If I wanted a "typical" Civil War battlefield long gun, what would it be?

Probably the most commonly found U.S. long guns would be the Model 1855 and the Model 1861 rifles. The Model 1841 (Mississippi), rifle might also have encountered on both sides of the Civil War.

3 band Enfield. Most common CSA rifle and actually used by some USA units and even produced in the US for USA.

-kBob
(finally back on line!)

“The Springfield Model 1861 was the most widely used rifle of the civil war. A slightly modified version of the Model 1861. The Enfield 1853 rifled musket was used by both the North and the South in the American Civil War, and was the second most widely used infantry weapon in the war”

She’s a looker and a shooter

Check out the list at

From: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_weapons_in_the_American_Civil_War

Could someone add some information as to where a good quality reproduction could be obtained?

dh1633pm said:

Could someone add some information as to where a good quality reproduction could be obtained?

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Here are a few
http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/brow...hotguns/_/N-1115738/Ns-CATEGORY_SEQ_104641380


http://www.cherrys.com/ped_rif1.htm


https://www.dixiegunworks.com/default.php?cPath=1043_1050&osCsid=irbl5o1a6d3mjaofumtnoca6b2


https://www.regtqm.com/1861-Springfield-Rifle-Musket-3-Band-Rifle-by-Arm-p/gun-045.htm


Cabela’s usually has a sale between now and Christmas
I always purchase mine on sale

Cabelas carries the Pedersoli line of black powder rifles including the US Model 1841, the Model 1861, and the Enfield 1853 3 band rifle. I believe Dixie Gun Works carries pretty much the same thing, along with quite a few other guns, like the US Model 1855, The CS Model 1861 Richmond rifle, the J.P. Murray carbine, and the Cook and Brother carbine.

"...size is alarming to contemplate..." The ball used in a Brown Bess was a .75 calibre lead ball. Only way to make a BP firearm more powerful was to increase the bullet's size. It also accounts for the truly horrific wounds that happened in the BP are. Arms and legs were literally blown off by a musket ball. The Minié ball, out of a rifled musket, was just more accurate.
Oh and the typical U.S. Civil War rifled musket was the Springfield rifled musket in the North. The South used whatever they could get and that changed according to when. They bought 350,000 rifled 1853 Pattern Enfields after 1863ish.

Should future travel bring you East check out the Springfield Armory in Springfield Mass. Nothing more than a museum now it houses an extensive collection of firearms from all periods of American history including Civil War relics, many battle field pickups. Have not been there in thirty years or more so guess it has changed some.

The 1861 Springer in the white is the quintessential muzzle loader.
Though for me, the Spencer and Sharps are more iconic and cooler to play with.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

The 1861 Springer in the white is the quintessential muzzle loader.
Though for me, the Spencer and Sharps are more iconic and cooler to play with.

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Meh.

To me, the Pattern 1853 Enfield .577 rifle musket is the quintessential muzzleloader. It was a seminal design, the Brits put all the pieces together to make the archetypal infantry rifle. Many countries adopted either similar weapons or the P53 themselves. It was arguably the AK-47 of its time. They were used heavily by BOTH sides in the Civil War, not to mention many wars and conflicts in the Commonwealth and beyond. It has global appeal to be sure, and enough appeal to be the most popular Civil War repro in use (according to many).

The Springer, while also having a neat lineage, is not as historic nor influential as the classic P53. Also the repro P53s (at least those made by Pedersoli) are much closer to the genuine article. Nobody makes a particularly good copy of the '61 Springer in terms of stock shape, markings, balance, etc. etc.

A few years back Pedersoli released what many experts consider the closest Enfield copies ever produced. They also are of excellent quality and when there are sales, can be had for a decent price.

Of course you can get either an original '61 Springer or '53 Enfield if you are so inclined. Ones in shootable shape can be had for not so much more than the repros, but don't expect all matching mint collector's pieces. For that be prepared to spend big bucks. You can have it rebored by Rob Hoyt if the bore is dark and small parts and repairs are available from Lodgewood.

I prefer the repros, though, as I don't like to put wear and tear on a piece of history like an original rifle musket. The repros (even those that aren't historically correct) do a fine job at being fun to shoot and if you get a good one (again: Pedersoli) should shoot great and last a lifetime. Spare parts for them are also available and should easily interchange, another bonus.

No doubt about it, slinging those massive .577/.58 Minies is a whoop and a wholler. Whatever you choose, good luck and keep us posted Broseph!

