BET YOUR BREECHES: THE CIVIL WAR AND THE IMPACT OF BREECH LOADING RIFLES

The American Revolutionary War ended in 1783, but another war that would encompass the country was brewing by 1861—a war that would prove itself revolutionary in a vastly different way. The American Civil War was characterized by a revolution in military weapons technology. Weapons such as mines and ironclad ships had their combat debuts during the Civil War, and for the first time, the American people were weaponized through a military draft. However, no weapon had a greater impact on the war than the breech loading rifle, whose reputation and deadly power provided immense advantages for the Union soldiers, increased the carnage of the war, and proved itself a pivotal advantage in battle that would change weapons technology forever.

The concept of a breech loading rifle was not new during the Civil War, but it was a major part of military ordnance for the first time in American history. Breech loading rifles had been steadily advancing in technology and growing in popularity since the first models came on the scene as early as the 16th century. During the American Revolutionary War, a small experimental rifle corps in the British Army carried Ferguson Breech Loading Rifles, and after the fighting ended, it became a race to see who could perfect the mechanism before the next major military scuffle.[1] The Fergusons were rife with problems that weapons designers and firearms manufacturers got to work fixing. The most pressing issue with a breech loading rifle was creating an airlock around the ammunition to prevent overheating and the escape of smoke and gases from the chamber. One of the first breech loading rifles to eliminate this problem was the Burnside Carbine, patented just half a decade prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. In 1857, Ambrose Burnside’s breech loading carbine won a design competition at West Point, and some 55,000 Burnside Carbines were manufactured during the Civil War. Burnside, famous for his outlandish facial hair, also set the trend for rifle technology. In addition to being loaded from the rear, the Burnside Carbine further simplified the loading process by combining the gunpowder and Minié Ball bullet needed to fire it, into metal cartridges that could easily be set into place. When fired, an external percussion cap would spark and ignite the gunpowder, expelling the ammunition. The metal cartridge sealed the barrel of the rifle, locking in the gasses and making the rifle more effective and less harmful and unpleasant for the shooter.[2] “The great objection to breech-loading rifles—the leaking of the gas through the joints—having been overcome by the use of the copper cartridge case, there can be little, if any, doubt that this class of weapon will come into general use, and the rifle which combines the greatest advantages will take the lead in the market.”[3] Some complained that the metal cartridges Burnside Carbines used, sealed the barrel too well, as it would often become stuck in the breech and was difficult to remove and replace once fired.[4] Over the course of the Civil War, nearly 20 different types of breech loading rifles were introduced and used in an attempt to perfect the mechanism. The Sharps Carbine overtook the Burnside Carbine as the most popular breech loading rifle of the war, though it owes much of its design to the Burnside. The Sharps Carbine used linen cartridges to eliminate the jamming problem suffered by Burnside-wielders. Beyond carbines, the breech loading technology was applied to repeating rifles, which could shoot multiple times with a single reload, and were thus far more deadly. The Spencer Repeating Rifle allowed a soldier to load a magazine with seven rounds on each reload.[5] The Spencer quickly became the most sought after rifle in the war. “A soldier from the 148th Pennsylvania Infantry recalled that his unit was the ‘honored regiment’ issued Spencer rifles in his Second Army Corps division.”[6] Any soldier lucky enough to carry a Spencer Repeating Rifle, or even a Sharps or Burnside Carbine, was set at an advantage over the enemy. Breech loading rifles, though not necessarily new during the Civil War, soon proved themselves to be the most sophisticated and deadly rifle available to soldiers, from the short stock of carbine-style rifles to advanced repeating rifles.

There were many advantages that allowed a breech loading rifle to be more effective in combat than a muzzle loading rifle. By the Civil War, most firearms manufacturers had given up the smooth barrel design, which volleyed musket balls at a relatively low velocity, in favor of a rifled barrel design that could spin out bullet shaped ammunition at a higher velocity and with more accuracy. The debate over smooth barrels and rifled barrels was soon replaced by the debate between muzzle loaders and breech loaders. The most obvious difference was that the breech loaders did not require ammunition and gunpowder to be stuffed in the muzzle with a combined effort of gravity and a ramrod, a time-consuming process that left reloaders susceptible to enemy fire. A review of the Moore Breech Loading Rifle in an 1862 newspaper touts one advantage as the “simplicity and ease of the manual for loading, reducing the number of motions to five or six.”[7] The breech loading rifles could be loaded and reloaded quickly and easily from the back, limiting the time and energy expended to reload. Some breech loaders, like the Spencer, could even be loaded with a magazine of ammunition rather than a single cartridge, maximizing the firing rate. “[Spencer rifles] enabled the shooter to get off 14 rounds per minute, as opposed to the 2-3 shots per minute of an average Civil War rifle.”[8] Not only were breech loaders quicker and easier to reload, they could be loaded from a variety of positions other than standing since the awkward ramrod no longer played a role in the process. This meant that soldiers equipped with breech loaders could shoot from a prone position, in the cover of a rifle pit, or on horseback. Since it was quicker and easier to load and reload, in comparison to the muzzle loader, a breech loader could shoot more bullets in the same amount of time, and since the process was less cumbersome, soldiers could shoot consistently for longer periods of time without becoming fatigued.

