Rifles in the American Civil War
During the American Civil War, an assortment of small arms found their way onto the battlefield. Though the muzzleloader percussion cap rifled musket was the most numerous weapon, being standard issue for the Union and Confederate armies, many other firearms, ranging from the single-shot breech-loading Sharps and Burnside rifles to the Spencer and the Henry rifles - two of the world's first repeating rifles - were issued by the hundreds of thousands, mostly by the Union. The Civil War brought many advances in firearms technology, most notably the widespread use of rifled barrels.
Drawing of a Civil War soldier loading a muzzleloader rifle
Historical reenactors demonstrate muzzleloading techniques from the prone position.
This collection contain smoothbore flintlocks converted into percussion muskets, some with their barrels rifled
Contract carbines as they were known at that time: Cosmopolitan, Sharps, Gallager, Smith and Burnside
Sharps rifles are a series of large-bore, single-shot, falling-block, breech-loading rifles, beginning with a design by Christian Sharps in 1848 and ceasing production in 1881. They were renowned for long-range accuracy. By 1874, the rifle was available in a variety of calibers, and it was one of the few designs to be successfully adapted to metallic cartridge use. The Sharps rifles became icons of the American Old West with their appearances in many Western-genre films and books. Perhaps as a result, several rifle companies offer reproductions of the Sharps rifle.
Sharps rifle
Sharps Model 1852 "slanting breech"
Sharps Model 1852, lock
Sharps Model 1852, breech