Hunting With .58 Civil War Rifled Muskets & Carbines By: Toby Bridges
If there is one thing that the Civil War definitely WAS NOT ... it was “Civil”!
In all reality, it was the bloodiest conflict ever fought on American soil - and between Americans. Several million men from the North and South lined up on battlefields, mostly in the South, and fired great hunks of lead at one another, until one side became so decimated that the other could over run the opposing force. And while the fighting during the early 1860s saw the introduction of breech-loading military cartridge arms, the vast majority of the relatively close quarters combat was done with large-bore percussion muzzle-loaded guns.
The mainstay arm of troops on both sides was a long-barreled rifled musket. Northern infantry was most commonly armed with either the U.S. Model 1861 or Model 1863 Springfield rifledmusket. These were .58 caliber rifled long guns, with a 40” barrel. And the total production at the Springfield Armory and by several dozen private contractors was around 1.5 million. Southern troops were very often armed with Confederate copies of these guns, and with U.S. arms recovered from the battlefield. However, the primary rifle-musket of the Confederate foot soldier was the .577 caliber Enfield rifled-musket produced in England, and brought to the South by daring blockade runners. The standard Enfield Model 1853 Rifle was built with a 39” barrel. Likewise, a number of shorter variations and carbines were also used by troops on both sides.
Above - .58 Caliber U.S. Model 1863 Springfield Rifled-Musket
11 Skirmish Line Spring 2022
