Rifles Issued to the Regiment

Bret Coulson

Issued to Company A, 35^th Pennsylvania Inf. Regt. from the Philadelphia Arsenal

Ø United States Rifle, Model 1855 (“Harpers Ferry”) — Adoption of the Minnie Bullet by the United States in 1855 marked a big advance in the effectiveness of military rifles. This model was a .58 caliber muzzle‑loading, rifled bore weapon that used the new Maynard Tape primer system. It differed from the United States Rifle Musket, Model 1855, mainly in that its barrel was 33 instead of 40 inches long. It can be distinguished from the former weapon also by the fact that the “Harpers Ferry” had only two iron bands holding the stock to the barrel, whereas the longer “Springfield” had three. Seventy-two U.S. Model 1855 rifles were issued to Company A prior to its August 1861 deployment to Fort Delaware.

Issued to 35^th Pennsylvania Inf. Regt. from the Washington Arsenal

In late September 1861 the 35^th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment was issued a total of 556 obsolescent .69 caliber rifled muskets from the Washington Arsenal. The regiment appears to have drawn a mix of Austrian and Belgian weapons, and may have also received some U.S. Model 1842 rifled muskets. In addition, the 35^th received 200 obsolete Belgian .69 caliber smoothbore muskets from the arsenal.

Ø Austrian .69 caliber rifled muskets — Company E, 35^th Pennsylvania, was issued “Austrian” .69 caliber muzzle-loading rifled muskets. This firearm was not considered well-made or reliable.

Ø Albini Fusil d’infantrie, Model 1841/1853 — Belgian .69 caliber muzzle‑loading, rifled bore weapons made from earlier Model 1841 smoothbore percussion muskets. Fitted with a back-action lock, two simple barrel bands and a relatively large, elaborate nose cap. Used in the Belgian Army by line-infantry, grenadier, and chasseur regiments. This firearm was not considered well made or reliable.

Ø Albini Fusil d’infantrie, Model 1841 — Belgian .69 caliber muzzle‑loading, smoothbore percussion muskets. Fitted with a back-action lock, two simple barrel bands and a relatively large, elaborate nose cap. Used in the Belgian Army by line-infantry, grenadier, and chasseur regiments. This firearm was not considered well-made or reliable. The 35^th Pennsylvania received 200 of these firearms.

Ø United States Rifled Musket, Model 1842 — The rifled modification of the Model 1842 .69 caliber smoothbore, muzzle‑loading percussion musket. Between 1856 and 1859 the U.S. Government modified 14,300 selected Model 1842 smoothbore muskets to take advantage of the new Minnie type elongated ball. Barrels were rifled with three groove rifling. Long range rear sights were also added.

Issued to 74^th Pennsylvania Inf. Regt. in the field

The 74^th Pennsylvania began receiving more modern weapons beginning in September 1862 while it was camped near Fairfax Court House with the rest of the Eleventh Corps. The first new firearm issued to the regiment was the Enfield Model 1853 Rifle Musket, but it was quickly supplanted by the United States Model 1861 Rifle Musket which became the principal weapon of the Seventy-Fourth from late 1862 until the end of the war.

Ø Enfield Rifle Musket, Model 1853 — The second most widely used weapon of the Civil War was the British Enfield three‑band, single‑shot, muzzle‑loading musket. It was also the standard weapon for the British army between 1853‑1867. American soldiers liked it because its .577 caliber barrel allowed the use of .58 caliber ammunition used by both Union and Confederate armies. Many officers, however, preferred the Springfield muskets over the Enfield muskets – largely due to the interchangeability of parts that the machine‑made Springfield rifle muskets offered. Originally produced at the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield, England, approximately 900,000 of these muskets were imported during 1861‑1865. Most of these were made by firms in Birmingham (Tower) or London (London Arms Co.). The 74^th Pennsylvania received about 80 of these weapons.

Ø United States Rifle Musket, Model 1861 — With the slightly modified 1863 models, this was the principal infantry weapon on both sides. The Springfield Armory manufactured about 800,000 during the war, and other sources furnished almost 900,000 more. These figures include the 1861 and the two 1863 models. The Model 1861 was fundamentally the same as the Model 1855 except that the percussion cap had replaced the unsatisfactory Maynard Tape. Its over‑all length was 56 inches, 3 7/8 inches shorter than the 1855. The .58 Minnie bullet continued to be used in the Model 1861, and the barrel length remained 40 inches. It weighed about 9 3/4 pounds with its 18‑inch triangular bayonet. At its maximum effective range of 500 yards, under ideal conditions, 10 shots would make a 27‑inch pattern. Extreme range was about 1,000 yards. lt could be fired about six times per minute. The Springfield Armory made 265,129 of these Model 1861 rifle muskets between January 1861 and December 1863. The 74^th Pennsylvania received approximately 700 Model 1861 rifle muskets.