When the Civil War broke out in 1861, neither the North, nor the South was prepared to engage in a major war. Decades of relative peace had left limited stockpiles of small arms, the rifles and handguns carried by individual soldiers. As tens of thousands of men volunteered to fight alongside their friends and neighbors, those arms stockpiles were quickly exhausted.
Purchasing agents for the Union and Confederacy began buying up every European arm they could find, and shipping them back to American ports. As a result, many volunteers during the first two years of the Civil War found themselves using a wide variety of long-arms, including antiquated weapons dating back to the War of 1812.
Meanwhile, American gun manufacturers, Sharps, Colt, Remington, and the United States armory at Springfield, all quickly expanded rifle production. The 1855 introduction of the rifled barrel, which had spiraling grooves running down the barrel that caused the bullet to spin and travel long distances more accurately, made older smoothbore muskets obsolete.
Loading a Musket Like a Civil War Era Soldier
A muzzle-loading rifle required 9 specific movements to prepare it to fire:
* A note on the historic practice of "shoulder arms": Today's Reenactors & Live Fire Ammunition Shooters tend to frown on wandering around with loaded guns for safety's sake! In practice, instead of going to "Shoulder-Arms", a soldier, or someone portraying a person doing this movement will likely go directly to the "Ready" position and prepare for "Aim & Fire".
1861 SPRINGFIELD RIFLE, .58 CAL.
The most frequently used rifle of the Civil War was the American-made Springfield rifle musket, a single-shot, muzzle-loading gun detonated with a percussion cap. Not only did it have the rifled barrel, which dramatically increased accuracy over a smoothbore musket, but it also was the first rifle to fire the famous .58 cal. Minié ball--an inch-long, bullet-shaped projectile, rather than a round ball as used in older muskets. The 39-inch-long rifled barrel made it possible to hit a target with a Minié ball as far away as 500 yards. By the end of the war, approximately 1.5 million Springfield rifle muskets had been produced by the Springfield Armory and 20 subcontractors. Since the South lacked sufficient manufacturing capability, most of the Springfield's in Southern hands were captured on the battlefields during the early part of the war.
The precursor to the 1863 Springfield, the 1861 had the original 1855 style hammer that was used with the ‘55’s Maynard priming system.
1861 ENFIELD RIFLE, .577 CAL.
The second most widely used weapon of the Civil War was the British Enfield three-band, single-shot, muzzle-loading musket (above). It was also the standard weapon for the British army between 1853-1867. Originally produced at the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield, England, approximately 900,000 of these muskets were imported during 1861-1865. Many officers, however, preferred the Springfield muskets over the Enfield muskets--largely due to the interchangeability of parts that the machine-made Springfield's offered.
1863 C.S. RICHMOND RIFLE, .58 CAL.
Utilizing 1855 Rifle Musket parts taken from the Harpers Ferry Arsenal, the Confederacy manufactured this long arm at the Richmond Armory in Richmond, VA. Similar in design to the 1861 Springfield, the Richmond Musket utilized a different rear sight, brass buttplate and a brass forend cap.
1841 MISSISSIPPI RIFLE, .54 & .58 CAL.
This historic percussion lock weapon gained its name as a result of its performance in the hands of Jefferson Davis’ Mississippi Regiment during the Mexican War. The Mississippi is also known as the “Yager” (a misspelling of the German “Jaeger”). The rifle was obsolete by 1855. However, it had previously proven so effective that it was rebuilt to take the .54, then the .58 Cal. Minié.
SMITH CARBINE, .50 CAL.
The Smith was one of the most successful breech loading carbines of the Civil War. Its hinged breech action permitted quick and easy reloading while on horseback.
1859 SHARPS CAVALRY CARBINE, .54 CAL.
Popular with both sides during the War between the States, the Sharps was one of the first, and one of the best black powder breech loaders. Approximately 115,000 of these carbines and variants were made during the Civil War, and it was a favorite of cavalrymen of both the North and the South. It’s design carried over into the cartridge era with great success.
“BERDAN” 1859 SHARPS RIFLE, .54 CAL.
Col. Hiram Berdan formed his 1st and 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters Regiments early in the Civil War. The exploits of the green uniformed “Berdan’s Sharpshooters” soon gained them the reputation as the most formidable fighting unit in the Union Army. Legendary Union sniper “ California Joe” Head was the first sharpshooter to be issued the New Model 1859 Sharps rifle for test and evaluation. It proved so effective, Col. Berdan ordered 2000 rifles with the optional set triggers. In the hands of these marksmen, the “Berdan” 1859 Sharps rifle became one of the deadliest weapons of the war.
