1) .58-caliber Springfield, muzzle-loading rifle. Popularly known as the rifle-musket. During the Civil War this particular weapon was to be the standard issue of the Union forces, some 1,470,000 were issued Capable of two rounds a minute, the Springield was one result of the arms research prior to the war. 2) .577 Enfield, muzzle-loading rifle, a favorite of the Confederates. The Enfield rifle and carbine were considered to be superior in workmanship to the Springfield. Both type Enfields fired approximately two rounds a minute. 3) Sharps breech loading .52-caliber carbine. The Sharps had a rate of fire of six rounds a minute. Not having as long a range as the rifle, the carbine was more effective at less than 150 yards with its high rate of fire. 4) Henry .44 caliber repeating rifle. The fast firing Henry was in great demand throughout the war. It could theoretically fire 25 rounds a minute, although the tubular magazine under the barrel (holding twelve cartridges was slow and difficult to reload. Improved versions were later marketed under the name of Winchester. 5) Cross-section of Minie's bullet. The cylindroconical profectile had a cup-shaped cavity in the base of the bullet. Into this cavity was partially inserted a sheet-iron plug that was driven further into the cavity when the weapon was fired, thus expanding the bullet to fit more closely to the rifled grooves of the barrel as it left the gun. Back to The Infantry More ACW Rifle-Musket ACW: Introduction ACW: Infantry ACW: Infantry Tactics (Examples) ACW: Cavalry ACW: Artillery ACW: Engineers ACW: Entrenchments ACW: Grand Tactics ACW: Tactics: Auerstadt 1806 vs. New Market 1864 ACW: Conclusion and Bibliography Back to Conflict Number 7 Table of Contents Back to Conflict List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1974 by Dana Lombardy This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com