Civil War Weapons question

[Olmontanaboy]

I know there are people on this list that are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the Civil War. I'd like to know what percentage of troops (both sides) were issued sidearms (revolvers), was it mostly officers, or were inlisted men issued them too? Also was the .44 cal more widely used than the .36?

 

[Mike OTDP]

After doing some quick-and-dirty research on Wikipedia, I came up with about 10%, maybe 15%. Officers in all branches had revolvers. Some cavalry troopers carried them, but not all, as carbines were also commonly issued, and not many troopers had both. Some artillerists were issued revolvers for last-ditch defense as well. .44 caliber was more common, as the Colt 1860 and Remington 1858 were in that caliber.

 

[BHP FAN]

http://www.civilwarhome.com/capballrevolver.htm

 

[Tommygunn]

They were generally cavalry weapons, where many had 'em. Infantry IIRC the enlisted could if they bought them but the officers would be the ones who would normally have them. They were usually almost status symbols.
Although .44 was called "army," and the .36 was "navy," the army had a lot of .36 caliber weapons.
General George Armstrong Custer was known to carry Colt 1861 Navy in .36 caliber, for example.
As to which was more prevelant, I can't say. Someone who has greater knowledge will have to chime in.

 

[Olmontanaboy]

Thanks, good information all.
Thanks again

 

[4v50 Gary]

Mostly officers and cavalrymen. Early in the war many infantry on both sides had personal sidearms or even big bowie knives (for the Confederates). After a long, hot, tiring march, they learned to toss it away as excess weight. Infantry had enough to carry without the weight of the personal weapon.

 

[wobble]

Pistols were mainly issued to officers and cavalry. Actually, early in the war, for cavalry, the sword was considered the primary weapon, and the revolver was the backup or secondary. In many cases, one or two extra revolvers were available in pummel holsters over the front of the saddle. Although it could be done, reloading a BP revolver while on horseback was not an easy task.

After the Civil War, during the Indian Wars, cavalry commonly carried a carbine and a revolver. Again, the revolver was backup for close encounters. Custer's troops carried Model 1873 Springfield .45-70 single-shot trapdoor carbines and Model 1873 Colt .45 six-shooters.

 

[ironhead7544]

A lot of pistols were made so someone was using them. I heard that most infantry were not allowed to carry pistols. The S&W rimfire 22 cal and 32 cal were popular as they were easy to conceal and light to carry.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I posted a photo of my wife's ggguncle who was a 1st sargent in the 23rd Alabama Inf. Company A. In the photo he has a revolver and a sword. He was killed at Port Gibson,Mississppi in 1863. I don't know if he carried the revolver or if it was a just prop for the photo.

 

[SC_Slowhand]

Old Photos

Jimmy Ray

Love to see the photo. I had a Great Uncle who came over from Wales and fought in the Civil War. He came back home with a few holes in him from the experience.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

SC Slowhand <http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=5863840&highlight=hanks#post5863840> Post #39. That is a Confederate uniform even though it is blue.

 

[Jim Watson]

I once read that some of the early volunteer regiments had revolvers as sidearms to their rifle muskets. But that there were a lot of revolvers in roadside ditches or swapped off to cavalrymen as the infantry realized that weight was the real enemy.

 

[Jaymo]

All I can say is that I'd like to have a brace of LeMats. 18 rounds of .44 + 2 barrels of buckshot (BEFORE having to reload) would have come in handy.

 

[Jim Watson]

Very handy... if you have a horse to carry them around for you.

One infantryman of the day said he wanted nothing more than his rifle, its ammunition, a blanket roll, and a small pack with some grub, a cooking utensil, and some small personal items like maybe a razor, bar of soap, prayer book, and even some socks, but no more.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

A lot of Confederates would have been happy to have had ANY weapon that would shoot. Not all were well armed at different points in the war. Some infantrymen used muzzle loading shotguns for awhile,until they could be issued a rifle (usually an Enfield). In the Western theater it wasn't uncommon for partisans to have several revolvers on their persons and/or saddles.

 

[Ky Larry]

Lugging a pack, musket, cartridge box, bayonet, and rations in the summertime, in Tennessee, Mississippi, or Alabama while wearing a wool uniform would not have been fun. Must have been some tough ole boys.