1861 MUSKETOON, .577 CAL.
The 1861 Enfield carbine that was a popular muzzleloader used by Southern Cavalry and Artillery units.
1862 WHITWORTH, .45 CAL.
Sir Joseph Whitworth of England created a muzzleloading rifle with a twisted hexagonal bore and then shaped bullets to match this bore. He patented his hexagonal bore in 1854.
A Confederate weapon in the Civil War, when outfitted with a telescopic site this firearm had an effective range of 1,500 yards. The twisted hexagonal bore imparted a steadiness of flight to its .45 caliber bullet, and made this rifle the favorite of Confederate sharpshooters. The Confederacy imported a small number of the rifles from the Whitworth Rifle Company of Manchester, England beginning in 1862.
1863 SPENCER REPEATING CARBINE, .52 CAL.
1863 SPENCER REPEATING RIFLE, .52 CAL.
Yankee officers cited the Spencer as one of the single greatest factors in winning the War. No confederate arm was a match for the .52 caliber Spencer, which fired seven shots from its magazine in less than thirty seconds. Because the repeaters weighed a hefty 10 pounds when loaded and took exotic primed rimfire cartridges, the conservative chief of ordnance James Ripley blocked their purchase until 1863.
1861 CASE HARDENED IRON FRAME HENRY RIFLE, .44 CAL. RIMFIRE
1861 BLUED IRON FRAME HENRY RIFLE, .44 CAL. RIMFIRE
1863 MILITARY HENRY RIFLE, .44 CAL. RIMFIRE
The forerunner of all Winchester lever actions, the Henry was referred to by Confederates as that "...D*mn Yankee rifle that can be loaded on Sunday and fired all week". About 14,000 Henry’s were made between 1860 and 1866 by the New Haven Arms Company. Quite a few company-size Union organizations, especially those from Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri, carried Henry rifles, purchased at their own expense.
Although this rifle only saw limited action during the Civil War, 1,731 were delivered to the Army Ordnance Department at a cost of more than $36,000. They were chambered in .44 Henry, which was a rimfire cartridge with a copper case. The magazine held an astounding 15 rounds. A lever action simultaneously cocked the rifle, ejected the spent case, and put a fresh cartridge in the chamber.
Only two organizations, the 1st Maine and 1st District of Columbia cavalry regiments, were known to have been issued Henry rifles by the Army.
1863 REMINGTON CONTRACT RIFLE, .58 CAL. (a.k.a. "The Zouave")
On April 18th, 1863, Remington began shipping the Government an approved order of 10,001 rifles of what the Army called it's "Harpers Ferry Pattern" Rifle in Official Documents. Produced between 1862 and 1865, the Remington was never actually issued to any documented units during the American Civil War. That may be because the Army had already standardized on the Springfield Rifle.
However, there have been at least three claims that Remington Contract Rifle remains have been identified after being recovered from excavation sites in the Petersburg area. If these claims come from real wartime rifles, it's been speculated that one or more late war units was issued Remington Rifles on a temporary basis, later to be replaced with Springfield Rifles as they became available. However, there couldn't have been many instances, if this was the case. Any evidence of this may also be further hidden by confusion of this rifle pattern with the Mississippi Rifle, and/or the Harper's Ferry Rifle, and any researcher looking for evidence needs to watch out for any or all of these identifying names....
Most of these rifles may have been simply crated up and put into storage at Watervliet Arsenal in New York, perhaps as a reserve for the defense of Washington, DC, if the Rebel army had ever attempted to attack the city directly. Many of these "nearly mint" guns made it into the hands of reenactors in the 1950's and 1960's.
In addition, around 1961, the very first reproduction Civil War musket was introduced, it was a copy of the Remington Contract Rifle, but if it had been sold as a "Remington", it would have legal complications. So, to solve this marketing problem, the reproduction guns were sold as "Zouave Rifles", associating them with the colorful uniforms and the "Elite" reputation of the period Zouave Units. The nickname, "Zouave", became so well known it was applied to originals too, but it should really only apply to the reproduction version of the gun.
MORE LONG ARMS OF THE CIVIL WAR
While this article has explored quite a few different long arms from the era, it is by no means an exhaustive listing of arms used or issued during that time period. For a listing with additional information, and future additions, please see the:
Purchasing agents for the Union and Confederacy began buying up every European arm they could find, and shipping them back to American ports. As a result, many volunteers during the first two years of the Civil War found themselves using a wide variety of long-arms, including antiquated weapons dating back to the War of 1812.
