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Museum/Artifact
Collections/Small Arms
Rifles
 At
the start of the Civil War nearly all military
arms were still loaded through the muzzle. The smoothbore longarms
were most commonly known as muskets. The percussion ignition system
took the place of the venerable flintlock and with the invention
of the Minie ball; the newly “rifled” barreled arm
soon became the practical weapon for all infantrymen. In 1860,
B. Tyler Henry received a patent for a truly landmark rifle. With
a lever operated action and the .44 Rimfire brass cartridge case,
the Model of 1860 or .44 Henry was born. This was a tremendously
important firearms advancement coming at a time when the single-shot
muzzle loader was it. Despite the repeaters’ tremendous
popularity among the ranks, the Federal Ordinance Department purchased
fewer than 15,000 in the last 2 years of the War.
The next important step was the advanced development of the breech
loading shoulder arm (carbines). When the self-contained cartridge
appeared in the mid-1800s, the problems of ignition and loading
disappeared. With the breech-loader, it was a simple matter of
putting a round into the chamber. The single shot carbine and
the repeating rifle Army which appeared near the end of the Civil
War, were used mainly by the Union.
Museum Examples
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| Civil War Carbines |
Civil War Muskets |
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| Civil War Sharps Rifle |
Indian War Springfield
Carbine and Rifle |
The carbine only differs from the rifle in the
length of the barrel and stock and a few minor parts.
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| Dragoon Saddle Carbines |
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1866 Winchester set the stage for a whole line of great leverguns
by adding a forearm and a loading gate. In 1873 the now legendary
Winchester '73 emerged differing from the 1866 in two major areas.
The frame was now made of steel instead of brass, and the ammunition
was no longer rimfire but a re-loadable centerfire, the .44 Winchester
Center Fire. The original chambering was joined by the .38 Winchester
Centerfire in 1879, and this was followed by the .32 Winchester
Centerfire in 1882. When Colt added these three cartridges to the
Colt Single Action Army it became possible for a Cavalryman of that
time to have a sixgun and saddlegun that chambered the same cartridge.
A most desirable feature.
Handguns
At the start of the Civil War Handguns were
issued only to cavalrymen and mounted light artillery. The number
of handguns privately purchased by Yankee soldiers easily exceeded
the quantity issued by the Federal Government.
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| Civil War Cap and Ball
Pistols with Ammunition |
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Following the end of the Civil War, the great
westward expansion, was underway. This, in combination with the
new self contained metallic cartridge, gave rise to a huge market,
and demand for large bore frontier revolvers.
Single Action Cartridge Pistols
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| 5 1/2" Artillery Model |
7 1/2" Artillery Model |
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