Civil War Armory

Rifles and Muskets

Rifles are a type of firearm that shoot bullets out of a barrel using gunpowder.  The barrel has spiral shaped grooves on the inside which make the bullet spin when it is fired from the gun.  This greatly improves the accuracy of the person firing the rifle.

Muskets are heavy guns used by infantry.  Like rifles, they shoot bullets using gunpowder.  Unlike rifles, the barrel is smooth, it doesn't have grooves on the inside.  Guns with grooves are rifled while guns with a smooth barrel are smoothbore.  Muskets are the predecessors of modern-day rifles.

44 Henry Rifle

The 44 Henry Rifle was invented by Tyler Henry one year prior to the Civil War.  About 1400 of these rifles were manufactured during the war.  Even though this weapon was frequently used during the Civil War, it was not widely accepted by the U.S. army.  The 44 Henry Rifle used copper or brass covers for its ammunition cartridges.

58 Springfield Musket

The 58 Springfield Musket was the primary weapon of the Civil War.  1.5 million of these muskets were made during the war.  The Springfield used paper cartridges containing a bullet and gunpowder.  This led to a change in tactic because the 58 Springfield Musket required more defensive warfare.  This change largely favored the South.