Meanwhile, American gun manufacturers, Sharps, Colt, Remington, and the United States armory at Springfield, all quickly expanded rifle production. The 1855 introduction of the rifled barrel, which had spiraling grooves running down the barrel that caused the bullet to spin and travel long distances more accurately, made older smoothbore muskets obsolete.
Loading a Musket Like a Civil War Era Soldier
(1) lower musket to ground
(2) handle cartridge
(3) tear cartridge
(4) charge cartridge
(5) draw rammer
(6) ram cartridge twice
(7) return rammer
(8) prime [place priming cap]
(9) shoulder-arms [musket is loaded and ready to fire]*
[The next steps would be Ready / Aim / Fire / then Repeat the sequence as commanded.]
Trained soldiers were expected to complete these steps in 20 seconds and be able to fire three aimed bullets per minute!* A note on the historic practice of "shoulder arms": Today's Reenactors & Live Fire Ammunition Shooters tend to frown on wandering around with loaded guns for safety's sake! In practice, instead of going to "Shoulder-Arms", a soldier, or someone portraying a person doing this movement will likely go directly to the "Ready" position and prepare for "Aim & Fire".
1861 SPRINGFIELD RIFLE, .58 CAL.
The most frequently used rifle of the Civil War was the American-made Springfield rifle musket, a single-shot, muzzle-loading gun detonated with a percussion cap. Not only did it have the rifled barrel, which dramatically increased accuracy over a smoothbore musket, but it also was the first rifle to fire the famous .58 cal. Minié ball--an inch-long, bullet-shaped projectile, rather than a round ball as used in older muskets. The 39-inch-long rifled barrel made it possible to hit a target with a Minié ball as far away as 500 yards. By the end of the war, approximately 1.5 million Springfield rifle muskets had been produced by the Springfield Armory and 20 subcontractors. Since the South lacked sufficient manufacturing capability, most of the Springfield's in Southern hands were captured on the battlefields during the early part of the war.
The precursor to the 1863 Springfield, the 1861 had the original 1855 style hammer that was used with the ‘55’s Maynard priming system.
1861 ENFIELD RIFLE, .577 CAL.
The second most widely used weapon of the Civil War was the British Enfield three-band, single-shot, muzzle-loading musket (above). It was also the standard weapon for the British army between 1853-1867. Originally produced at the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield, England, approximately 900,000 of these muskets were imported during 1861-1865. Many officers, however, preferred the Springfield muskets over the Enfield muskets--largely due to the interchangeability of parts that the machine-made Springfield's offered.
1863 C.S. RICHMOND RIFLE, .58 CAL.
Utilizing 1855 Rifle Musket parts taken from the Harpers Ferry Arsenal, the Confederacy manufactured this long arm at the Richmond Armory in Richmond, VA. Similar in design to the 1861 Springfield, the Richmond Musket utilized a different rear sight, brass buttplate and a brass forend cap.
1841 MISSISSIPPI RIFLE, .54 & .58 CAL.
This historic percussion lock weapon gained its name as a result of its performance in the hands of Jefferson Davis’ Mississippi Regiment during the Mexican War. The Mississippi is also known as the “Yager” (a misspelling of the German “Jaeger”). The rifle was obsolete by 1855. However, it had previously proven so effective that it was rebuilt to take the .54, then the .58 Cal. Minié.
SMITH CARBINE, .50 CAL.
The Smith was one of the most successful breech loading carbines of the Civil War. Its hinged breech action permitted quick and easy reloading while on horseback.
1859 SHARPS CAVALRY CARBINE, .54 CAL.
Popular with both sides during the War between the States, the Sharps was one of the first, and one of the best black powder breech loaders. Approximately 115,000 of these carbines and variants were made during the Civil War, and it was a favorite of cavalrymen of both the North and the South. It’s design carried over into the cartridge era with great success.
“BERDAN” 1859 SHARPS RIFLE, .54 CAL.
Col. Hiram Berdan formed his 1st and 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters Regiments early in the Civil War. The exploits of the green uniformed “Berdan’s Sharpshooters” soon gained them the reputation as the most formidable fighting unit in the Union Army. Legendary Union sniper “ California Joe” Head was the first sharpshooter to be issued the New Model 1859 Sharps rifle for test and evaluation. It proved so effective, Col. Berdan ordered 2000 rifles with the optional set triggers. In the hands of these marksmen, the “Berdan” 1859 Sharps rifle became one of the deadliest weapons of the war.
