kevikens
2nd Lieutenant
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2013
- Location
- New Jersey
From reading many threads on this site about the firearms used in the Civil War I have become a bit confused about the correct term for the kind of firearm like the 1853 Enfield or the 1861 Springfield used in that war. From reading the writings of the American Revolutionary period I had gotten the impression that the term musket was the name for any firearm that was designed for military use. Sometimes the term firelock was used. A firearm made for civilian use was a fowling piece or fowler and a rifle was an arm that could be used either as a civilian hunting arm or specialty weapon for elite troops.
In the Civil War it appears that the term musket was being commonly used to describe only a military weapon that was smooth bored. What I have discovered, however, is that the designation of musket might or might not mean a military arm that might also be a rifled arm as well. What I find baffling is that sometimes the troops are said to be carrying rifle muskets or rifled muskets. The last term, rifled musket, I have found being used in two primary source documents, one a tactical manual written by John Gibbon early in the war and one in an 1865 Army-Navy magazine article. So, what is the proper designation for a full length muzzle loading military arm that has a rifled barrel?
In the Civil War it appears that the term musket was being commonly used to describe only a military weapon that was smooth bored. What I have discovered, however, is that the designation of musket might or might not mean a military arm that might also be a rifled arm as well. What I find baffling is that sometimes the troops are said to be carrying rifle muskets or rifled muskets. The last term, rifled musket, I have found being used in two primary source documents, one a tactical manual written by John Gibbon early in the war and one in an 1865 Army-Navy magazine article. So, what is the proper designation for a full length muzzle loading military arm that has a rifled barrel?