Pistols, Rifles & Carbines
The museum’s small arms collection spans the transition from percussion cap to cartridge firearms, covering the Civil War through the Spanish American War. Included are period revolvers, single-action pistols, Springfield rifles, Sharps carbines, Civil War muskets, and a rare Dragoon revolver.
Pistols & Revolvers
At the start of the Civil War handguns were issued only to cavalrymen and mounted light artillery. The number of handguns privately purchased by Yankee soldiers easily exceeded the quantity issued by the Federal Government. Following the end of the Civil War, the great westward expansion was underway. This, in combination with the new self-contained metallic cartridge, gave rise to a huge market and demand for large bore frontier revolvers. At the end of the Civil War the Ordinance Department faced the same issues as the Quartermaster, with vast quantities of accoutrements and equipment in storage. These would continue in use until the early 1870’s when several revolvers were converted to take a metallic cartridge. Until Colt introduced their Calvary Model in 1873, the No. 3 Smith and Wesson American was the only large-caliber cartridge revolver used by the United States Government. In the late 1880’s Colt began to experiment with double action revolvers. In 1892, the Army went to a .38 Caliber Colt double action Army (5 ½” barrel) revolver. While the double action mechanism of this weapon was on the cutting edge of firearms technology, the Army learned in the Philippines that caliber .38 ammunition was not up to the task of stopping an attacking opponent in his tracks. In 1895 the Ordinance Department adopted the 5 ½-inch barrel for the service revolver, so the Calvary Model revolver with its 7 ½” barrel was called in to have their barrels shortened.
Museum Examples
Rifles, Carbines & Muskets
At the start of the Civil War nearly all military arms were still loaded through the muzzle. The smoothbore longarms were most commonly known as muskets. The percussion ignition system took the place of the venerable flintlock and with the invention of the Minie ball, the newly “rifled” barreled arm soon became the practical weapon for all infantrymen. In 1860, B. Tyler Henry received a patent for a truly landmark rifle. With a lever operated action and the .44 Rimfire brass cartridge case, the Model of 1860 or .44 Henry was born. This was a tremendously important firearms advancement coming at a time when the single-shot muzzle loader was standard. Despite the repeaters’ tremendous popularity among the ranks, the Federal Ordinance Department purchased fewer than 15,000 in the last 2 years of the War. The next important step was the advanced development of the breech loading shoulder arm (carbines). When the self-contained cartridge appeared in the mid-1800s, the problems of ignition and loading disappeared. The carbine only differs from the rifle in the length of the barrel and stock and a few minor parts. In 1866 Winchester set the stage for a whole line of great leverguns by adding a forearm and a loading gate. In 1873 the now legendary Winchester ’73 emerged differing from the 1866 in two major areas. The frame was now made of steel instead of brass, and the ammunition was no longer rimfire but a re-loadable centerfire — the .44 Winchester Center Fire. When Colt added the Winchester centerfire cartridges to the Colt Single Action Army it became possible for a cavalryman to carry a sixgun and saddlegun that chambered the same round — a most desirable feature in the field.