Another advantage the breech loaders had over the muzzle loaders was the ability to confirm that they had been loaded. This seems like an insignificant detail, but it made a big impact. Since the breech loader would visibly hold the cartridge or magazine at the same point of the firearm every time, and this point was easily accessible to the loader, there was no risk of overloading the rifle. Overloading proved a significant problem with muzzle loading rifles. In the blur of battle, soldiers often forgot if they had loaded their weapons, and it was difficult to see down the muzzle to check if it was already loaded. Many times, multiple rounds of ammunition and gunpowder were loaded into muzzle loading rifles. At best, the rifle would lock up and not be able to fire. At worst, the extra ammunition and gunpowder could cause the rifle to explode. Neither outcome was helpful to a soldier engaged in battle. It is estimated that approximately three-quarters of the muzzle loading rifles at the Battle of Gettysburg were unusable by the end of the battle due to complications with overloading, some containing up to 23 rounds of unspent ammunition.[9] Overloading was not a problem with breech loading firearms, making them a more foolproof and reliable weapon.

These same advantages, though praised by many as great military innovations, also created critics, skeptics, and opponents of the new rifles. When considering the rifles used by the US Army today, many of which can expend more ammunition in a minute than a Sharps Carbine would have during the entire Civil War, it seems ridiculous to be concerned about ammunition usage. However, wasting ammunition with the faster breech loading rifles was an important logistical concern for the War Department in the 1860s. One man reluctant to adopt the breech loading rifles, especially repeating rifles which further used ammunition, was the Union Army Ordnance Chief, General James Wolfe Ripley.[10]He believed the faster loading rifles would encourage foolhardy firing that would waste expensive ammunition. This was a concern shared by many across the Union. A newspaper in Michigan remarked in an article criticizing breech loading rifles, “…the whole supply of ammunition destined for an entire campaign, might easily be consumed in a single action.”[11] The process to load and shoot a muzzle loading rifle was so tedious that once they were ready to fire, soldiers felt more compelled to make their shot worthwhile. The fast breech loading rifles, General Ripley and others feared, would eliminate this element of caution and end up costing the Union not only for the newer, more expensive rifles, but also for wasted ammunition. In 1861, Spencer rifles cost $40 each, which was double the price of a Springfield muzzle loading rifle. [12] Limiting soldiers’ access to the best weapons available in order to save money was not the answer; the correct response was training the soldiers to be smart in how they used their new firearms. Breech loading rifles forged an entirely new style of combat around their fast action and increased firepower. With a muzzle loading rifle, small squads of infantry would organize in double lines of riflemen; one line could fire while the other reloaded. Breech loading rifles provided more independence and flexibility when engaging an enemy because cover fire was not as high of a priority since each rifle could fire more rapidly on its own. Once soldiers adjusted to their weapons, they learned to be just as prudent and accurate with shots fired from their breech loaders as they were with their muzzle loaders.[13] By late 1861, General Ripley placed an order for “ten thousand Spencer breech-loading magazine rifles, with angular bayonets and appendages,”[14] though his reluctance in adopting the new technology unnecessarily prolonged the first months of the war. While General Ripley was correct that troops outfitted with breech loading rifles, especially repeating rifles, used more ammunition, the advantages of the more advanced weapons far outweighed the extra costs.

