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1995-07-04
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~sINFANTRY WEAPONS~
~sThe Bayonet~
Bayonets caused very few casualties in the Civil War,
or indeed in any other war, before or since. Only a tiny fraction
of deaths or even wounds were caused by bayonets. Rather,
it was the effect of a bayonet charge on enemy morale that was
capable of winning a fight. The aim of a charge with fixed bayonets
was to cause the enemy's cohesion to waver and break.
On the other hand, the bayonet was a very useful item in the
soldier's kit. "You can do anything with a bayonet except sit on
it," observed Talleyrand. Besides fixing a bayonet on the end of
his rifle and using it as a weapon, a soldier could make it serve as an
entrenching tool, a lever for opening stores, a hanging bracket, a tent
peg, a candle-holder, a tin-opener, a cooking skewer, and so on.
~sSmall Arms~
A melange of firearms was used during the Civil War.
This was partly due to necessity caused by shortages, and
partly due to the advent of new weaponry. And so firearms
ranged from old flintlock muskets to modern repeating rifles.
~sSmoothbores and Rifles~
Guns were either smoothbore or rifled. The terms
refer to the type of barrels.
Smoothbore barrels are smooth inside, like shotguns.
Rifled barrels have spiral grooves inside. When fired, the
bullet is caught in the grooves so that it emerges spinning.
This makes it go further and straighter.
~sMuskets and Breechloaders~
Guns were either muskets or breechloaders.
Musket barrels are open at only one end, and must be loaded by
pushing everything down into the barrel from the open end.
Breechloader barrels are open at both ends. Various complex
mechanisms (the breech) seal one end of the barrel after loading.
Why was the war fought with muskets when breechloaders
were available? First, breechloaders were developed late in
the war. They were also expensive, and considered to be
unreliable and complicated. It was thought that the new
technology would be wasted on untrained citizen soldiers,
who had difficulty loading even a musket properly. Further,
it would be an uphill task to develop and teach the new tactics
which would be required to exploit the weapon fully.~#
~sDischarge: Flintlock and Percussion~
The flintlock method was less than reliable. A stone flint would
fall onto a metal plate, creating a spark which would ignite some
loose powder. By the middle of the war nearly all the flintlocks
had been converted or "lost".
Percussion caps were an advance. Most weapons of the Civil War
used an explosive cap, placed on a nipple and hit with a hammer to
set it off.
~sSingle Shot and Repeater Weapons~
Most weapons were single shot, although by the end of the war
repeaters had begun to appear. On June 19, 1864, the Army of the
Tennessee had 58 Spencer repeating rifles out of a total of 49,303 pieces.
Not surprisingly, the Union had more repeaters than the Confederates.
At the war's end, the Union had perhaps 100,000 repeaters out of
a total of 4 million pieces, or about 2.5 percent.
~sRanges and Accuracy~
When target shooting on a range, Springfield / Enfield
rifled muskets could hit a target representing a man on
horseback at 1,000 yards.
@Sharps@ breechloaders could hit a six-foot square target
with 2 out of 15 shots at 400 yards.
Despite these optimal ranges, infantry exchanges of fire
generally occurred at between 25 and 200 yards. Even,
today, most firefights take place at less than 300 yards.
~sRough Guide to Numbers of Shoulder-weapons~
~x5
Type
Held Pre-war
Bought in Europe During the War
Home Produced During the War
Total
~
~sSmoothbore Muskets~
~c1 Federal
~c2 400,000
~c3 100,000
~c4 10,000
~c5 510,000
~c1 Confederate
~c2 140,000*
~c3 40,000
~c4 3,000
~c5 183,000
~c1 *of which about 8,000 were flintlocks
~sRifled Muskets~
~c1 Federal
~c2 100,000
~c3 1,000,000*
~c4 1,750,000**
~c5 2,850,000
~c1 Confederate
~c2 35,000
~c3 300,000
~c4 100,000?
~c5 435,000
~c1 * of which some 900,000 were "@Enfields@"
~c1 ** of which some 1,240,000 were "Springfields"
~sBreechloaders~
~c1 Single Shot
~c1 Federal
~c2 3,000
~c3 nil
~c4 300,000*
~c5 303,000
~c1 Confederate
~c2 nil
~c3 ?
~c4 4,000
~c5 4,000
~c1 * 80,000 @Sharps@, 55,000 Burnsides, 30,000 Smiths, 20,000, Starrs, 20,000 Maynards, 17,000 Gallaghers
~sRepeaters~
~c1 Federal
~c2 nil
~c3 nil
~c4 100,000*
~c5 100,000
~c1 Confederate
~c2 nil
~c3 nil
~c4 nil
~c5 nil
~c1 * 77,181 Spencers, 1,731 Henrys.
~x
~tThis table shows broad estimates only.
In addition, the Confederates captured about 250,000
small arms from the Union (either salvaged from battlefields,
or captured from supply dumps, etc.). A further estimated
250,000 weapons were bought from Europe by individual states,
and an unknown quantity were purchased by private individuals.
The figures for the Federals must be at least similar. For
example @Grant@'s troops at @Vicksburg@ in 1863 were armed
primarily with the Model 1842 percussion smoothbore
musket, until they captured 60,000 brand new Model 1853
percussion Enfield rifled muskets. Manufactured in England, the Model
1853 had recently run the North's blockade to reach the South.
Confederate government arsenals were at Richmond and
Fayetville in North Carolina. Private manufacturers were
Cooks in New Orleans and Atlanta; Tylers in Texas; Ashville
in North Carolina, and Robinson in South Carolina.
Federal arsenals were at Springfield, Mass., and Harper's Ferry. There
were also some 22 private companies contracted
to the government.
Weapon costs varied widely, from the one-dollar smoothbore
musket to the hundred-dollar sniper's rifle.
~x2
~
~c1Smoothbore muzzle-loading musket
~c2$1 -$10
~c1
~c1Rifled muzzle-loading musket
~c2$10 - $20
~c1
~c1Single shot breechloader
~c2$20 - $30
~c1
~c1Repeating breechloader
~c2$37 - $65
~c1
~c1Sniper's or rampart rifle
~c2$60 - $120
~x
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