WEAPON ADVANCES IN 1800

Sharps Carbine

During the early 1800's most guns were muzzle loaders. In 1848, Christian Sharps invented a rifle that loaded from the breech, or back end, of the barrel. He was, however, not the first to create rifles that loaded in this manner. In his rifle the breech block moved down when the trigger guard was moved down. A paper or linen cartridge with powder and bullet was placed into the receiver. The bullets used were of .54 caliber. Then the breech block was moved back up it tore off the paper exposing the powder. It fired using a percussion cap (Williamson 6). During the Civil War about 100,000 of these rifles were supplied to the Union army. Between 1836 and 1873 over 540 patents for breech loading rifles were issued. Many of these were guns were manufactured and sold to the U.S. government during the Civil War. The best known model was the 1863 Sharps Carbine. Alan Sumrall attributes their popularity to their ability to convert easily to metallic cartridges. It was the most popular carbine of the U.S. Cavalry in the first three years of the war. The rifles first became famous as "Breechers Bibles" in the fighting in Kansas and Missouri. It was replaced, however, by the Spencer carbine rifle, which held seven metallic cartridges. The Confederates used captured Sharps and made 5,000 copies themselves in Richmond (Sumrall). In 1860 alone fifteen patents were issued for breech loading rifles

Winchester Rifle

The Winchester Rifle, known mostly for its use in the West, saw earlier use in the war. The New Haven Arms Company had wanted to take advantage of the country's need for weapons during the Civil War. It had its Henry rifle tested by an officer if the U.S. navy in May of 1862. The rifle could fire 187 shots in 216 seconds, which did not include time reloading the magazine. Other rifles fired 120 shots in 340 seconds, including reloading. The best a muzzle-loader could fire was once every 10 to 12 seconds. With an experienced shooter the Henry rifle could fire 14 to 15 shots at a target the size of 18 square inches at 348 feet. The rifle was also developed no mechanical difficulties after being fired 1,040 times without cleaning. The U.S. military, however, was reluctant to use repeating firearms. General Ripley said he found "the weight of the arms with the loaded magazine. . . objectionable. . . and also the requirement of special ammunition. . . ." He was also concerned about the ammunition's ability to being carried on horseback and the guns' ability to withstand battle conditions. He did not feel it was much better than current breech-loading rifles. In June of 1863, however, General Ripley ordered about 250 Henry rifles. Winchester started negotiating with Assistant Secretary of War R. C. Watson wanting a contract for the New Haven Arms Company. General Ripley's successor, General George D. Ramsay, spoke unfavorably of the Henry rifles, and consequently Assistant Secretary Watson offered Winchester a contract on December 30, 1863, for 800 rifles. This contract was followed by one a year later for 800 rifles on April 7, 1865, and another for 127 rifles on May 18, 1865. The total number of Henry rifles sold the U.S. Government during the war was 1,731. A total of $63,953.26 was collected from the Government for them. The amount spent on Henry ammunitions was $107,352.05 for 4,610,400 cartridges

Springfield

Overall, the most standard weapon used by both the North and the South was the 1861 Springfield rifle. This muzzle-loader was fired by a percussion cap and shot a .58 caliber bullet. Its rifled barrel gave it better accuracy and penetration. It fired a Minie ball, which was a lead bullet with a hollow tail. What it fired the pressure caused the lead to expand into the grooves. In addition to keeping the bullet on a straighter course this expansion minimized the escape of gas, which increased its range.

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