March 2010 Meeting
By Travis Fuqua with photos by Bob Batten
On March 17, 2010, Phil Binks presented “Long Arms of the Civil War”. Before discussing the vast collection of muskets, rifles, and carbines that were present, Mr. Binks began with a brief history of firearm development in the decades leading up to the Civil War.
Around 1830, the percussion cap and cartridge were developed. Percussion caps replaced the flintlock ignition system in firearms. This provided a far more reliable and easier way of firing guns. The cartridge ended the necessity to load the powder and then bullet by making them in the same package. Before the advent of cartridges, muskets, which were smoothbore, were .69 caliber, but the balls they fired were .54 caliber. This, of course, did not make for an accurate weapon as the wide windage, the gap between the bullet and barrel allowed for escaped energy with the smoothbore barrel not helping in accuracy. This great windage, however, was necessary as the powder residue would accumulate in the barrel and fill in the difference. Rifles had also been around at the same time as muskets and they had better accuracy, because of the rifling which made the bullet spin.
In the first half of the nineteenth century, France was a major center of firearm development, metallurgy, and optics. One major obstacle in the early nineteenth century was the amount of time required to load a gun. One had to put powder in the priming pan, pour the remaining powder and ball down the muzzle, use the ramrod and compact everything, aim the musket, cock the hammer, and fire. This took quite a while and was even more difficult under enemy fire. A solution to the problem was the cartridge. There were several ideas for how to make the most efficient cartridge, but most ideas failed.
Mr. Binks Illustrating the Various Bullets of the Civil War-Era
A French officer, Claude Minié, invented the Minié ball in 1847 fallowed by the Minié rifle in 1849. Minié balls were hollow bullets with grooves. The grooves greased the barrel and greatly improved aerodynamics over regular spherical balls. These bullets, like all bullets were made in molds. At this time, experiments were also held with exploding bullets. These bullets were put into paper or cotton cartridges and later metal ones. The cartridges which were produced over the coming years took many shapes and sizes as well as powder capacities. Sniper’s sights also improved.
In the 1850s, Secretary of War Jefferson Davis sent a commission led by Alfred Mordecai to Europe to observe these modern weapons in use. The Americans thought their arms to be superior to those of the Europeans. Despite this, during the Civil War, both the Union and Confederacy faced shortages of rifles and muskets and bought firearms for firms across Europe, from Great Britain to Austria. Muskets were still preferred by some in the Civil War as they were far cheaper than the weapons developed immediately before the war. Union general, James Ripley, who was the Federal chief of ordinance, thought that smoothbore muskets were best for the quickly growing Federal army.
Eli Whitney had introduced the mass production of guns and regulatory gauges to the United States at the end of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. By the Civil War, guns were mass produced with men making the guns and women and children making the cartridges. When the guns were shipped, they were stacked in crates.
The Rifles and Muskets on Display
During the Civil War, President Lincoln was very interested in Federal weaponry and took an active role in trying out new weapons. There were many kinds of weapons that were purchased by the Federal government during the war. The Federal navy also purchased many firearms, even rifles with leather around the barrel to protect it from rust. One must question, however, whether the barrel would have rusted if water got under the leather. Hundreds of companies sold weapons to the Federal Government, of which 875,000 rifles were purchased from Springfield alone. Most of the rifles cost the government between $17.50 and $20.00 each. The Federal Government also bought numerous carbines—94,000 from Spencer, 80,000 from Sharps, and 55,000 from Burnside to name a few. Colt also sold 130,000 pistols to the Federal Government. Many other accessories were also purchased, such as 131,000 cones, 2,500,000 Sharps primer, 26,000,000 pistol rounds, and 46,000,000 .58 caliber rifle cartridges.
More Rifles and Muskets on Display
In addition to the presentation, there were also a dozen and a half original firearms from the Civil War-era on display. These were brought by Mr. Binks and others. The oldest was an 1817 flintlock common rifle manufactured in Connecticut around 1829. This rifle was called “common” because it was a plain .54 caliber muzzle loading rifle. The next gun was an 1822 Whitney musket that was cut down and used by Indians on horseback. The musket was cut down as it was easier to carry by a rider. Another was an 1842 musket. There was also a .58 caliber Belgian rifle-musket with a bayonet which could also be used as a pike against cavalry. There was also an Austrian gun with a hexagonal breech and was similar to a French .54 caliber. There was an 1855 musket with a Maynard tape primer, which used a strip of paper with primer instead of conventional copper percussion caps. This system proved unreliable for the paper was not as durable as its inventor had hoped. There was an 1861 Colt Special rifle from New Jersey. There was also an 1863 Type 2 Colt Special with a simplified sight. A Norwich contract musket, which was used by civilians, was also present. Another 1861 Colt Special was also there.
The Carbines and Accessories on Display
Amongst the carbines, there was a Burnside carbine with a snap hook for a leather strap to be worn by cavalrymen. This was an intricate weapon made with exotic metals. Some accessories were an original Burnside cartridge box, cleaning brush, and screwdrivers. A Sharps carbine, the most purchased of the war, was also in the group as was a Gallagher carbine and another Burnside. There was also a Spencer carbine owned by Mr. Haun. This was amongst the first repeating weapons as seven rounds were placed in a tube and then loaded into butt of the carbine. There were no caps involved. This method of loading may have been ideal in calm conditions, but in the field it was different and if the carbine were hit in the stock, the rounds would explode. The same would be true if it were dropped. In addition, loading the tubes would have been difficult when under fire. These were phased out in the decade after the Civil War with the advent of trap door carbines.
There were also some unusual guns such as a Nelson Delaney target rifle used by sharpshooters and made in Redding, Pennsylvania in the 1860s. The stock was tiger stripe maple. There was also a heavy bench rifle, which as the name implies was fired from a bench as it was too heavy to carry as it weighed close to twenty pounds. They were used by sharpshooters and were carried in wagons and not by the soldiers. This particular one was made in New York by Lowell in about 1854-1855. There was a false muzzle which allowed for cleaning and loading without wearing down the barrel. It fired a .45 caliber picket ball. Another bench rifle was present and was made in New York in the 1860s.
Here was a fantastic array of long arms at this presentation in a fantastic illustration of all the different weapons of this type used in the Civil War.
Really enjoyed this, thanks for posting.