To: J_F_Shepard who wrote (698497 ) 2/12/2013 6:44:32 PM From: Bilow Read Replies (1) | Respond to Hi J_F_Shepard; Re: "About 30% of the rifles used in the Civil War were smooth bore."Yes, the gun nuts could overthrow the government. In fact, it's been done before, at least for several years and several states. Find a history book that goes back to 1860 to find out more. Message 28608993 The Civil War? What government was overthrown, the Confederates tried but were defeated with millions of dead and wounded. They were still using muskets and front loading cannon, rifles just coming in . " Message 28611267 Okay so you're a little confused about weapons. As far as I know, there were no smooth bore shoulder fired weapons used in the civil war . The only smooth bore weapons I'm aware of from the Civil War era were cannon. So go ahead, show me wrong here. Here's the wiki article on the Springfield Model 1861, "the most widely used US Army weapon during the Civil War, favored for its range, accuracy and reliability: "you were wrong about "rifles just coming in" , and I was wrong about "no smooth bore shoulder fired weapons used in the civil war".This thesis examines the effect the rifle had on infantry tactics during the Civil War . It traces the transition from smoothbore to rifle and the development of the Minie ball.many units, mostly cavalry, would be equipped with Spencer or Henry repeating rifles . The one piece cartridge, mechanical reload and reliable firing mechanism made these a tremendous jump in firepower. However, most of the war would be fought primarily with rifled muskets (British Enfields and U.S. Springfields). Both sides would start the war with smoothbore muskets. oai.dtic.mil In 1861, neither the North or the South had very many rifles. The average soldier used a smooth-bore musket and only the snipers of each side employed the rifle because of the problems inherent in the slow-loading weapon. As the advantages of a rifled firearm became apparent, the North, with its large industrial ability, became the first to mass produce the rifles for use in the war. With its much smaller industrial base, the South was slow to follow but by 1863, nearly all infantrymen on both sides carried rifles . (McPherson, 475) goordnance.army.mil army.mil
