Six Civil War Medical Myths that Just Won't Die

Well, The 2nd Kansas Volunteer Cavalry Regiment has records of issued pinfire revolvers (See Frank Mallory's work on National Archives research published by Springfield Research Service)

And that unit fought in Oklahoma: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Old_Fort_Wayne
I also have a lot of excavated pinfires from other battlefields that unit fought in in northwest Arkansas (Prairie Grove, Pea Ridge, Cane Hill, etc)

You've got one Kansas unit, and a couple Missouri units using the same French pinfire, so pinfires must've been all over the place because they've been found on CW battlefields, they must've been common.

Never mind pinfire cartridges don't show up hardly at all on stuff imported through the blockade in the Confederate Trans-Mississippi.

Never mind none of the Missouri units with them were at those battles.

Never mind in NW Arkansas with those fights the 2nd Kansas wasn't engaged as heavily as other units. (Full unit wasn't even there if I remember right. Going from memory I halfway want to say it was 1863 before they got the guns.)

Never mind in Oklahoma you had post-war fights between the Union and Confederate factions in tribes throughout the 1870's off and on. Sometimes on or near the battlefields.

Never mind that pinfires were common cheap pocket guns in the area after the war with folks shooting them on the battlefields.

Heck if I remember right there's a post-war pinfire or two in the Cane Hill Museum owned by locals after the war. But pinfire cartridges found there must be wartime.

Pinfire cartridges were found at the battlefield so MUST have been there in the war and a common side arm. That makes a LOT of sense. I've no patience to continue a discussion about how pinfires must've been a common sidearm in this medical myth thread. Especially when it seems like there's bias towards the subject on your part. Bias is a very blinding factor for every human being ever after all. Sorry if I seem like a jerk, but I've no patience for this today.
 
You've got one Kansas unit, and a couple Missouri units using the same French pinfire, so pinfires must've been all over the place because they've been found on CW battlefields, they must've been common.

Never mind pinfire cartridges don't show up hardly at all on stuff imported through the blockade in the Confederate Trans-Mississippi.

Never mind none of the Missouri units with them were at those battles.

Never mind in NW Arkansas with those fights the 2nd Kansas wasn't engaged as heavily as other units. (Full unit wasn't even there if I remember right. Going from memory I halfway want to say it was 1863 before they got the guns.)

Never mind in Oklahoma you had post-war fights between the Union and Confederate factions in tribes throughout the 1870's off and on. Sometimes on or near the battlefields.

Never mind that pinfires were common cheap pocket guns in the area after the war with folks shooting them on the battlefields.

Heck if I remember right there's a post-war pinfire or two in the Cane Hill Museum owned by locals after the war. But pinfire cartridges found there must be wartime.

Pinfire cartridges were found at the battlefield so MUST have been there in the war and a common side arm. That makes a LOT of sense. I've no patience to continue a discussion about how pinfires must've been a common sidearm in this medical myth thread. Especially when it seems like there's bias towards the subject on your part. Bias is a very blinding factor for every human being ever after all. Sorry if I seem like a jerk, but I've no patience for this today.
You were the one who brought up pinfire cartridges on a medical myths thread. I was just following your lead. And maybe I am biased, maybe I have researched it more, maybe both?

But between those two units mentioned, there is only a record of 168 Lefaucheux serial numbers recorded. There were over 13,000 documented purchases of Lefaucheux pinfire revolvers by the Union. I doubt they just threw the other 12,000+ away.

Plus there were an unknown number of pinfire revolvers used by the Confederacy. And there are arsenal reports on both sides listing them as having pinfire cartridges in store.

1605738448162.png


Three American cartridge manufacturers were contracted to make pinfire cartridges for the Union army and delivered over 1.5 million cartridges plus however many were imported. And lots and lots are found on battlefields and encampments literally everywhere: ( https://aaronnewcomer.com/excavated-pinfire-guns-and-cartridges-from-the-american-civil-war/ ).

Excavated-Pinfire-Guns-and-Cartridges-from-the-American-Civil-War-Aaron-Newcomer.png


Even the "official price list of clothing and etc" prepared by the Adjutant-General's Office and given to the regimental quartermasters lists the Lefaucheux revolvers and parts for them right along with the colt and savage and remington.

IMG_0531.jpg

IMG_0535.jpg


As well as their documents on instructions for making quarterly returns of what they had on stock.

Ordnance Manual - p130.jpg


Feel free to think what you want. I am sure I will not change your mind. But evidence seems to point toward them being used more than most people give them credit for.

Either way, this "myth" that pinfire cartridges and guns played little role in the American Civil War is definitely wrong.
 
You were the one who brought up pinfire cartridges on a medical myths thread. I was just following your lead. And maybe I am biased, maybe I have researched it more, maybe both?

But between those two units mentioned, there is only a record of 168 Lefaucheux serial numbers recorded. There were over 13,000 documented purchases of Lefaucheux pinfire revolvers by the Union. I doubt they just threw the other 12,000+ away.

Plus there were an unknown number of pinfire revolvers used by the Confederacy. And there are arsenal reports on both sides listing them as having pinfire cartridges in store.

View attachment 381874

Three American cartridge manufacturers were contracted to make pinfire cartridges for the Union army and delivered over 1.5 million cartridges plus however many were imported. And lots and lots are found on battlefields and encampments literally everywhere: ( https://aaronnewcomer.com/excavated-pinfire-guns-and-cartridges-from-the-american-civil-war/ ).

View attachment 381875

Even the "official price list of clothing and etc" prepared by the Adjutant-General's Office and given to the regimental quartermasters lists the Lefaucheux revolvers and parts for them right along with the colt and savage and remington.

View attachment 381876
View attachment 381877

As well as their documents on instructions for making quarterly returns of what they had on stock.

View attachment 381878

Feel free to think what you want. I am sure I will not change your mind. But evidence seems to point toward them being used more than most people give them credit for.

Either way, this "myth" that pinfire cartridges and guns played little role in the American Civil War is definitely wrong.

Thank you for reminding me of why I've been doing less and less on this site, and been far less active.
 
@Aaron and @Rusk County Avengers . This is the Medical Care forum. Please take your discussion in this thread to an appropriate thread in this forum:

 
I thought of this thread when I saw this picture posted on Facebook by a reenactor friend in Poland. It shows a Union Army surgeon using diethyl ether to anesthetize a wounded soldier, ca. 1862.

Union Army surgeon using diethyl ether to anesthetize a wounded soldier, ca. 1862.jpg


Picture above is an enlarged section of the photo below:

127280812_2689859191344138_4196027914151992244_o.jpg
 
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