 

[PRM]

Yep, they was tough ole boys. My step-son was into re-enacting when he was about 15. We went to an event one time and he was excited and talking about the activities to come. Then he stated he would get shot in the shade today??? I asked him what he meant, and he said all "experienced re-enactors" go down in the shade. Nobody lays down in a field, in direct sun light, in a wool uniform.

We all laughed on that one...

 

[Slamfire]

Mostly officers and cavalrymen. Early in the war many infantry on both sides had personal sidearms or even big bowie knives (for the Confederates). After a long, hot, tiring march, they learned to toss it away as excess weight.

Infantry had enough to carry without the weight of the personal weapon.
This is so very true. I have read a bunch of Civil War Autobiographies/Reminisces. Just finished one by General E P Alexander. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Porter_Alexander Very few CW reminisces were written by privates.

Officers were primarily expected to direct and lead their men. For that reason Infantry Officers typically carried swords as a badge of office, and revolvers as a personal weapon. Infantry Officers more often used their swords slapping slaggers with the flat of the blade then they did cutting or stabbing the enemy. General E P Alexander often “borrowed” a service rifle to pot shot at Union soldiers when he was not aiming Napoleons at them.

Cavalry had their horses and while sword use happened quite frequently, in mêlée combat the most dangerous weapon was the pistol. Later, as the war progressed breech loading carbines starting pushing the engagement distances of Cavalry out and that firearm began to change Cavalry tactics.

In today’s world were we sit on our butt and drive everywhere weight is not an issue. However back when you carried everything and marched 10 to 20 miles a day, weight was a real issue. Lucius Barber, a Union Private who wrote "Army Memoirs" added up all the miles he marched, and it came to be 10,897 miles. If you are going to march 10,000 miles carrying a combat load of 60-100 pounds, you sure are not going to add weight if you don’t absolutely have to.

As to what caliber was carried the most, someone would need production records to determine that. From what I have read, Cavalry were happy to have either. Infantry, if they carried a personal side arm, was very likely to carry a pocket pistol. There are lots of 22-32 rimfires around from that era. These were small underpowered pistols, but the important thing was they were small.

 

[Gambit88]

for union troops, seargents and officers had sidearms, where the common infantry did not. If they did, the sidearm would generally be confinscated. Cavlery usially had a carbine and a revolver, but the multiple revolvers are generally a reenactorism. The confederates were the same way, except infantrymen who had revolvers were usially ordered to give them to the cav, as they were underarmed just like everyone else.

Gambit

 

[jimmyraythomason]

but the multiple revolvers are generally a reenactorism.

Mounted Confederate partisans used multiple revolvers regularly. One in particular was William "Bloody Bill" Anderson. He would hold the horse's reins between his teeth and use two pistols at once. This caused a lot of "frothing" from his mouth making him look "slobbering mad" to witnesses.

 

[rocky branch]

I was an actual ground pounder for 4 years.
Weight quickly becomes an issue related to time in the field and distances and terrane.

My outfit had some leeway as to what we carried.
I toted a .45 and a few mags along with my M2 Carbine, ammo, grenades, radio batteries, chow, and etc. on my 1st few operations.
Hung it up after that.
Equalled another canteen.

 

[Cap n Ball]

Some artillery units had 54 cal smoothbore pistols for last ditch use. Probably the best equipped and mounted were bushwackers. They rode the best blooded horses and carried as many as five or six revolvers usually 36 cal. Some also had bandoliers of preloaded cylinders and would simply pop out the empty cylinders into a saddlebag and put a fresh one in the frame.

 

[Jim Watson]

Not too much trouble to swap cylinders on a Remington, but nothing I would want to do in a hurry with a Colt unless there is a lot easier way to get the wedge out (and keep from dropping it in combat) than I know of.

 

[BHP FAN]

I'm a big Remington fan, but I've had some Colt pattern revolvers that were well worn in, and swapped cylinders almost as quick as my Remmies.

 

[Fingers McGee]

Most units of the 3rd Texas Cavalry that were formed in 1861 started the war with a pair of single shot model 1841 percussion pistols; double barreled shotguns, percussion model 1841 cal .54 rifles or .52 cal Sharps Carbines. Along the way, they acquired battle field and captured stores replacements.