Civil War Weapons: the pistols, revolvers, carbines, rifles, longarms, artillery, swords and edged weapons used in the conflict.

CIVIL WAR WEAPONS

Contents Introduction

6

Pistols and Revolvers

8

Cavalry Carbines

64

Rifles and Longarms

124

Hiram Berdan's Sharpshooters

200

Artillery

208

Swords and Edged Weapons

238

Acknowledgments

256

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5

208

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CIVIL WAR WEAPONS

CHAPTER FOUR

Artillery As with other weaponry, the Civil War gave a huge

few states had artillery militia units of their own

impetus to the development of artillery technology

Although production on both sides was quickly

and tactics. Before the war, however, the artillery

stepped up as war began, recruitment continued to

branch was by far the smallest in the army; an

be difficult. As with their peacetime predecessors,

underfunded "Cinderella" unpopular with most

most of the men who rallied to the colors again

West Point graduates. Service with the guns was

preferred the excitement and

glamor

of the

infantry and cavalry. Artillery units needed a special type of man, one with technical aptitude as well as some mathematical education and ability These qualities had to be combined with the cold courage necessary to work methodically on the complex interconnected tasks of the gun crew while shot and shell landed about them. But the importance of the big guns was unanswerable, and the size of the artillery arm on both sides quickly grew, as did its reputation and professionalism. Civil War Artillery was divided into two main groupings, namely field and heavy artillery. Field artillery batteries, as the name suggests,

were

mobile units that accompanied the armies into battle, able to move with the infantry or cavalry As the war progressed, Confederate artillerymen had to deal with shortages off all kinds.

Ingenuity and

they supported, and to set up and be ready to fire within

minutes. such

W ithin

the

as light

field

artillery,

artillery,

mounted

improvisation helped overcome this, such as with these

descriptions

dummy guns made from Logs at Centreville, Virginia.

artillery, horse artillery or even flying artillery were

From a distance these Looked real enough, and could

used . Heavy artillery was the name given to larger

intimidate an attacking force into staying in their own

pieces, normally emplaced in static positions to

trenches. For a while.

defend key points such as fortresses, harbours, seen

as lacking

the

excitement,

glamor

and

major towns and other valuable locations. Some

opportunities for promotion of the infantry and

heavy artillery was movable and could be deployed

cavalry Cannon were also expensive to make and

as

required high-quality industrial facilities, such that

bombardment force for a besieging army

when the regular army split apart in April 1861, the

a

"siege

train"

to

provide

a

powerful

All the guns in use at the start of the war were

artillery branch of the United States comprised

smoothbore muzzleloaders,

only 48 batteries of four or six guns, while only a

projectiles including solid shot, explosive shell and

firing

a

range

of

CIVIL WAR WEAPONS

A neat battery of guns at Fort Marshall,

island,

South Carolina.

T he

Sullivan's

nearest one,

on the

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209

Artillery in the field

wheeled carriage, is lighter than most static defensive

The standard field artillery unit was the company

weapons, hut can still cause a fearsome amount of

or battery, commanded by a captain. Batteries were

damage.

nominally grouped

in

regiments,

but

for

all

practical purposes this was ignored, and the multi-projectile rounds such as grapeshot and

battery on campaign was treated as in independent

canister. As the war progressed, rifled pieces

command. Union field batteries normally had six

became more common, as did a host of different

guns, and Confederate batteries four, but in both

designs of shell intended to be used in such pieces.

armies the numbers varied considerably from unit

But loading by the muzzle remained the method of choice for almost all the guns that fought, and

Overleaf Gunners had to he a special breed indeed. To

unlike small arms such as the cavalry carbine, the

carry out complex gun drills quickly and smoothly

widespread use of breechloading cannon didn't

while shot and shell rained down about you took a

occur until after the war.

particularly coldform of courage.

CIVIL WAR WEAPONS

purchase

finely

decorated

works

of

art

to

demonstrate their personal and financial status. The pre-war Navy had similar obsolete ideas of

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239

With their unwieldy saber bayonets towering above them, a .formation of men are led o.ff behind a drummer tapping out the cadence. Every rifleman

mass boarding actions being fought, where seaman

was issued with a bayonet, although only a tiny

and officers would wield broad-bladed cutlasses on

percentage of the war's casualty list were injured

contested decks. Again, in practice this almost

by a bayonet attack.

never happened, although a hefty cutlass could be an intimidating tool for Union inspection parties

war with their banners fluttering from their spear­

when intercepting vessels suspected of running

like lances. But in the end, the most common use

their blockade of southern ports.

for the soldier's edged weapon was around camp,

As for the mass of infantry, every soldier had a bayonet for his rifle

in the day-to-day tasks of eating, making camp

musket. Whether a sword or

and making whatever small comforts they could.

socket type, they were awkward and cumbersome,

Never mind a sword or bayonet - every soldier

affecting the balance and aim of the weapon while

needed a knife.

or

making loading more difficult. Initially intended to protect infantry formations from cavalry attack, by the start of the war they were then considered

Overleaf One action where massed cavalry .formations did clash in saber-to-saber combat was at

offensive weapons for massed charges. In practice

Gettysburg, where Brigadier General Wade Hampton

this didn't happen particularly often, but a bayonet

led his cavalry brigade in an attempt to ourflank the

did give some protection to man with an empty rifle

Army of the Potomac, and was intercepted in turn by

and no time to reload, and perhaps a boost to his

Union cavalry. In the ensuing melee, Hampton was

morale when advancing forward into a storm of fire. And the

truly

anachronistic use of edged

cut off by Union troopers and had to fight his way out. He was wounded in the action but soon returned to

weapons is demonstrated by the unfortunate

duty and ended the war as Lieutenant General.

Confederate formations who were issued with

Hampton is shown wielding a non-regulation double­

pikes before their rifles became available, while

edged straight sword while his assailant has a Model

the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry rode off to the wrong

1860 Cavalry Sabe1c