The speed and accuracy of breech loading rifles also had effects on those at whom it was shot; advances in weapons technology undoubtedly increased the carnage of the Civil War. In addition to the speed at which a breech loader could be loaded and reloaded, creating a faster rate of firing, the use of the Minié Ball bullet increased the damage inflicted by a single shot. The Minié Ball was feared because of its size; Burnside Carbines were designed to shoot brass .54 caliber bullets. While modern assault rifles shoot many smaller caliber bullets at a high velocity in order to inflict maximum damage, rifles of the Civil War shot fewer, but larger bullets, hoping for a direct hit to induce massive injury. A direct hit by a Minié Ball was dangerous and deadly. Such a large bullet meant that it was more likely to hit something important, whether that be a bone or an organ. It also would create a larger wound, making it easy to bleed out from a single hit. Since the Minié Ball was not traveling at as high of a velocity as a modern bullet, it was more common for it to become lodged in the wound without exiting. This was a bad time for the soldier involved as it created an increased opportunity for infection. A lodged bullet would trap in all of the dirt and cloth it drew in with it, without expelling it out the other side. Extracting a lodged Minié Ball only aggravated the injury and furthered the chances for infection. Therefore, the most common treatment of Minié Ball inflicted wounds was amputation, which came with its own risks of infection and blood loss, and of course left veterans maimed for life. Colonel John T. Wilder of the famed Lightning Brigade described his thoughts on the bloodshed inflicted by these modern rifles. “The carnage caused by the [Spencer] rifles shocked even the Union men wielding them. After the battle, Wilder wrote ‘It actually seemed a pity to kill men so. They fell in heaps; and I had it in my heart to order the firing to cease, to end the awful sight.’”[15] Both breech loading and muzzle loading rifles used the Minié Ball during the Civil War, with fairly comparable effective ranges, so the advantage to breech loaders came in repetition of firing, which was nearly five times faster with a breech loader than a muzzle loader. The breech loaders were able to elicit more consistent fire, which led to more casualties on Civil War battlefields.

Since a Minié Ball shot from a breech loading rifle was sure to create a higher volume of carnage than a Minié Ball shot from a muzzle loading rifle, it was important that this advantage not fall into the hands of the enemy. In a letter, Colonel James Connolly of the Lightning Brigade described the importance of not letting the enemy take the Spencer rifles, with which his men were equipped, from fallen soldiers. “A corporal of the [17th] Ind. was shot through the breast at the first fire; he had always said, as indeed all our men do, that the enemy should never get hold of his ‘Spencer’ to use it; he hadn’t strength to break it so he took out his knife, unscrewed a part of the lock plate and threw it away, rendering the gun entirely useless, he then fell back amid the storm of bullets, lay down and died.”[16] The innovation of breech loading technology, especially the advanced technology applied to repeating rifles, was a close guarded secret by the Union. The advantage was one they did not want to forfeit to the enemy.

The more damage a weapon could inflict, the more confidence and security it gave the shooter. During the Civil War, breech loading rifles began to serve as an incentive for men to join the army. “By early 1865, repeating rifles were used as enlistment enticements.”[17] Regiments competing to recruit the best fighters, often advertised the weapons with which their soldiers were outfitted. In 1865, the 25th Corps, a cavalry brigade of African American soldiers, advertised that its men were newly outfitted in the paper. “To better fit them for their new field of operations, the arms of the cavalry brigade were ordered to be exchanged at City Point. They were furnished with new Sharpe’s [sic] breech-loading carbines, new accoutrements, new sabres, sabre belts, &c.”[18] Another news story from 1861 advertised, “Colt has offered to furnish his breech-loading rifles to arm a regiment of volunteers, the value of the arms being some $50,000.”[19] The intention of these ads was to spark curiosity, excitement, and confidence in men across the Union. The appeal of using the latest weapons technology continues to be a reason many people join the military today, and it was much the same in the 1860s. From the Sharps Carbine to the Spencer Repeater, the war was “sold” to men during the Civil War alongside ads for hand cranked ice cream makers, mass produced toilet paper, and electric stoves. Men in the 1860s were more excited about going into combat armed with modern breech loading rifles than they were to groom their facial hair into the extravagant styles of the day. The advanced firearms gave confidence and pride to those who carried them; they had the best weapons around and felt they were invincible.

A champion for the use of breech loading rifles, namely Spencer Repeating Rifles, was Union Colonel John T. Wilder. He knew all of the advantages of using breech loading rifles over muzzle loading rifles, and wanted those advantages for his men. In 1863, Colonel Wilder placed an order for 1,400 Spencer Repeating Rifles for his troops. “…after his troops unanimously voted to adopt the Spencer repeating rifle, the colonel once again displayed his penchant for innovation—and his complete disregard for army red tape—by taking it upon himself to rearm his entire brigade with private funds loaned from Indiana bankers.”[20] Despite the hesitancy of some of the higherups in the Ordnance Department, those in the field knew what an advantage the right weapon could bring a regiment. Wilder believed not only that these rifles would increase the effectiveness of the Army of the Cumberland, but would also raise morale among his troops. Wilder’s army would come to be known as the Lightning Brigade.

