead, this act slightly deformed the skirt (hollow base) of the bullet and began the process by which the bullet was made to engage the rifling. There was no way with the friction between the bullet and the rifling that it would slip out and often today weapons are found loaded with the bullet still sitting firmly on the powder.
Gary, I know of no reference to soldiers of the period loading thier muskets in the manner which you describe. It would bend the ramrod nearly every time. Yes soldiers would lay cartridges in front of thier positions on the firing steps and often times would take the ramrods free of the channel and leave it propped in a convenient place. It speeded the loading process since one did not have to worry about drawing it from the channel or taking the time to replace it there. Historical evidence indicates that this was not done very frequently though.
Neither Enfield nor Springfield used greased paper in cartridge manufacture. The bullets themselves were dipped in a beeswax/tallow mixture for lubrication. This permiated through the paper and gave the appearance of greased or waxed paper having been used in the manufacture of the cartridge.
What Gary has stated is in fact the manner they would properly load their muskets, the 9 step. Bending a ramrod would take great force, they're a little bit flexible but not prone to bend. Sometimes the ramrods would be left out and poked into the ground so the soldiers could fire without any hassle of returning the ramrod into the stock.
The 9 step firing proceedure:
Wait to hear "LOAD"
1: Handle Cartridge
2: Tear Cartridge
3: Charge Cartridge
4: Draw Rammer
5: Ram Cartridge
6: Return Rammer
7: Prime
8: Shoulder Arms
9: Ready, Aim, Fire then wait to hear "LOAD" or "CEASE FIRE"
Then do it all over again with 3 shots within a minute.
Wil,
Please re-read Gary's post. He mentions that the cartridge was loaded into the bore then the weapon was raised to the ramrod which was propped horizontally and then used to push the bullet and powder to the breech. Having fired thousands of live rounds and bent 2 ram rods I can state that they can and will bend even when loading according to the manual. When loading according to Gary, even if the ramrod did not bend, there is no way to know for certain if the bullet is seated on the powder.
Dave
Gary, could you please provide a reference where soldiers loaded in the manner in which you describe? I simply cannot see how wedging the rammer into the ground would work as efficiently as propping the rammer close at hand.
Dave
Excellent references sir, I appreciate your time and effort to share them with us. Gary, sure would like to see that reference too, as I am always looking for tidbits to give during my presentations.
Sincerely,
Unionblue
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
CivilWarTalk.com -
A free and friendly Civil War community. 
Linear Mode
