During the Civil War, rifles were the most popularly used small arms weaponry. Each of the five distinctive rifle types (namely: rifles, cavalry carbines, rifle-muskets, repeating rifles, and short rifles) was created with a unique function and intended for a certain kind of soldier.
The cavalry carbine and short rifles were nearly the same, used by soldiers where a long barrel couldn’t be used, especially during close-quarter combats. The difference between the two rifles was that the cavalry carbines were best suited for horseback.
The U.S. Model 1861 Springfield rifle-musket, famous for its precision and range, was the most widely used rifle during the Civil War. About 1.5 million Springfield rifle-muskets were manufactured by the end of the war. The rifle weighed 9 pounds with a 40-inch barrel length and could fire across a 300-yard range. In the hands of a skilled soldier, the gun could fire, with pinpoint accuracy, about three shots a minute. The rifle featured a percussion cap firing mechanism, a rifled barrel, and the .58 caliber Minié ball (which, according to the U.S. Army tests, was more precise for long-distance shots).
The Enfield Pattern 1853 rifle-musket alias P53 Enfield or Enfield rifle-musket is the second on the list of widely used firearms in the Civil War. Sharing significant semblance with the Springfield, it was a staple in the British Army for nearly two decades. Both Union and Confederate soldiers favored the rifle because its .577 caliber barrel also accepted .58 caliber bullets. The government imported about a million pieces of the Enfield rifle-musket from the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield, England.
Third on the list is the Model 1854 Lorenz Rifle, designed by Joseph Lorenz, an Austrian officer, in 1854. Soldiers first used it during the Italian War of 1859. The Lorenz rifles were nearly as long as the Springfield and Enfield rifles, featuring three barrel bands including a .54 caliber. Rather unremarkable was the erratic quality of the rifles during the Civil War. Some of the rifles were notably high quality and rivaled the Enfield, but others were lower. Just a hundred thousand pieces were purchased by Confederate troops, while the Union acquired about 200,000 pieces of the Lorenz rifles.
Another notable rifle-musket was the British Whitworth rifle-musket with deadly precision, covering nearly 2000 yards. The rifle was designed by a prominent Brtish engineer, Sir. Joseph Whitworth and patented in 1854. It featured a .45 caliber with a unique telescopic sight placement. The telescopic sight could be found on the left side, just opposite the lock plate. Whitworth was the Confederate sharpshooter’s favorite but sadly low in supply during the war. The British government discontinued the Whitworth firearm production because it had a higher pollution rate than Enfield’s, and its production cost was almost five times as much.
The most sophisticated rifle used during the Civil War was the Henry Rifle. It possessed a lever-action feature, with unprecedented fire-power (at sixteen bullets capacity and a .44 caliber). The weapon was a result of Benjamin Tyler Henry’s three-year design effort and was patented in 1860. By 1866, nearly 14,000 units had been produced. It was a pride to own a Henry rifle, putting Confederate soldiers at a grave disadvantage. The repeating rifles sported unusual copper rim-fire cartridges superior to the firearms of the Confederate soldiers.
Chase Pipes 