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Where flintlock muskets used in the American Civil War?
Neither side purchased flintlocks. In the early days of the war, the Confederacy used any weapons available. This probably included a few flintlocks brought by individual soldiers. Most soldiers were armed with various percussion (aka. cap and ball) rifles and handguns. As the war progressed, more and more breech-loading cartridge rifles were used but the older technology was still dominant.AnswerThe governments of both Union and Confederacy did not place any contracts for Flintlock rifles, but many regiments were raised with private funds so there were some units that were armed with flintlocks. The 7th Arkansas Regiment was armed with flintlocks at the Battle of Shiloh. I remember reading about more units but I can't find a reference at this time. At Fort Henry there were two brigades commanded by Colonels Adolphus Heiman and Joseph Drake, approximately 2,800-3,400 men of the 10th Tennessee who were armed primarily with antique flintlock rifles from the War of 1812. [Reference wikipediea].At the Battle of Mill Springs, KY, January 19, 1862, the Confederate forces were armed mostly with flintlock muskets. On the 21st, they fought in the Battle of Logan's Cross Roads.The 6th Arkansas Infantry Regiment was mustered and organized at Little Rock, Arkansas on June 10, 1861. The regiment was initially armed mostly with flintlock M1816/M1822 .69 cal. smoothbore muskets seized from the Little Rock arsenal in February, 1861. Co. A was armed with a mixture of M1841 "Mississippi rifles" and .69 cal. smoothbores, as there weren't enough of the rifles to go around. The 6th Arkansas was decisively engaged at Shiloh with the Confederate left wing, engaged against Sherman's Federal troops. The 6th Arkansas was able to re-arm itself with "Springfield rifles" (probably .58 cal. M1855 rifle muskets) from Federal weapons left on the field at Shiloh.Re-Tooled to PercussionAbout 5,600 Model 1840 flintlock muskets had been ordered just before the war. These were .69 caliber smoothbore muskets and many were quickly re-tooled for percussion ignition. Another smoothbore that was available in Virginia arsenals was one made by the Virginia Manufactory in Richmond.References:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Henrywhich references The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War, Eicher, David J., Simon & Schuster, 2001.http://www.state.ky.us/agencies/khc/millspri.htmhttp://www.geocities.com/capitalguards/history.html
What were the main muskets used in the civil war?
Shoulder fired weapons in the ACW can be put into five categories based on the following characteristics: A.) Type of barrel: Smoothbore vs. rifled, the latter much more accurate. B.) How they were loaded: Muzzleloaders vs. breechloaders, the latter being more desirable. C.) How often you had to load them: The less, the better. D.) Priming, or how the bullet was fired: Flintlock vs. percussion, the latter more reliable. The five types of muskets are as follows, worst to best: 1.) Flintlock smoothbore. This is a single shot muzzleloader, likely a shotgun, fired by a spark from a flint, igniting powder in a priming pan to fire the bullet. It was just this side of useless, and worthless in damp weather. 2.) Percussion smoothbore. Also a single shot muzzleloader, but improved by removing the lock and replacing it with a hammer that struck a percussion cap placed on a nipple that led to the powder charge that fired the bullet. This cap was like a very small top hat that was placed on the nipple, it was coated with fulmonate of mercury, a contact explosive. Both the foregoing smoothbore types were not very accurate. They fired a round ball that was ballistically inaccurate. 100 yards, you couldn't hit a barn door with any certainty... 3.) Percussion rifled, or rifled musket. Single shot muzzleloader with a rifled barrel. Startlingly accurate for those used to smoothbores, (Some Generals learned this quickly, some less so, and some never did.) a veteran could get off three aimed shots a minute with one of these, making frontal attacks, even against hastily prepared positions, unreasonably costly. The drawback of the muzzleloader was that you had to stand to load it, or were expected to. This was the weapon most troops fought with, and the best weapon available to the south in any quantities. Types included the British Enfield, used mainly by the south, and the US Springfield models of 1861 and 1863, issued to the north. 4.) Breechloader. Single shot rifle loaded at the breech with a one piece bullet that included the powder and primer in a rim fire cartridge. The union Sharps carbine was one of these, carried mainly by the cavalry. 5.) Repeater. Multi shot rifle loaded from a tubular magazine in the stock (Spencer) or under the barrel (Henry) To southern troops, the Spencer seven shot was the rifle you could 'Load on Sunday and shoot all week!' The Henry was the predecessor to the lever action Winchester, as seen in every western movie ever made. First introduced to the confederates at the little known Battle of Hoovers Gap, by a union unit armed entirely with them, known as the lightning brigade, they drove off two divisions and held the pass so Thomas' XIV Corps could use it to flank Bragg out of Tennessee. There were other muskets used, especially early in the war. Agents from both sides bought up all the outdated stuff Europe had to offer. A lot of union western troops got stuck with an outdated .78 caliber Belgian musket that must have kicked like a mule. Colt made a 5 shooter revolver .54 cal rifle that lost favor because all five chambers could go off at once. A few thousand of those also got sent west.
