Interestingly enough, Colt Manufacturing sent around 2,200 Model 1860 Colts to the South on contract early in the war. Civil War rifles like the Springfield Model 1861 musket and Sharps were key elements to battle and are sought-after guns by Civil War memorabilia collectors today, while those who fancy handguns seek out Colt Model 1860 Army or Model 1851 Navy revolvers. Single-Shot Rifle. Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction. The back action lock is European for the most part and even US made guns for the most part used imported locks. The only breechloading rifle (not built as a carbine like the Burnside) firing a primed-metallic cartridge (a .50 cal. Sir Joseph Whitworth was the man behind the machine, inspired by cannon design in conceiving his polygonal rifled long gun. However, some soldiers personally bought the Civil War gun before the government approved a contract. At the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union Army salvaged 24,000 rifles which were still loaded and found 18,000 of them had been loaded twice or more without being fired. The bored out versions were not consistent in caliber, ranging from .57 to .59. [2] Soldiers were often forced to use older smooth bore and flintlock muskets, which had been considered to be obsolete, simply because the newer rifles were not available in sufficient quantities. It is said Gen. Hiram Berdan had to circumvent his superiors and essentially appeal to President Lincoln himself to get the Sharps in play. The most widely accepted figure estimates 620,000 men lost their lives in the four years of war. As the war escalated, those arms stockpiles were quickly diminished. Get 12 Issues a year of the country's best firearms writing. 8 Long Guns You Have to Know from the American Civil War, Classic Guns: The Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum Revolver, Tips For Reloading the .30-06 Springfield, 5 Affordable Over/Under Shotguns Worth A Shot (2023), Ruger-Made Marlin Model 336 Classic Lever-Action Rifle Now Available. Rifles in the American Civil War - Wikipedia The bayonet is unmarked except for the date of 1861. Again, the high level of condition shown is rare to come by with Civil War guns considering the predicted heavy use and age of the firearms. Despite somewhat limited use, the muzzleloader still reached mythological status with Rebel sharpshooters who achieved some truly astounding shots with the rifle, and in the process struck terror into Union troops. Went off and smoked up the shop, I have unloaded a few old doubles myself . The government was impressed with the inventive gun, however, the first carbine order took Burnsides company two years to produce and the government had no money left for contracts to produce more by the time the guns were delivered. The gun is 50 long and 36 from the business end to trigger. When the gun was fired, it would ignite all of the powder at once, sending a volley of metal into the left hand of the person firing. [20][25] Later in the war, even factory-direct Lorenz rifles tended to be of poor craftsmanship. The Lorenz rifle was originally .54 caliber. Rock Island Auction Company has a wide variety of Civil War guns in our Premier and Regional Auctions.