These armaments for the Lightning Brigade proved pivotal in the 1863 Battle of Chickamauga. In a letter, Colonel James Connolly described the Battle of Hoover’s Gap, which preceded the Battle of Chickamauga, in which the Lightning Brigade, armed with Spencers, crushed the Confederates:

Presently the enemy got near enough to us to make a charge on our battery, and on they came; our men are on their feet in an instant and a terrible fire from the ‘Spencers’ causes the advancing regiment to reel and its colors fall to the ground, but in an instant their colors are up again and on they come, thinking to reach the battery before our guns can be reloaded, but they ‘reckoned with their host,’ they didn’t know we had the ‘Spencers,’ and their charging yell was answered by another terrible volley, and another and another without cessation, until the poor regiment was literally cut to pieces, and but few of that 20th Tennessee that attempted the charge will ever charge again.[21]

Though the Union army would be forced to retreat, defeated at the Battle of Chickamauga, the Spencer rifles played a role in making it the bloodiest battle West of the Mississippi River during the Civil War. The Spencers proved themselves in combat, and claimed their spot as a mainstay in Army Ordnance for the rest of the Civil War. “Although there is no doubt that the outcome of the Civil War would have eventually been the same without it, the conflict ended with the Spencer repeating rifle being proclaimed as the leading small arms technology of the day and, seemingly, of the future.”[22] The world would certainly never return to muzzle loading weapons, which were effectively rendered archaic by the breech loading technologies of the Civil War.

The use of breech loading rifles impacted the Civil War more than any other weapons technology. The advantages of quick and easy loading, as well as a foolproof loading design made these rifles a formidable firearm, capable of inflicting previously unseen levels of carnage. This technology was highly valued as it was both safeguarded from the enemy and used as an incentive for Union men to conscript in the army. Colonel John T. Wilder’s Lightning Brigade was one of the most effective units of breech loading rifle bearing troops during the Civil War. The breech loading rifle revolutionized military history forever.

[1] “History of the Gun Part-8: Breechloaders,” RugerFirearms, March 3, 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORP-r79m1Z4.

[2] “History of the Gun Part-8: Breechloaders.”

[3] “Improvement in Breech-Loading Rifles,” Scientific American 6, no. 4 (1862).

[4] “Burnside Carbine,” Smithsonian Institution, http://www.civilwar.si.edu/weapons_burnside.html.

[5] “The Spencer Repeater and Other Breechloading Rifles of the Civil War,” Army of the Cumberland and George Thomas Source,http://www.aotc.net/Spencer.htm.

[6] Joseph G. Bilby, “The Guns of 1865: The Spencer Comes of Age,” The American Rifleman 163, no. 3 (2015): 60.

[7] “Moore’s Fire Arms Factory,” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY), May 5, 1862.

[8] “10 Facts: The Battle of Chickamauga,” American Battlefield Trust, https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/10-facts-battle-chickamauga.

[9] “Almost every rifle recovered at Gettysburg was fully loaded and no one knows why,” We Are The Mighty, June 3, 2018, https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/almost-every-rifle-recovered-at-gettysburg-was-fully-loaded-and-no-one-knows-why/. This article credits some of the discarded weapons to soldiers who purposely jammed their guns to get out of fighting, but considering the Battle of Gettysburg occurred well into the war, was fought by experienced soldiers, and had the highest casualties of any battle in the Civil War, it seems unlikely that many of the rifles were discarded in this way.

[10] Phil Leigh, “The Union’s ‘Newfangled Gimcracks,’” The New York Times, January 23, 2012, https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/the-unions-newfangled-gimcracks/.

[11] “Modern Tactics,” East Saginaw Courier (East Saginaw, MI), Mar. 4, 1862.

[12] James W. Ripley, Purchase of Arms, Dec. 26, 1861, letter, House Documents, 169.

[13] Bilby, 62.

[14] Ripley.

[15] “10 Facts: The Battle of Chickamauga.”

[16] James Connolly, The Road to Chickamauga, 1863, letter, American Battlefield Trust.

[17] Bilby, 60.

[18] “They Receive New Arms,” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY), Jun. 15, 1865.

[19] “News Items,” The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY), May 3, 1861.

[20] “John T. Wilder,” American Battlefield Trust, https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/john-t-wilder.

[21] Connolly.

[22] Bilby, 62.