Repeaters

I am sure this has been mentioned before but here goes anyway. A friend of mine mentioned to me yesterday a couple of comments made to him about using his Henry rifle at a reenactment by a so called "learned individual". The comments were: 1. "I just see too many Henry rifles at events". and 2. "There were NO brass frame Henry rifles used in the Civil War".

Number 1. There really is not very many reproduction Henry rifles used in reenacting. The closest number of Henry rifles used in reenacting is less than 200 used nationwide. This number is based on communications that I have had with many individuals who own Henry rifles or those that also have friends using Henry rifles. Generally those "learned individuals" have not researched the Henry rifle or when or where they were used. One comment that is generally given is; "We reenact the "Common Soldier". Their definition of the "Common Soldier" usually represents what they choose to reenact without having room for any other impressions. Or they may say that they reenact what the majority of soldiers used. These people are not historians but "selective historians" and only want to give their side of the story.

Henry rifles were used in the Civil War from as early as 1862 throughout the entire war. They were not only used by the Union but also by the Confederacy. The 10 KY Partisan Rangers CS had a company of men (at least 50) armed with Henry rifles as early as August of 1862 when the capture of Clarksville, TN took place. Even at Corinth at least one Confederate was armed with a Henry rifle. By the time 1863 comes around the 66th Illinois Western Sharpshooters were purchasing their own Henry rifles. The 7th Illinois Infantry purchased their Henry rifles in early 1864. The list goes on of regiments and individuals arming themselves with Henry rifles. The government also got into the act of buying Henry rifles by purchasing 1731 Henry rifles and arming the 1st DC Cavalry.

If a reenactor armed with a Henry rifle shows up at an event where Henry rifles were present at during the war there should not be a problem. To those that think there are too many Henry rifles at reenactments I would be interested in how many is too many. At the 150 Bentonville last March there were 35 men armed with Henry rifles in our regiment along with some Spencers and muzzle loaders. Any battle that Sherman's army took part in from 1863 to the end of the war Henry rifles were used since several regiments were armed with them as well as Spencers. Now if a reenactor shows up at an event that was too early or Henry rifles were not used at then they are in the wrong. A Henry rifle at Bull Run would not be correct nor would one at Gettysburg.

As for number 2: This is totally false since most of the Henry rifles used in the Civil War were indeed brass frame Henry rifles. There were over 9,000 Henry rifles used in the Civil War and some say over 10,000. There were less than 400 iron frame rifles ever made the rest were brass frame. The comment made to my friend is typical of those that do not know anything about the Henry rifle and by those wanting to push their own agenda of only muzzle-loaders were used.

Hopefully this will help some out.
 
With 14000 made into 1866 9000 or 10000 seems a bit optimistic. That would leave almost no one in all the states not involved with war having none. The folks out west would sure had quite a few. In Missouri alone they were advertised a great deal for civilian use. In Kansas they were a common firearm with civilians. That is just to many I think.
 
Many of those same 9,000 to 10,000 did make there way out west as ex-soldiers went west after the war. Actually the number of closest estimate for the Civil War would be 9,000 to 9,400. There were a lot of advertisements but few Henry rifles for sale. It would be interesting to know when and how many Henry rifles those folks out west had. The Henry rifle was never a common firearm be it with the army or the civilian population. Although I would be very interested in the numbers you have found for Henry rifles out west and in what year. Using the following resources of Les Quick's book The Henry Repeating Rifle, Wiley Sword's book on the Henry rifle and the website of http://44henryrifle.webs.com/civilwarusage.htm the numbers of 9,000 plus are backed up for Civil War production 1861 through 1865 and usage. As to states not involved in the war, I might ask which ones those were. All states were involved in one way or another.
 
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I had an opportunity to hold one of the brass frame models. The flats were so highly buffed that they were nearly rounded off, and look at the butt stock profile in the above photo. I think it is more late Winchester than original Henry.
Just my 2 cents from handling it.
J.
 
