Henry Rifle

[Southern Son]

It is estimated that of the Henry repeating rifles used in the Civil War the Confederacy used about 10% of them. Ammunition was a problem at times. Those Virginia cavalry regiments that took part in the "Great Beefsteak Raid", captured over 200 of the 1st DC Cavalry's Henry rifles, they also captured a supply of ammunition. During the capture of Clarksville, TN in 1862, Captian Lorenzo Fishers Company B of the 10th KY Patisan Rangers were armed with over 50 Henrys with ammunition to support them. No, I do not portray any of the CS units but portray Federal armed Henry troops. The facts remain that the CS did get their hands on a good many Henry repeating rifles and ammunition. In KY in 1861-1862 they were not particular who they sold Henry repeating rifles to, Union or Reb. So it is not out of place or unauthentic for a reb to have had a Henry repeating rifle, depending on the battle and timeframe that is being portrayed. http://44henryrifle.webs.com/
Victory thru rapid fire,
Andrew L. Bresnan
National Henry Rifle Company

When i'm visiting here in Germany an Civil War event, portraying an CS cavalry captain from the 10th KY Partisan Rangers or from the 7th VA Cavalry, i hear: The Rebs didn't had Henry Rifles. I have always with me the following books:
A Revolution in Arms
The History of the Henry Rifle
A History of the Laurel Brigade
When i let read these ever so omniscient guys some pages from the books, they say: Oh sorry, didn't knew that.

As you wrote 44. Henry, it's depending on the battle and timeframe that is being portrayed.

 

[johan_steele]

It's a pretty campaign and time specific weapon, even for US troops. But for CS it's even more so and IMO in the hands of a CS soldier deserves a place right alongside Jaguar Skin trousers and galtroops. Yes they were used, frequently? Absolutely not. Heck the CS had more Brown Bess & Brunswick's.

I'd be shocked if there were ever more than a few hundred Henry rifles spread through the CS Army at any one time. But that also applies to the Whitworth and brass scopes that gets far more attention than, IMO, deserved.

For the most part a CS re-enactor hauling a Henry around is going to be viewed as a far be it for me to question his impression by most. Yes there are campaign & time specific points that would be appropriate but they are pretty darn limited. He sure isn't going to be up to "NUG" or "PEC" standards. Much like me carrying an M1841 at a 65 event would be a no-no.

 

[johan_steele]

Well at least he was smart enough to use a horse to carry around those two hand held artillery pieces. Seriously, I would like Colt Dragoon. How frequent was the use of these pistols?

Problem was he had no horse, he just wanted to look cool and make a lot of noise. Took a hit w/ nobody shooting at him after he emptied the Henry and both Walker's... which he had to have at least triple charged as they sounded like rifles.

Guess it says something about the event that I know I've never been back and can't even honestly say I remember where it was...

As to the Dragoon... I don't know. They were used by both sides but the frequency or widespread issue I don't know. When it comes to pistols I agree w/ a professional soldier who once said: "A pistol is for getting a better weapon."

 

[44 Henry]

Problem was he had no horse, he just wanted to look cool and make a lot of noise. Took a hit w/ nobody shooting at him after he emptied the Henry and both Walker's... which he had to have at least triple charged as they sounded like rifles.

Guess it says something about the event that I know I've never been back and can't even honestly say I remember where it was...

As to the Dragoon... I don't know. They were used by both sides but the frequency or widespread issue I don't know. When it comes to pistols I agree w/ a professional soldier who once said: "A pistol is for getting a better weapon."

It just goes to show you that a bad impression is a bad impression no matter what you have that does not fit in. Research is the key, go to an event where your impression will fit in no matter if you take a Henry rifle at an event where a Henry is correct, which there is really a lot of them, or you have a muzzle-loader where they are correct. http://44henryrifle.webs.com/
Andrew L. Bresnan
National Henry Rifle Company

 

[coltshooter1]

OK you got me. I should know that quote, "A pistol is for getting a better weapon."but I can not figure out who said it. Curiosity is killing me.

 

[sf46]

If you look in the center of this photo, you'll see a "Confederate Ranger" armed with a Henry rifle during this past year's reenactment (2009) at Camp Moore, LA. The guy did draw some looks. During the battle, he didn't do a bunch of rapid firing. There are cases of some few Confederates using Henrys during the Civil War, so I think that if done very carefully and with very little flair, one or two might be able to be blended in to a reenactment. Probably the very best place for a guy in Confederate uniform to have one of these rifles would be at a school presentation. I've brought mine when I went with a couple of other guys to give a school Civil War history lesson. We basically included it to show the kids the progression of technology during the Civil War. For reenacting Confederate, I use an Enfield. I've not yet had a chance to "galvanize", but plan to use my Springfield if/when I do.

 

[Southern Son]

In KY in 1861-1862 they were not particular who they sold Henry repeating rifles to, Union or Reb. So it is not out of place or unauthentic for a reb to have had a Henry repeating rifle, depending on the battle and timeframe that is being portrayed.

There were several Henry Rifles in the serial range of 100-300 bearing Confederate markings or inscriptions, including rifle no. 165, crudely inscribed: 5th Tenn.Cav.,July 27, 1862 or rifle no. 287, inscribed Wm. S. Skelton. He was a Lt. , 1st Ark.Cav. , Co.E.
Here are two pics from Confederate soldiers with Henry Rifles.
Captain Lorenzo D. Fisher, Co.B, 10th KY Partisan Rangers
Expired Image Removed

An unindentified Confederate soldier with an early profile Henry Rifle.
Expired Image Removed

 

[Southern Son]

But for CS it's even more so and IMO in the hands of a CS soldier deserves a place right alongside Jaguar Skin trousers and galtroops. Yes they were used, frequently? Absolutely not.

You mean Captain Samuel J. Richardson, commander of Company F, 2nd Texas Cavalry (2nd Mounted Rifles).
Expired Image Removed

 

[44 Henry]

National Henry Rifle Company At Bentionville 2010

We ended up with 23 men including 8 from the 37 Alabama Infantry that joined us. They normally do CS with muzzle-loaders but when they do a US impression they use their Henry rifles. They are from Florida. We had men from NY, TN, IL, IN, WV, VA, OH joining our ranks. So if you are looking to be a member of a large Henry company you can join our merry band at our next big event. We only go where Henry rifles were present. http://44henryrifle.webs.com/
Victory thru rapid fire,
Andrew L. Bresnan
National Henry Rifle Company

 

[44 Henry]

Spencer Rifles

Well we had 23 Henry rifles for Bentonville but now we are looking forward to the 150th events. We now have 4 of us with .56-50 Taylor Spencer rifles thinking about using them in the upcoming events where appropriate. The 150ths look to be a good time for research and development of an impression as well as ammunition for the Spencers come "1863". Of course the battles where Henry rifles were used will still be our main focus.
Andrew L. Bresnan
National Henry Rifle Company
http://44henryrifle.webs.com/