Weapons of the American Civil War

Revolver

A revolver is a repeating

firearm that has a cylinder

containing multiple chambers

and at least one barrel for

firing. As the user cocks the

hammer, the cylinder revolvers

to align the next chamber and

round with the hammer and

barrel, which gives this kind

of fireare its name.

M1850 US Staff Officer's Sword

The blade is slightly curved and is single

edged with a false edge extending back

nine inches from the point. It has a wide

deep fuller which runs from ricasso to the

beginning of the false edge, and there is

a narrow fuller above the wide fuller which

is about five inches shorter than the wide

fuller. The obverse side of the blade is

decorated with etched designs which include

floral sprays, military trophies, an

American eagle and a ribbon with the moto

"E PLURIBUS UNUM". The reverse side also has

similar etchings with "U S" instead of the

eagle and the ribbon. The blade bears the

words "IRON PROOF". The pommel and hilt are

brass and the grip is wood covered with black

leather and wire bound. The scabbard is metal

and black with brass mounts.

Pepperbox

Weapons of the American Civil War

Enfield Rifle-Musket

The Pepperbox is a repeating

firearm that has three or more

barrels grouped around a central

axis. It mostly appears in the

form of a multi-shot handheld

firearm.

1861 Springfield rifle-musket

Here are some of the advantages of the Springfield rifle-musket

-Greater Range (up to 500 yards, instead of 200)

-Interchangeable Parts (for easier field repair)

The Enfield Rifle Musket was an imported rifle used fairly equally between the Union and Confederate forces, with nearly 400,000 of them imported on each side. It was named for the armory in Britain where it was manufactured. One of the biggest advantages of the Enfield Rifle, was the fact that ammunition was interchangeablebetween it and the Springfeild 1861. Both fired what amounted to a .58 caliber slug. This rifle was in fact quite a bit more accurate at long distance than the Springfield 186, with good accurancy up to 1,100 yards. But, infantry complained of rough stocks and handmade metal parts. Still, it was considered the most important weapon for the armies of the South.

-Superior Reliablity

The Springfield 1864 had a 42" long barrel

and fired a lead slug from a .69 caliber

barrel. It was a smoothbore weapon with

limited range. The Springfield 1861 was

built with a shorter, rifle barrel. Over

700,000 of the 1861's were built between

1861 and 1865. They were one of the most

important shoulder arms of the Civil War.