Discarded rifles after Gettysburg

[NH Civil War Gal]

I just found this on FB the other day. I don't know if it is true. It seems like it could be reasonable but I'd like to post it and see what others say.

 

[111thNYSV]

I guess with the excitement of battle, coupled with hundreds and thousands of guns going off, you might not realize your musket mis-fired and stuff another round in there. 23 seems a little much but I don't doubt it.

 

[jackt62]

I have come across those statistics before. Very possible that the holders of rifles with one round in the barrel might have been struck down before being able to fire.

 

[JOHN42768]

It was quite common to find loaded weapons after a battle. First would be the ones where the soldier was wounded or killed before he had time to fire. Next would be in the smoke, noise and confusion the soldier thought he had fired, but had not. He also could have failed to put a primer in place or it dropped off without being noticed. He also might have actually forgotten while he was dodging incoming fire that he had already loaded. Now add in the raw recruit who might very well have had limited training under a peaceful setting, but finds himself in the middle of all hell breaking loose.

 

[Rusk County Avengers]

Gun Collector magazine had a very well researched article on this a couple years ago. I'll have to re-read it, but from what I remember it had some myth busting to it.

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

Gun Collector magazine had a very well researched article on this a couple years ago. I'll have to re-read it, but from what I remember it had some myth busting to it.

Please find it and put it in here.

 

[bill shack]

It has happened to me, I was at cedar creek and we just charged down the hill to the creek, we were order to very quickly from a line and fire. which i did then to reload and again fire. I noticed then that i had double loaded. what had happened was the cap had fallen off running down the hill and when we volley fired 100 men i did not notice that my gun did not go off in the heat of battle.

 

[Cavalier]

It makes sense to me. I believe there are nine steps to loading a musket. With all the noise, commotion, and fear involved it all seems very logical that mistakes like that would be made.

John

 

[UCVRelics]

Here is a great thread we had on this. Post #6 has some interesting info.

Loaded muskets picked up after the battle of Gettysburg. | Small Arms & Ammunition

After the battle of Gettysburg 25.000+ muskets was picked up by the union. Most of them was found loaded and many with more than one round. This is a fact that is mentioned in some of my books, but they all just use another book as a source. Do anyone happen to know what the original source...

civilwartalk.com

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

What did he mean by Artillery Wheels? Did he mean the whole wheels not damaged off the limbers carrying the cannon? I've never seen those called out before.

 

[UCVRelics]

What did he mean by Artillery Wheels? Did he mean the whole wheels not damaged off the limbers carrying the cannon? I've never seen those called out before.

He is probably referring to the spar wheel that was on the caisson.

 

[Rusk County Avengers]

Please find it and put it in here.

Found it. July/August 2018 issue of Man at Arms Gun and Sword Collector magazine, an article by one Charles Pate.

He basically went looking for the source of the story of the muskets, and apparently found it in a 1864 letter to the US Army Chief of Ordnance from one Captain Benton at the Washington Arsenal.

The muskets found being:
27,574 total
At least 24,000 loaded, one half of these contained two loads each, one forth contained from three to ten loads each, and the rest had just one load.

It also makes mention that 22 loads were found in one Springfield. One amusing quote being:

"About six thousand of the arms were found loaded with Johnson's & Dow's cartridges, many of these cartridges were found halfway down in the barrels of the guns, and in many cases the ball end of the cartridge had been put into the gun first. These cartridges were found mostly in the Enfield Rifle Musket."

Going by the article's source, 24,000 loaded muskets were definitely found, but a lot had just one cartridge and a lot of them that cartridge in backwards! I'd recommend contacting them and seeing about getting a back issue for the complete story:

Gun and Sword Collector | Classic Weapons Magazine

We are the #1 magazine source for classic weapons enthusiasts. Request your FREE catalog today, and check out the many books we have online.

gunandswordcollector.com

The myth is real, just not every gun with a dozen bullets in it.

 

[cwbuff]

This is great information. During the anniversary I ran into a former guide who claimed one musket had 72 rounds in it, which is absurd given a 40" barrel length for the US M1861 rifle-musket. I guess over the years the number has grown from 22 to 72.

 

[rebracer]

I have come across those statistics before. Very possible that the holders of rifles with one round in the barrel might have been struck down before being able to fire.

That is a very excellent point.

I also wonder what the common man did if he realized he had just loaded two rounds, did he throw the weapon down?

 

[Rusk County Avengers]

I also wonder what the common man did if he realized he had just loaded two rounds, did he throw the weapon down?

Given that half the loaded guns were loaded with only two rounds I'd say that's what happened.

 

[Rusk County Avengers]

This is great information. During the anniversary I ran into a former guide who claimed one musket had 72 rounds in it, which is absurd given a 40" barrel length for the US M1861 rifle-musket. I guess over the years the number has grown from 22 to 72.

Notice the OP says "37,574" muskets collected, and the article I cited says "27,574".

Outstanding numbers always increase with each re-telling to make it more remarkable, when you'd think the original is good enough.

 

[Pollaco]

Wasn't there a 4 year old boy shot and killed by his brother who picked up one of these guns?

 

[Don Dixon]

I read the original report at the National Archives before I wrote the following:

Another example of the state of training of Civil War soldiers may be found in statistics from the Battle of Gettysburg on 1-3 July 1863. Captain James G. Benton, commander of the Washington Arsenal, had asked J. G. Dudley, his master armorer, to report on arms which had been recovered from battlefields. Dudley elected to report on the 27,574 shoulder arms recovered from the Gettysburg battlefield and retrograded to the Washington Arsenal for repair or salvage. When the arms were examined, at least 24,000 were found to be loaded, a fact that in itself is not surprising in that some soldiers were killed or wounded after loading their weapons but before firing them. About half of the loaded weapons contained two loads, and one fourth contained three to four loads. Dudley wrote "In many of these guns, from Two to Six balls have been found with only one charge of powder. In some the ball has been found at the bottom of the bore, with the charge of powder on top of the ball," which would effectively spike the gun. "In some as many as six paper cartridges (regulation Cal .58) have been found, the cartridge having been put into the gun whole, without being torn or broken. Twenty three loads was [sic.] found in one Springfield Rifle Musket, each load[ed] in regular order. Twenty-two balls & Sixty-two buckshot with a corresponding quantity of powder all mixed up together, was [sic.] found in one percussion smooth bore musket." A number of Enfield rifle muskets were found loaded with "Johnson's and Davis' cartridges" which "were found about half way down in the barrels of the guns, and in many cases the ball end of the cartridge had been put into the gun first." Since Pickett's grand assault was crushed on July 3rd​ and the Federal Army retained possession of the battlefield, it is likely that a significant portion of the recovered arms had been carried by Confederate soldiers. In January 1865 Major Theodore T. S. Laidley wrote an article in which he cited Dudley's figures on the Gettysburg weapons without attribution. Laidley believed that this experience demonstrated an inherent defect in muzzleloading arms and consequently advocated the adoption of breechloading shoulder arms. [emphasis in original]

Regards,
Don Dixon

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

Because I don't know anything about arms, if a muzzle loader had two rounds, loaded correctly and was fired, would it fire or explode?

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

AND a big THANK YOU @Rusk County Avengers for coming up with the original article!