I found an interesting article as to quanity of Spencers & Henrys used at Chickamauga. These come from a June 4, 1863 Army of the Cumberland inspection report. 2033 Spencers and 633 Henrys along with many others. http://www.civilwar.com/travel/battlefields-38107/148392-chickamauga-battlefield-georgia.html "Staff Ride Handbook for the Battle of Chickamauga" John

Thanks for posting the article, very interesting. After reading it I wish they would have separated the Henry rifles and French rifles rather than clump them together at 633.
Most of the Spencer rifles were in the hands of Wilder's Brigade as were a lot of Henry rifles.
http://44henryrifle.webs.com/wildersbrigadehenry.htm
 
I believe the Northern government was afraid the ammo would be wasted. Besides the repeaters then were only good for close range firing. The Gatling Gun was also invented during the Civil War, but again how much of the ammo would have actually hit their intended targets?
 
I agree with your statement, but the Yankee government wasn't convinced.

I remember seeing something a few years ago that said something like that the Army had done tests and found that a sharpshooter with a single shot rifle was more accurate and controlled with his shot and that one with a repeater was "wasting ammunition". They did not take into account that this was under controlled rifle range conditions. Under fire the accuracy of the sharpshooter was all but lost and the ability to fire more ammunition in combat conditions meant that there was a greater possibility of stopping the enemy.

I think the same was true with the Gatling gun as far as it's dismissal for use during the war.
 
Love the video. Just got me to thinking, when you run out of ammo with someone charging you and being exposed like the reenactors, how long would it take to fully reload? How many rounds did these hold?

The original Henry rifle held 16 rounds in a tube. If I remember right (I have not fired one) the soldiers would have tubes pre-loaded and could very quickly get another volley going.
 
The original Henry rifle held 16 rounds in a tube. If I remember right (I have not fired one) the soldiers would have tubes pre-loaded and could very quickly get another volley going.
The tube makes sense. I was watching the actor on the left start to reload his rifle, but the video cuts to the second scene before he completes the task. It looks like he does slide a mechanism up the barrel and he starts to reload, but it looks like individual bullets. How long were the tubes and how cumbersome were they to carry? Sorry for all the questions, but this intrigues me.
 
The tube makes sense. I was watching the actor on the left start to reload his rifle, but the video cuts to the second scene before he completes the task. It looks like he does slide a mechanism up the barrel and he starts to reload, but it looks like individual bullets. How long were the tubes and how cumbersome were they to carry? Sorry for all the questions, but this intrigues me.

Hoping someone with first hand experience can jump in. I just remember what I have seen/read. I remember seeing images of ammo boxes filled with tubes that already had the rounds in them. Sort of like it would be with a M-16/AK-47 or pistol magazine today except all the rounds are lined up one behind the other in a straight line.
 
The Henry rifle was a great innovation and the forerunner to the modern concept of rapid fire. The Henry rifle was accurate out to 200 yards and in some cases further. As the was progressed the range of most battles was less than 200 yards well within the range of the Henry rifle. The government was always behind the time when it came to weaponry during the Civil War. A man armed with a Henry rifle was worth 10 or more of men armed with a single shot muzzle loader rifle. They range of the muzzle loader was slightly longer but the men using the weapon is what makes a weapon effective. The most accurate weapon in the world will do no good if the person using it is not trained in its use.

There were no reloading tubes for the Henry rifle during the Civil War. There was a Blakeslee quick load box for the Spencer but none for the Henry rifle. it was loaded one at a time and took 15 to 20 seconds to reload. It is possible to take an aimed shot every 2 seconds. Mass formations marching out in the open within range would be mowed down. The Henry was a rapid fire weapon and the primary source documentation bear this out. One example was at the Battle of Allatoona Pass Frank Orcutt fired over 400 rounds of ammunition during the 2 hour battle. The 7th Illinois Infantry fired over 31,000 at the same battle in their Henry rifles. The Henry rifle was very easy to load from behind cover while the same is not true for the muzzle loader.

Also the Henry rifle user rarely emptied their Henry rifle. They would fire 5 or six shots and then reloaded almost never empting the magazine unless there was no choice.
 
Resaca Reenactment May 20-22
66th Illinois Infantry WSS
We have a company of 39 so far going to Resaca armed mostly with Henry rifles and Spencers. It should be s good time and are looking for more. We had 48 at the 150th Bentonville last year. Let me know if you might be interested. Todd Koster will be our captain and we will be part of Earl Zechman's brigade.

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