Imported Confederate Shoulder Weapons

Jac Weiler, firearms consultant and engineer of Princeton, New Jersey, is a frequent contributor to "Civil War History" and other schohrly and technical journals. He is an honorary curator of the West Point Museum. Imported Confederate Shoulder Weapons JAC WELLER the union army moved t? the attack before dawn on September 17, 1862. General Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia were in defensive positions about die little Maryland town of Sharpsburg . The infantry of both sides fought with a bravery and viciousness never exceeded in war. By early afternoon, more American boys had been killed and wounded dian on any otiier single day in our military history—several times as many as on the first day in die Normandy invasion, or die worst twenty-four-hour period of die Battle of the Bulge, even tiiough die numbers engaged at Sharpsburg were tiny in comparison to tiiose of World War II armies. On December 13, 1862, Burnside launched his ponderous attack on the Confederate lines behind Fredericksburg. Union casualties were extreme: 12,747 men (exclusive of prisoners) of a total force of probably less than 70,000 actually engaged. Casualties at Sharpsburg and Fredericksburg were caused mainly by small arms fire. Artillery was in action almostconstantly diroughout both batties, yet it caused relatively few casualties.1 The shoulder weapons of the infantry did die damage. The deadliness of the Confederate infantry arms was in part due to the courage and tenacity of the enemy. Union regiments attacked in close formation, charging into the witiiering fire from Confederate positions . However, the weapons themselves were new in warfare. Fifteen 1 The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1880-1901 ), Ser. I, Vol. 21, p. 587; cited hereinafter as O.R., followed by the series number in Roman numerals, die volume in Arabic, tile part number (if any), and die page, as O.R., I, 21, p. 587. This report states tiiat about 20 per cent of casualties at Fredericksburg were due to artillery fire. Estimates elsewhere run as low as 5 per cent. 157 158JAC WELLER years before, the infantry of the entire world had been in large measure armed witii flintiock smoothbore muskets. By die end of 1862, however, most of die Confederate infantry carried die new percussion Minié rifle, which loaded as easily as a smootiibore musket and had much greater range, accuracy, and power.2 The shoulder weapons of die Confederate Army were surprisingly good throughout die war. Shortages of such weapons and tiieir ammunition , although threatening throughout a large part of the conflict, never actually occurred after June, 1862. Throughout most of the conflict Johnny Reb's rifle was die equal of that carried by bis opponent.3 The Confederacy produced relatively few small arms, and diese of an inferior quality.4 At the beginning of die war Federal and state armories located in die Soutii had contained many weapons, but most of these were obsolete.5 Battlefield captures, particularly during and following the Seven Days around Richmond, were of importance but were probably counterbalanced by die attrition of war. However, arms made and purchased in Europe and brought into die Confederacy made up for all deficiencies. Probably more than half of all shoulder arms used by die Confederacy came from abroad.6 The fact that the South was able to supply her soldiers witii shoulder arms of such quality and in such quantity is remarkable in several respects. The arms were purchased by a new country with littie in die way of gold or foreign exchange and witii few experienced international merchants. The Confederacy was in direct competition witii a nation abundantiy supplied witii all the necessaries for cornering the world market in arms. These weapons, once purchased, had to be brought into 2 Jac Weiler, "Flintiock Musket to Percussion Rifle," Ordnance, XXXVII ( November -December, 1952), 448. 3 After die fall of Vicksburg, Grant rearmed some of his Union infantry witii captured Enfield rifles imported by the Confederacy from England. 4 Probably about 70,000 shoulder weapons throughout the conflict; for details of this production see Weiler, "Confederate-Made Infantry Weapons," Gun...