1861 MUSKETOON, .577 CAL.
The 1861 Enfield carbine that was a popular muzzleloader used by Southern Cavalry and Artillery units.
1862 WHITWORTH, .45 CAL.
Sir Joseph Whitworth of England created a muzzleloading rifle with a twisted hexagonal bore and then shaped bullets to match this bore. He patented his hexagonal bore in 1854.
A Confederate weapon in the Civil War, when outfitted with a telescopic site this firearm had an effective range of 1,500 yards. The twisted hexagonal bore imparted a steadiness of flight to its .45 caliber bullet, and made this rifle the favorite of Confederate sharpshooters. The Confederacy imported a small number of the rifles from the Whitworth Rifle Company of Manchester, England beginning in 1862.
1863 SPENCER REPEATING CARBINE, .52 CAL.
1863 SPENCER REPEATING RIFLE, .52 CAL.
Yankee officers cited the Spencer as one of the single greatest factors in winning the War. No confederate arm was a match for the .52 caliber Spencer, which fired seven shots from its magazine in less than thirty seconds. Because the repeaters weighed a hefty 10 pounds when loaded and took exotic primed rimfire cartridges, the conservative chief of ordnance James Ripley blocked their purchase until 1863.
1861 CASE HARDENED IRON FRAME HENRY RIFLE, .44 CAL. RIMFIRE
1861 BLUED IRON FRAME HENRY RIFLE, .44 CAL. RIMFIRE
1863 MILITARY HENRY RIFLE, .44 CAL. RIMFIRE
The forerunner of all Winchester lever actions, the Henry was referred to by Confederates as that "...D*mn Yankee rifle that can be loaded on Sunday and fired all week". About 14,000 Henry’s were made between 1860 and 1866 by the New Haven Arms Company. Quite a few company-size Union organizations, especially those from Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri, carried Henry rifles, purchased at their own expense.
Although this rifle only saw limited action during the Civil War, 1,731 were delivered to the Army Ordnance Department at a cost of more than $36,000. They were chambered in .44 Henry, which was a rimfire cartridge with a copper case. The magazine held an astounding 15 rounds. A lever action simultaneously cocked the rifle, ejected the spent case, and put a fresh cartridge in the chamber.
Only two organizations, the 1st Maine and 1st District of Columbia cavalry regiments, were known to have been issued Henry rifles by the Army.
1863 REMINGTON CONTRACT RIFLE, .58 CAL. (a.k.a. "The Zouave")
On April 18th, 1863, Remington began shipping the Government an approved order of 10,001 rifles of what the Army called it's "Harpers Ferry Pattern" Rifle in Official Documents. Produced between 1862 and 1865, the Remington was never actually issued to any documented units during the American Civil War. That may be because the Army had already standardized on the Springfield Rifle.
However, there have been at least three claims that Remington Contract Rifle remains have been identified after being recovered from excavation sites in the Petersburg area. If these claims come from real wartime rifles, it's been speculated that one or more late war units was issued Remington Rifles on a temporary basis, later to be replaced with Springfield Rifles as they became available. However, there couldn't have been many instances, if this was the case. Any evidence of this may also be further hidden by confusion of this rifle pattern with the Mississippi Rifle, and/or the Harper's Ferry Rifle, and any researcher looking for evidence needs to watch out for any or all of these identifying names....
Most of these rifles may have been simply crated up and put into storage at Watervliet Arsenal in New York, perhaps as a reserve for the defense of Washington, DC, if the Rebel army had ever attempted to attack the city directly. Many of these "nearly mint" guns made it into the hands of reenactors in the 1950's and 1960's.
In addition, around 1961, the very first reproduction Civil War musket was introduced, it was a copy of the Remington Contract Rifle, but if it had been sold as a "Remington", it would have legal complications. So, to solve this marketing problem, the reproduction guns were sold as "Zouave Rifles", associating them with the colorful uniforms and the "Elite" reputation of the period Zouave Units. The nickname, "Zouave", became so well known it was applied to originals too, but it should really only apply to the reproduction version of the gun.
MORE LONG ARMS OF THE CIVIL WAR
While this article has explored quite a few different long arms from the era, it is by no means an exhaustive listing of arms used or issued during that time period. For a listing with additional information, and future additions, please see the:
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