The typical Civil War long gun would be the M1861 Springfield 3-band rifle-musket, either made by Springfield or by one of the numerous private contractors. The Richmond rifle-musket (CSA) was extremely similar, having been made on machinery for the M1855, that was captured at Harpers Ferry.

The most authentic current reproduction is made by Pedersoli. It bears a strong resemblance to the one formerly made by Euroarms, and I suspect the two companies used the same tooling. The current Armi Sport (Chiappa) reproduction is not as good. On the other hand, the all-time best reproduction of the M1861 was made by Miroku of Japan, but that was discontinued many years ago.

BTW, the Armi Sport reproduction of the M1842 musket is excellent, unlike their M1861.

http://www.cabelas.com/browse.cmd?categoryId=734095080&CQ_search=1861

Owning/shooting both it and an original `61/63 Colt's Special Model (copy of the `61)... Pedersoli's repro is excellent.

The most common would be the 1861 Springfield and it's Richmond and Fayettville clones (the Confederates having moved the Harper's Ferry tooling to those cities). The P1853 Enfield a close second. The Lorentz third. But the armies issued everything. There are Confederate ordnance reciepts for musket flints dated 1864.

Early in the war, the 1842 Springfield smoothbore is quite common. Rifle-muskets don't really become standard issue until 1863.

As to where to buy...my first stop would be the N-SSA "for sale" list on their BB.

http://www.civilwarguns.com/01bilbypage.html

For a list of available Joe Bilby articles by year of publication,click the above and go to bottom of site/page

Then check out
http://www.civilwarguns.com/199Blst.html

Keep in mind the .69 caliber M1842 with a buck n' ball load was considered highly effective in some closer range engagements. With each pull of the trigger, you'd be firing four projectiles instead of one Minie ball, and with the slightly higher firing rate of the simple and fast to load smoothbore '42s, devastating in these situations.

There is also the almost comically huge .69 caliber Minies used in rifled '42s. Something like 700+ grains of lead, crazy!

For a reenactor, the M1842 would be a good choice. Hundreds of thousands of these were in the local armories at the start of the Civil War, and they armed the bulk of the early volunteers (both North and South). The M1861 rifle-muskets didn't become really common until mid-war.

As I mentioned before, Armi Sport makes an excellent reproduction of this arm, both in the smoothbore version and the "rifled and sighted" version. These are so authentic that you can put them next to originals and have to look closely to tell the difference. Don't bother with an Indian reproduction bayonet. Get an original instead. ($225 versus $95 for the Indian reproduction, but the difference is money well spent.)

Springfields and Enfields were the most common, especially as the war progressed. Early on there was tremendous variety. Everything from double barrel shotguns and flintlock muskets were used.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Remington Zouave, also known as the M1862 rifle. This was the first Civil War reproduction long gun made, and was the go-to weapon for reenactors in the early days of the hobby (1960's-1970's). However, although Remington got a "sweetheart contract" to supply the U.S. with 25,000 of them, apparently none were ever issued or used in the Civil War. They were placed in storage and eventually sold off as surplus -- and in that way many of them came down to us in pristine condition. During the Civil War Centennial in the 1960's, Val Forgett of Navy Arms obtained several excellent originals and sent them to Italy, where they were used as models to make reproductions. It took a while for the word to get out among reenactors about their non-use in the Civil War, but eventually it did, and now if a reenactor shows up on the field with one, it immediately marks him as a laughingstock and a "farb."

My understanding of the Zouave was from
https://civilwartalk.com/threads/remington-zouave-rifle.17344/
I have another reading but can not find it at the moment.

Found it
http://www.antiquearmsinc.com/civil...ngfield-rogers-spencer-bannerman-p58-1861.htm


Read the whole article .....the below is from it

“The Model 1863 Remington might have been an attempt to bring back the Model 1841 Mississippi with improved Model 1855 DNA as it is a rather interesting amalgamation of the two. As Remington was one of the original five private contractors that built the Model 1841 Mississippi Rifle, that they had secured other large contracts and delivered good products that passed inspection and at reasonable prices, they would have been a logical choice. The Remington Zouave shares several parts from the Mississippi rifle that Remington no doubt built on their original Model 1841 machinery. For example, the locks on the 1863 and 1841 are interchangeable. The hammer, trigger, and trigger guard bow are nearly dead ringers for those found on the Mississippi Rifle. Except for being enlarged from the original .54 caliber to .58, the barrel is also nearly identical to the Model 1841. From there stock is almost the same as the Model 1855 rifle, as are the rear sight, brass patchox, buttplate, and nose cap. From there, the barrels were blued instead of browned as found on the Missisippi and the lockplates were case color hardened resulting in quite a stunning appearance coupled with the brass furniture.

