Mississippi Rifle Loading

[Spunk Puppy]

Hello all! I have a question and figured someone here might know the answer.

I have been thinking about purchasing a Pedersoli made M1841 Mississippi rifle in .54 caliber as I love the looks and history of the gun, and having a .54 round ball rifle is just more practical and economical for me vs. a .58 rifle shooting Minie balls.

https://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?products_id=889&osCsid=bilkegg5ja6u2qt8rjqomj2e61

I know the Mississippi rifle was originally in .54 caliber, with many re-bored to .58 caliber later on to take the Minies. Once re-bored, they would have been loaded with paper cartridges I'm sure, just like every other rifled musket on the battlefield.

But how were they loaded in the original .54 caliber? I know they used a round ball and I've read some reports that it was linen wrapped or something like that, but their seems to be very little info on the subject on the internet.

So just how were the original .54 cal Mississippi rifles loaded in battle? With loose balls and a powder horn, or with it's own cartridge? What accessories and ammunition pouches would the soldier have for loading? Also, were the .54 caliber versions used in the Civil War, or was it only the .58 bored rifles?

Thanks so much for helping everyone!!

Earl Burlin

 

[Frederick14Va]

Some of the 41Miss Rifles of 54 Cal were re-bored to 58 cal generally for ease of ammunition issues.. Many others of the 54 caliber ones also saw service as they were. War time era most of the 41Miss ammunition was by then also using the Minie Ball, except in 54 caliber.. or 58 caliber if re-bored.. Both in similar standard paper wrapped cartridges. But of course you could still fire round ball projectiles out of either.

Heres a few wartime era ammunition packs for reference..

 

[Old Hickory]

Let's see if I can blast through the fog of my mind here and answer that to the best of my ability. I believe the 1841 Harpers Ferry was issued with a flask and rifleman's bag. DGW should list both, along with cap pouch and belt. The rifleman's bag will look more like a leather haversack than an ACW type cartridge box. If I remember correctly, the flask will throw 90gr. of powder. I've had original Mississippi rifles, but altered in one form or another to .58 with shallow groove rifling. The only experience I have with an American military rifle that took round ball ammo was an 1817 Common Rifle made by N. Starr, (also .54). As I recall, the best shooting was done using thin greased leather as patch material due to the deep grooves of the rifle along with a .526 ball. The leather was obtained from a fabric store and was a very irregular shape sold by the piece and very thin, being only slightly thicker than pillow ticking. That was an original 1817 with very deep grooves, the 1841's had the same type grooves, however I've no idea what the rifling of a reproduction barrel is like, probably shallower and you'll probably do well with pillow ticking of the proper thickness.

 

[johan_steele]

The original M1841 rifleman's equipment was a "peace" powder flask, rifleman's bag (later M1839 rifleman's box) and a rifleman's knife. Originally all were supplied by Ames. Today an original Ame's rifleman's knife is worth a small fortune as so few were actually manufactured.

 

[hawknknife]

I have a nice original peace flask government inspected and dated 1848 for $375.00 shipped to you. Springs work fine..Thanks..Carl

 

[Legion Para]

http://civilwartalk.com/threads/mexican-american-or-civil-war-picture.117229/

http://www.cowanauctions.com/auctions/item.aspx?ItemId=71390

Half Plate Daguerreotype of Regiment of Mounted Rifleman Enlisted Man

2009, Winter American History, Dec 9

Wearing the M1839 pattern hat and a later style frock coat; he wears trousers with a single large stripe at the seam. At his waist is the rare M1849 Rifleman's knife made by Ames under contract expressly for the Regiment of Mounted Rifles in 1849 along with a civilian pepperbox revolver. He holds a M1841 Mississippi rifle complete with sling. In a half case. Written in period ink behind the plate is the following: Charles E. Alexander. King Georg County Virginia.

 

[Spunk Puppy]

Thanks so much guys!! Has anyone tried making period paper cartridges for a .54 Mississippi rifle? Those cartridges in Frederick's post look like either 1855 or 1861 pattern cartridges to me.

 

[Grayrock Volunteer]

Thanks so much guys!! Has anyone tried making period paper cartridges for a .54 Mississippi rifle? Those cartridges in Frederick's post look like either 1855 or 1861 pattern cartridges to me.

.54 caliber paper cartridges look just like the familiar .58 caliber ones. I would wager that they are probably a tad shorter, and obviously smaller in diameter. There are quite a few instructionals floating around that show how to properly construct arsenal packs.

On a similar note, I would imagine that all M1841s (and any other .54 cal long arm) was issued with ball ammunition prior to 1855; the year that the US adopted the Burton Ball.

 

[johan_steele]

For some reason pictures didn't all take in my original post... so after the third attempt I'll try again.
M1839 Rifleman's box & the Peace Flask Rifleman's bag.

 

[johan_steele]

The M1841 we are all talking about, this one is a Whitney.

 

[Package4]

It is generally accepted, in the collecting community, that a "Missy" in .54 has a very good chance of being a Southern gun. There were many Mississppis in southern arsenals at the beginning of the war and the South lacked the ability to bore and rifle them to accept the standard .58 round as the North did. The inability to do this in a timely manner created a logistical nightmare for the Southern Ordinance and Quartermaster Departments.

During the Gettysburg campaign, the 2nd MD battalion were issued 10,000 rounds of .54 caliber ammunition, it has been theorized that there were two flanking or "riflemen" companies that utilized the Mississippi rifle. The majority of Marylanders had Enfield or Springfield rifled muskets by July 1863, but they also came into Mississippi rifles of Remington/Herkimer vintage during the first stages of the conflict. The wife of then Colonel Bradley T Johnson, went to North Carolina and obtained both weapons and clothing for the newly orphaned Marylanders, as part of the treasure trove, were a considerable number of Herkimer Mississippis in .54. The issuance of .54 ammunition before Gettysburg seems to support at least two companies still armed with that weapon.

I have included a picture of the M1841 box with small 1839 pattern box plate, an original rifleman's pouch sling and flask, as issued with the M1841 and a later 1855 rifleman's belt that would take it's place. Unfortunately I am not able to find my rifleman's knife, too lazy to go searching through the accouterment safe.

My early war impression (Manassas) consists of the earlier rifleman's pouch and then the '55 belt as we progress in years.