This website will revue weapons of the Civil War used by the North, and the South.

Weapons Of The Civil War

Everyone is familiar with the “typical” Civil War muskets. The muzzel-loading muskets, (mostly Springfields and Enfields). Pour in the black powder, drop in the round lead ball, pack it down with the ramrod, and BOOM! Fire away!

But, although those were the most common Civil War weapons, companys like Colt Firearms and Remington, Spencer, Sharps, and many others, were quick to capitalize on the demand for weapons in the Civil War. They developed new, more advanced Civl War weapons. Carbines, repeating rifles, and Gatling guns were part of the arsenal of Civil War weapons.

There was the Civl War revolving carbine, and “breechloading” Civil War rifles and carbines. Breech-loading rifles and carbines were loaded from the back. The Spencer carbines and rifles, as well as Sharps, and Smith carbines used cartridge rounds.. And there was the forerunner to the famous lever-action Winchester, the Henry Rifle in the Civil War. (The Henry rifle is the rifle used by General Buford’s men at the Battle of Gettysburgh).

This is, in large part, why the casualties of the Civil War were so high. The tactics were a hundred years behind the weapons used in the Civil War. And, as the war progressed , so did weapons development. Besides the rifled muskets, and breechloading rifles and carbines, weapons of the Civil War also included some very odd, and unique weapons. Weapons like the Billinghurst-Requa batteries, and the first machine gun type weapon was used in the Civil War, the Williams breech loading rapid fire gun

Side Arms of the Civil War

The manufacturing capabilities of the North enabled it to produce far more materials than the South, and side arms were no exception. The North had an ample supply of small revolvers and other pistols, while the South had to rely mainly on imports from Europe to supply their armies. Because of the success of the Union naval blockades, supplies were erratic at best.

Revolvers

Hundreds of different makes and models of side arms were used during the Civil War – everything from the muzzle-loading older weapons, to the revolving pistol, which had the ability to fire several rounds per minute before having to reload.

Some of the more common small arms were:

·    Colt revolver (.44 caliber and .36 caliber)

·    The Remington New Model

·    Starr Army Revolver

·    LeMat Revolver

·    Kerr Revolver

·    Derringers

Revolvers were typically used by officers and mounted soldiers, but some soldiers were able to acquire revolvers out of their own pockets, or from deceased soldiers on the battlefield.

Colt revolvers were the most widely used handgun during the Civil War. There were several different models, each with minor design differences and caliber modifications.

The most common seemed to be the 1851 Colt Navy (and the Navy Conversion), and the 1860 Army revolver.

Over 150,000 Colt Revolvers were built and delivered to the US Army during the Civil War, and the until the South fired on Fort Sumter, Colt was selling these weapons to the Confederate army. After that, the Union monopolized the market, leaving very few of theses weapons left for the South.

Colt revolvers were lightweight and powerful, along with being extremely reliable and durable. They came in .44 caliber and .36 caliber models, and the .36 caliber was a favorite of the Confederate officers – when they were able to acquire them.

Remington New Model

Although we have specified the ‘New Model’ in this description, Remington & Sons produced several high-quality, but inexpensive models of revolvers. They were less than half the cost, as durable and reliable, and the US government authorized the purchase of 114,000 of them.

The Remington’s also came in .44 caliber and .36 caliber models, and were only $12 each compared with $25 for the Colts.

Some of the advantages of the Remington, over other weapons such as the Colt, were the one-piece main frame, and one-piece grip, and it is the opinion of many experts that the Remington had a superior sight to the Colt and the Ruger.

Starr Army Revolver

The Starr Army Revolver is important because it was the first ever double-action revolver. Most of the cap and ball revolvers required the hammer to be manually cocked before firing, in order to ensure the spark ignited the powder in the chamber.

The initial Starr Model 1858 Double Action allowed the user to fire the weapon by simply pulling the trigger, without manually cocking the hammer. This cutting edge .44 caliber handgun was avoided by the Federal Government of the time because it’s short, 6” barrel did not meet military specifications.

Starr went back to the drawing board and came up with the 1863 Single Action Revolver, which the North and South forces accepted. It had an 8” barrel, which met the military specifications. Over 32,000 of these were produced, and they were mainly taken up by the military.

The production of the Starr Revolver was outdone only by Colt and Remington during the Civil War campaigns.

Many Civil War historians consider the LeMat Revolver to be one of the most potent side arms of the entire Civil War. Not only was it capable of storing 9 rounds in its cylinder, it would also hold a load of buckshot in the lower cylinder, in effect becoming an 18-gauge shotgun.

The biggest problem with the LeMat was that it didn’t use standard military ammunition. While the most common calibers of the time were .44 or .36, the LeMat used a variety of odd sizes, including.35, .40 and .42.

Interestingly, only 300 of these revolvers were made in the South before the war, and when the war started, adequate resources were unavailable to continue production. The Revolver began production again in France, but the first batch was substandard in quality and declined by the Confederate Army.

Companies from Belgium and England were able to produce higher quality units, and finally 3,000 of the formidable LeMat Revolver were purchased and delivered to the waiting Confederate forces.

The Kerr Revolver

This was another of the imported side arms of the Confederate Army. With the Colt and Remington companies building sound arms for the North, the South had to rely on the shipment of small arms from across the Atlantic Ocean.

The Kerr Revolver, like many, came in .44 caliber and .36 caliber versions, and was built by the London Armory Company (producer of the Enfield Musket).

It was a reliable pistol, but was never used as widely as many of the other pistols available.

It’s interesting to note that the London Armory Company was so dependent on the South for arms orders, that when the South was defeated, the LAC was soon dissolved.

Derringers

These were the smallest of the small handguns, with a capacity of one or two shots. They were typically held in boots, or were strapped on the ankle or the inner thigh. They could also be easily held in a small pouch.

This was an effective short range weapon when in the right circumstances. The beauty of the Derringer was that it could be concealed quite easily, providing the option of surprise.

Other Manufacturers

A number of other manufacturers popped up during the Civil War, mainly in response to the South’s need for reliable side arms to combat the North’s abundance of revolvers. The government of the Confederates actually gave out tax incentives and other perks to anyone who was willing to design and produce good quality side arms for the South.

Despite this effort, it is believed that less than 7,000 arms were produced by Southern companies, due in large part to the lack of resources, such as iron, to produce them. Many of the frames were built from brass or other softer metals.

Some of the fringe revolver manufacturers of this time were:

·    Whitney, Allen, Savage

·    Smith and Wesson

·    Leech and Rigdon

·    Griswold and Gunnison