"The Remington "Zouave" rifle, as it is erroneously, but often referred to today, is among the handsomest of all military arms, and possibly represents the highest degree of craftmanship ever found on mass-produced martial weapons." See page 55, United States Military Small Arms 1816-1865 by Robert M. Reilly.

"One of the best made and designed military arms of the Civil War era. The origin of the name "Zouave" for this rifle has yet to be revealed. In official documents and the U.S. contract it was termed "Harpers Ferry Pattern." The great majority of them found in higher grades of condition suggest they were not issued; their usage remains a mystery. Flayderman's Guide to Antique America Firearms. 9th Edition”

daboyleroy said:

“The Springfield Model 1861 was the most widely used rifle of the civil war. A slightly modified version of the Model 1861. The Enfield 1853 rifled musket was used by both the North and the South in the American Civil War, and was the second most widely used infantry weapon in the war”


She’s a looker and a shooter


Check out the list at


From: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_weapons_in_the_American_Civil_War

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Based on everything I have read, those rifles were the most commonly used rifles but the proliferation of models used during the Civil War has produced a number of books on the subject. The referenced Wiki is an excellent summary.

Early in the war everything was used. I read a book about the 4th Alabama which was at Bull Run. (1861) They were armed with Mississippi rifles. I know at the Battle of Kernstown, (1862) early in the war, Union troops were using “Dutch” muskets, which I think were the Model 1854 Lorentz. The Confederates were using smooth bore and Mississippi rifles at that battle. The arms situation was totally confused on both sides early in the war, but after two years, the superior production capabilities of the North began to arm both the North and the South. Confederate General Edward Porter Alexander said, in his book, that the Army of Virginia was able to replace its smooth bore rifles with Union capture rifled arms after Chancellorsville (1863). The Western Confederate Army still used obsolete arms, probably all the way through the war. The 69 caliber M1847 Musket was used by Union troops at Gettysburg (1863) and there is a “buck and ball” monument to it at the site of Pickett’s charge. I read that the 69 caliber M1847 Musket was used by both sides at Chickamauga (1863) and the museum there has some wonderful examples. Based on the thick woods at Chickamauga, I would have preferred the M1847 Musket shooting buck and ball. In many places you can’t see 25 yards through the trees and brush.

I recently read a book about Sherman’s march to the sea, while most units where armed with a rifled muskets, more and more Union units were armed with cartridge weapons which absolutely shot to pieces opposing Confederate units. A guy with a single shot, muzzle loaded weapon, is at a severe disadvantage to someone with a seven shot Spencer. Wilder’s Union Calvary took on Confederate Infantry units many times their size.

I bought a three band Colt blackpowder replica M1861. Colt made these during the Civil War and a 150 years later as a replica. I think the thing is an absolute hoot. Put a bayonet on the thing and it is hard to resist the urge to stick something with it.

Slamfire said:

I bought a three band Colt blackpowder replica M1861. Colt made these during the Civil War and a 150 years later as a replica.

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The 1861 models made by Colt and 2 other manufacturers were "Special Model 1861's" and were quite different from the normal 1861's. They were a hybrid. Some of the internal lock parts were like those of Enfields, and some external features, like the shape of the hammer and the clamping bands (also Enfield features), presaged those of the M1863 Springfield. The reason for these differences is unclear. There is some speculation that these manufacturers got their tooling from the firm of Robbins & Lawrence, which had previously supplied machinery to the London Armoury Co. for use in making the interchangeable Enfield. Anyway, Colt had enough clout with the government so that it was allowed variation from the official specifications.

I too have one of the Colt "Signature Series" reproductions of the Special Model 1861. Colt advertised these has being a continuation of the original production, and not strictly a reproduction, but in reality they were assembled from parts imported from Italy. So what we have are Italian reproductions, but with Colt markings -- even Sam Colt's signature is on the trigger guard, a decidedly unoriginal feature. Nevertheless, these "Signature Series" guns have become quite desirable and expensive, even rivaling originals in value.