Civil War Arms and Equipment

Exploring the weapons and technology of the Civil War

Civil War Small Arms

During the Civil War, pistols may have been disregarded by many soldiers, but their lasting success mainly belongs to the Civil War. At the time, both the Union and the Confederates raced to arm their soldiers with all weapons possible. Thanks to the manufacturing muscle of the Union, many pistols were made of various models. The spark of an arms race during the Civil War caused post-war gun companies to continue to improve upon their previous models.

Pistols were usually an officer’s or a cavalryman’s weapon. Numerous pistol models existed at the time. However, the Colt revolvers became so popular at the time of the Civil War that the word “Colt” and “revolver” were almost synonymous. Remington, Starr and Whitney, Smith & Wesson, and the French Lefaucheux were also pistol models that were in use at the time.

The Colt Model 1860

The Colt Army Model 1860 is a cap & ball .44-caliber single-action revolver that was manufactured between 1860 adn 1873 by Colt’s Manufacturing Company. The total production consisted of more than 200,000. It was used as a side arm by cavalry, infantry, artillery troops, and naval forces. This single-actiomn pistol was accurate up to about 100 yards. This six-shot, single-action revolver has an eight-inch round barrel rifled with a total length of 14 inches, weight is two pounds 11 ounces, and cylinder length is 1-13/16 inches. The Colt “Army” Model was the most widely used pistol of the Civil War and fired six shots. The hammer would strike a percussion cap which would ignite the powder and fire bullet.

The Remington Model 1858

The Remington is a single-action, six-shot, percussion revolver produced by E. Remington & Sons, Ilion, N.Y. The Remington Model 1858 was also .44 caliber and came with an 8-inch barrel length. Production of these pistols totaled 132,000 from 1862 into 1875. The design of the Model 1858 was attributed to Fordyce Beals whose surname appeared on several preceding Remington guns. The sights were fitted at the front and rear of the gun which held an effective range out to 75 yards. The Model 1858 fired from a six-chamber revolving cylinder. Each chamber was filled individually through either powder-and-ball or paper cartridges depending on the period and gun actual model.

Starr Revolvers

A Starr revolver is a double-action revolver which was used in the western theater of the American Civil War. Starr also began making a single-action version after a request from the US Government. The pistols were six-shot .44 caliber percussion guns with an 8″ barrel and about 11″ in total length. About 23,000 double-action Starr revolvers were manufactured in the late 1850s and early 1860s. Of these, most were purchased by the U.S. Army. Starr revolvers, in both single-and double-action models, represented over 12 percent of the side arms issued to Union cavalry troops. Only Colt and Remington revolvers were more frequently encountered in the hands of Northern soldiers.

LeMat Revolver

The LeMat revolver was inventedy by Jean Alexander LeMat was different from other pistols because it came in either 42 or .36 caliber and it had a secondary 20 gauge smooth-bore barrel capable of firing buckshot. The revolver was manufactured between 1856 and 1865 and was primarily used by the Confederate Army who purchased about 2,500 of them. The LeMat revolver had a nine-chambered cylinder and weighed about four pounds. To fire the pistol, the hammer was fitted with a pivoting striker that could be rotated to fire the regular barrel or changed to fire the lower, larger barrel.

Ammunition

Paper Cartridges

Union and Confederate Armie supplied their troops with paper based cartridges to speed up the loading of weapons during battle. A paper cartridge was made from linen is a complete ready to fire round. These paper cartridges are not the same as a metallic cartridge such as modern handguns use. Paper cartridges were shipped in ammunition boxes, which contained the proper amount of percussion caps and rounds to load one revolver.

This paper cartridge was a roll of thin paper, that in the bottom section contained a measured quantity of powder, and in the top section it contained a ball or bullet. Sometimes this cartridge would also contain a patched ball as would be used in a single shot rifle. There were also two styles of paper cartridge; the standard paper based cartridge and a combustible cartridge, which will be explained shortly. In addition, the soldier also needed a method of igniting their weapon. The cap was used for this as a primary ignition source. The cap was a loose separate item from the paper cartridge.