Cleaning Springfield / Enfield muzzleloader rifles after a battle .

[Beel]

Who boiled the water ? Where did they get cleaning patches fo clean rifle barrels?

Did steel ramrods wear rifling when cleaning rifles.

 

[Jeff in Ohio]

I don't pretend to know the answer to your question, but I do believe cooking and "coffee boiling" was done by small groups or even individuals and I would guess heating water for cleaning would be an individual or small group affair

 

[captaindrew]

 

[Beel]

Thanks

 

[bayonet]

Yeah when I did reenacting it was boiling water in the field and when I got home the same. On the movie set of GETTYSBURG the musket was misfirings so I quickly went up to the coffee container and cleaned the barrel out with hot coffee. That worked.

 

[yulzari]

As far as hot water is concerned the period advice of the best British gunmakers to their clients was to use cold water and tow. How that may translate into American field practice of the same I cannot say but it does suggest hot water may not have been seen as necessary.

As a minor point, the use of er, personal water, after or during an engagement might be for reserving such water as the men might have for drinking. Thirst is a repeated quote in battle accounts and if you can avoid 'wasting' it for washing out the barrel you certainly will. Speak to someone who has seen action in present times on post engagement thirst. Even more marked if there is no water about to refill your water bottle. Personally I doubt if I would have any 'personal' water on hand after an engagement as it will have, um, run away at the beginning.

I say this latter partly in jest but it is not that uncommon amongst even the bravest to have 'personally wet himself at the Battle of Badon'. It just gets left out from the histories. As was the Company stopping at the nearest stream to wash out their trousers from the evidence of even worse embarrassments. But I rather digress.

Twenty years or so later the British soldier was issued the selvages from the cloth used in service. Five pieces (IIRC) annually, to be washed clean and reused and doubtless to be present and counted at kit inspections.

 

[bayonet]

As far as hot water is concerned the period advice of the best British gunmakers to their clients was to use cold water and tow. How that may translate into American field practice of the same I cannot say but it does suggest hot water may not have been seen as necessary.

As a minor point, the use of er, personal water, after or during an engagement might be for reserving such water as the men might have for drinking. Thirst is a repeated quote in battle accounts and if you can avoid 'wasting' it for washing out the barrel you certainly will. Speak to someone who has seen action in present times on post engagement thirst. Even more marked if there is no water about to refill your water bottle. Personally I doubt if I would have any 'personal' water on hand after an engagement as it will have, um, run away at the beginning.

I say this latter partly in jest but it is not that uncommon amongst even the bravest to have 'personally wet himself at the Battle of Badon'. It just gets left out from the histories. As was the Company stopping at the nearest stream to wash out their trousers from the evidence of even worse embarrassments. But I rather digress.

Twenty years or so later the British soldier was issued the selvages from the cloth used in service. Five pieces (IIRC) annually, to be washed clean and reused and doubtless to be present and counted at kit inspections.

I'm sorry how'd you go from field cleaning a barrel to crapping or wetting your pants?

 

[Trooper "D"]

Who boiled the water ? Where did they get cleaning patches fo clean rifle barrels?

Did steel ramrods wear rifling when cleaning rifles.

One battle I remember that a unit had such fouled barrels that they couldnt reload and were taken off the line to clean their weapons. On water available so cleaning fluid #1 was used and worked well. Probably stunk when capping off their nipples but they, whatever works.

 

[MarkTK36thIL]

One battle I remember that a unit had such fouled barrels that they couldnt reload and were taken off the line to clean their weapons. On water available so cleaning fluid #1 was used and worked well. Probably stunk when capping off their nipples but they, whatever works.

I've heard of an account of Longstreet's men doing this at Chickamauga. I'm sure they did in July of '63 as well, and probably a few other engagements.

 

[jepridgen]

Like the video shows, boiling hot is not required nor even recommended. Warm water worked just as well. If there was a little coffee residue, no worries because natural acidity would only help out.

Ramrods wouldn't do damage to rifling via cleaning. They were not as hardened as the inside of the barrel. Also, there would've been cloth on the worm between the tool and the inside of the barrel. Even minor scraping would've had negligible effect if at all.

 

[Trooper "D"]

Like the video shows, boiling hot is not required nor even recommended. Warm water worked just as well. If there was a little coffee residue, no worries because natural acidity would only help out.

Ramrods wouldn't do damage to rifling via cleaning. They were not as hardened as the inside of the barrel. Also, there would've been cloth on the worm between the tool and the inside of the barrel. Even minor scraping would've had negligible effect if at all.

The barrel tends to absorb and retain the heat from the hot water. Branding is the term I used when I first started reenacting and someone told me to use boiling water to clean. I've even read "boiling water" to use in cleaning your BP weapons. If you have a shoulder sling you can hold the weapon by that and get out ok if you are extra careful. Carbines with no sling will scald you and after the initial screaming the endorphins kick in and leave you a bit dazed and not feeling the full intensity of your burns. Then of course you grab the barrel with the other hand just about the time the endorphins begin to abate and a whole new Heavy Metal vocalist is born out of you that you didn't know you had. Deep Purple cover bands cruise and case your street searching for their new front man. Bandaged hands is very Metal. Make sure they are made of black studded leather. All you have to do for "Sweet Child In Time" is grip your boiling cleaning water musket barrel on stage with ever increasing grip 3 times per verse and chorus. Hot flesh sticking to searing steel barrel chorus hot. Very Metal. Black studded leather bandages applied by the vocalist special roadie and a cold beer splashed in your face awakens you from the loss of conscienceness. Yeeeaaaahhhh! METAL!!! **** NEAR MOLTEN METAL!!!
Or you could use warm water at the most for cleaning and leave the Metal god Rocker behind. You will have burned bright....and crashed early but hey man, what a ride!?

 

[bayonet]

Starting out with hot water will do the trick followed by whatever cleaning lubricant you use. In the Army after coming in from the field for 1-2 weeks or more. We went right in the shower with parts of the gun and scrubbed along with yourself. Then after down to the lubricant half barrel (or whatever it was called back than). Remember as a private on a M60 team 3 of us took a part of the gun into the shower!

 

[RetiredCanuck]

Water-whether hot or cold or kidney temperature will only do so much in its own. It will break down some of the powder buildup so the weapon can be reloaded. (Minie balls can be a tight fit)
However at some point you need to run a brush down, to get inside the rifling to scour lead and powder residue out.
Most importantly you need to use patches and oil of some kind right after to keep the rust away.

 

[Trooper "D"]

Water-whether hot or cold or kidney temperature will only do so much in its own. It will break down some of the powder buildup so the weapon can be reloaded. (Minie balls can be a tight fit)
However at some point you need to run a brush down, to get inside the rifling to scour lead and powder residue out.
Most importantly you need to use patches and oil of some kind right after to keep the rust away.

That's why the US supplied a little sheet metal disk that had tabs to fit into the rifling. 1 of the 10 issued in paper wrappers I think was the ratio. They used to be everywhere in front of Yankees old positions.