Civil War cartridge carbines- Why not just a simple break-open?

How about the Smith carbine?

It was pretty widely used and fits your criteria nicely.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_carbine

Gallagher and Maynard were top break actions although underlever operated instead of the top snap action of a shotgun.

What grade did you get on the paper? Just nosy.
Have a smith and a sharps paper cutter. Imho, smith is less wonky.

.455_Hunter said:

H&R .45 Colt Classic Carbine.

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To minimize gas leakage/fouling, you're looking a self-contained/internally-primed brass cartridge there, something resisted with a vengeance by the ordnance mafia because of the metallurgy, Mantech, & Supply/Logistics in the first half of the war.

It was cheaper & required less field repair, and (honest) "conserved ammunition" to just mass issue muzzle-loading muskets for the troops an continue w/ linear tactics/mass volley fire. All else was "experimental"...So thought the Pooh Bahs.**

The Smiths the Maynards were the earliest designs closest to your H&R concept -- but only issued in relatively small numbers to specialized & cav units.
At least the Sharps saved the day during the 1st Day at Gettysburg -- (but only if you were a Damned Yankee. )


** See
https://todayincthistory.com/2018/0...her-spencer-pitches-his-new-rifle-to-lincoln/
https://the-american-catholic.com/2...-christopher-spencer-shows-lincoln-his-rifle/
and...
https://lincolnandchurchill.org/technology-and-weapons/

Per Flayderman, there were 17728 Gallagers made, issues to 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th Ohio, 13th Tennessee, and 3rd West Virginia.
20202 Second Model Maynards, 11th Indiana, 11th Tennessee, others not listed.

Not a large percentage but appreciable numbers. My friend the reenactor has gone to a Maynard, it is light, simple, and authentic, something above 3000 sold in the South just before the War.

Good job, young man! Please shoot a smith carbine, soon as you can

Sorry, edited my prior post. Lolz, I was 17 in 1973. I've found the smith carbine to be easier to load for and shoot than the sharps paper cutter. That and the musketoon are my favs. If a Maynard comes way, I'll try to buy it though.

.455_Hunter said:

For fall semester in AP US History during my junior year in HS, I did my research paper on the vast technological variations in fielded carbine design, and how it really was no match for any other four year period in small arms history. Pretty much every different way you could make a controlled opening into a breech was developed and manufactured: lever operated, flipping covers, dropping blocks, rolling blocks- they are all represented, EXCEPT one...

The break-open style used for over 100 years of single-shot shotguns, and typified by my H&R .45 Colt Classic Carbine.

Maybe it's just the benefit of engineering hindsight, but it sure seems like somebody would figured out that style of system. It would have worked great chambered in a Civil War caliber- like .56-50 or .44 Henry, or in a paper cartridge variant with some gas seal features (at least not any worse with regards to gas seal than many other types).

Thoughts?

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It does seem like somebody would have thought of it but I guess it took figuring out a way for the self contained shotgun shell to be conveniently loaded into a double barrel and those(shotgun shells)didn't come about until around 1865.

I like the Starr. Might be mistaken for a Sharps at first glance but the breechblock hinges tight against the barrel for a better seal.

Beginning in 1851 break action shotguns using pinfire cartridges were available and by 1858 they were very fashionable among English hunters, especially the doubles.

-kBob

There was the story of the Frenchman who took his pinfire shotgun afield with an ample supply of ammunition in a cartridge belt. All was well until he lost his footing and rolled down the hillside.

The French Navy had pinfire revolvers while the Army still carried single shot muzzleloaders and the Americans and English thought they were up to date with percussion revolvers.
Before WWI, the navies of the world were the high tech service and got a lot of the latest equipment in addition to armored warships.

A few factors to consider: the rapid innovations of the mid 1800’s were restricted largely to private purchases. In those days, to actually hear about new tech developments required you to personally know a given arms developer or have heard of their work. This process would move at the speed of newspapers, magazines, word of mouth, and postal delivery of letters. Advances in communication would be needed to ensure good ideas could be distributed and tested by military officials in a timespan faster than months and years. Consider this alongside the stubborn traditionalism of military brass, even in the internet age, and it makes perfect sense that largebore muzzleloaded musket and rifle warfare remained standard, even as raiders with repeating breechloading smallbores began to dominate battlefields. Tech advancements were variably penetrant and limited by the communication tech of the time until the telegraph and telephone.

Everything is obvious in hindsight. This article shows the commonly known long arms

Muskets, Carbines & Repeating Rifles - Long Arms of the Civil War

These are interesting:

The Civil War Burnside carbine
https://capandball.com/the-civil-war-smith-percussion-carbine/
The Civil War Smith percussion carbine

Once the Spencers came out, all those paper cartridge rifles went on the ash heap of history. Just finished reading a magazine article about the Wilson Cavalry Raid in April 1865. The troopers were all armed with Spencer repeaters and were able to lay down overwhelming firepower against any Confederate force opposing them.

Wilder's Lightning Brigade got Spencer RIFLES and horses in 1863, operating as mounted infantry, not cavalry.

and the spencers that custers men had at gettysburg kept the southern soldiers from flanking the union cannons and picketts men marched into history.

Ok back to the OP, as stated there were a number of "break action" designs during the Civil War. While the Smith was quite common so was the Maynard.

Each type has good points and bad. The Smith has a weak top strap that can be problematic. The Maynard uses a proprietary cartridge that can be fragile. Starr, Gallagher, and others share the same set of issues. Each of them can have cartridges stick in the chamber.

I've shot almost all of them. I compete with a Sharps because it doesn't suffer from those issues. I have 3 Smiths. I have competed with a Maynard. My issue with the Maynard are ergonomics and the potential for a fired case to stick in the chamber. To me, a Maynard feels like a Red Ryder BB gun. Back to Sharps, with the Flees chamber mod, it will run for an entire skirmish with no issues. There is no cartridge to remove. Combustible case ammo isn't a new thing.

The link to the Burnside was interesting. At one time I had a very nice collection of ACW carbines. They are all gone with the exception of a Fifth Model Burnside. Lightweight and hard hitting it is about all I need in this style of weapon.
The author mentioned the Burnside was the second most common carbine during the ACW. Most folks don’t know or understand that. The Sharps was first, then the Burnside and then the Spencer. The others, Gallagher, Smiths, Jinks, Maynard’s, etc. all trailed far behind.

Kevin

.455_Hunter said:

An "A". My AP teacher had the full aging hippie look going- balding front, pony tail back, Birkenstocks. However, when we went to his house for the post-test party, I was kinda shocked to find it was a front- his walls were covered in classic rifles, game mounts, hides. He was enthusiastic about me bringing my GEW 88, Lebel bayonet, and my Grandfather's sword in for the WWI section of class- I then knew why.

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Wow, where do you attend university?

I was smart enough when I had to write a paper to never relate it to firearms. With the professors I had, I would think the topic alone would bump it down a full letter grade.