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{{Short description|None}}{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}{{More citations needed|22=May 2021|date=May 2021}}{{CSS image crop|Image=Five soldiers in Union uniforms of the 6th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia.jpg|bSize=440|cWidth=280|cHeight=185|oTop=90|oLeft=80|Description=Muzzle loaders dominated the battlefields of the Civil War, being used by both sides in hundreds of thousands. The bayonets attached to the guns were an important force multiplier during the war|Location=Right}}The American Civil War, fought between the Union and Confederate forces, took place from 1861 to 1865. During the war, a variety of weapons were used on both sides. These weapons include edged weapons such as knives, swords, and bayonets, firearms such as rifled muskets, breech-loaders and repeating weapons, various artillery such as field guns and siege guns and new weapons such as the early grenade and landmine.WEB,weblink Ketchum's patent hand grenades, 2020-06-15, 2013-07-14,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130714130613weblink">weblink bot: unknown, The Civil War is often referred as one of the first "modern" wars in history as it included the most advanced technology and innovations of warfare available at the time. Some of the advances and innovations of the Civil War included mass production of war materiel, rifling of gun barrels and the use of the Minié ball, the advent of repeating firearms and metallic cartridges, transportation railroads with armed locomotives, ironclad warships, submarines, one of the first uses of air corps for aerial reconnaissance, communication (especially the telegraph), advances in medicine and the gradual decline of tactics from previous centuries.WEB,weblink Technology in the Civil War, Hackman-adams.com, 2012-10-15,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20121219215832weblink">weblink 2012-12-19, dead,

Personal weapons

Edged weapons

{| class="wikitable" style="width:90%;"! style="width:25%;"| Model! Notes for the subject

Arkansas toothpick >		ACCESS-DATE=2007-06-19,

Bayonet >| Attached to rifles and muskets.

Bowie knife >| Often carried by Confederates instead of bayonets.

Model 1832 foot artillery sword>M1832 foot artillery sword	Issued to artillerymen. Based on the Roman gladius.

| Issued to the US Cavalry. An engraved version was privately purchased by senior officers.

Model 1840 Army Noncommissioned Officers' Sword>M1840 army noncommissioned officer's sword	Issued to infantry sergeants.

Model 1840 Cavalry Saber>M1840 cavalry saber	Issued to Union cavalry.

Model 1840 Light Artillery Saber>M1840 light artillery saber	Issued to mounted artillery.

Model 1850 Army Staff & Field Officers' Sword>M1850 army staff & field officer's sword	Regulation officer's sword, though in practice most officers used cavalry sabers. Southern officers sometimes carried ancestral blades from the American Revolutionary War or even from the War of 1812.

Model 1852 Naval Officers Sword>M1852 naval officer's sword

M1860 Cutlass>M1860 cutlass	Issued to naval boarding parties. Sailors also had access to harpoons, axes and grappling hooks.

Model 1860 Light Cavalry Saber>M1860 light cavalry saber	Issued to Union cavalry.

Mameluke sword >	United States Marine Corps>Marine officers.

United States Marine Corps noncommissioned officer's sword>USMC noncommissioned officer's sword

File:Jeb stuart.jpg|Jeb Stuart with a cavalry saberFile:Aems1832image1.JPG|M1832 artillery swordFile:M1850 Staff and Field Officer's Sword Reproduction.JPG|M1850 regulation infantry officer's swordFile:Model 1858 Light Cavalry Saber army.mil-2007-04-08-045644.jpg|M1860 light cavalry saberFile:USMC Marmeluke.JPG|Mameluke sword (top) and scabbard (bottom)

In 1862 Joseph E. Brown governor of Georgia, proposed issuing pikes to the State militia to compensate for the shortage of guns. Thousands were made and issued but not known to have been used in combat.WEB, Georgia Governor Joseph Brown Addresses the Mechanics,weblink 2014-04-20,

Sidearms

{| class="wikitable" style="width:90%;"! style="width:25%;"| Model! Notes

Robert Adams (handgun designer)>Adams M1851 revolver	A double-action only revolver and predecessor to the Beaumont–Adams M1862.

Ethan Allen (armsmaker)#Revolver pepperbox percussion pistols>Allen & Thurber M1837 revolver pepperbox	With the shortage of pistols in the American Civil War, many soldiers on both sides carried these as a backup arm.

Ethan Allen (armsmaker)#Cartridge pistols>Allen & Wheelock M1861 revolver

Beaumont–Adams revolver>Beaumont–Adams M1862 revolver	Imported by both the Union and the Confederacy.

Pepper-box#Transitional revolver>Butterfield M1855 transitional revolver	A transitional revolver with tape primer invented in 1855 by Jesse Butterfield of Philadelphia. Two thousand were ordered by the US Army, but production was canceled in 1862.HTTP://WWW.NRAMUSEUM.ORG/THE-MUSEUM/THE-GALLERIES/A-NATION-ASUNDER/CASE-38-ARMS-FOR-THE-UNION-UNION-PISTOLS/JESSE-BUTTERFIELD-ARMY-REVOLVER.ASPX >TITLE=NRA MUSEUMS, www.nramuseum.org,

Colt Paterson>Colt M1836 Paterson revolver	The first true revolver produced by Colt in 1836.

Colt Walker>Colt M1847 Walker revolver	Issued to the US Cavalry. A heavy .44 caliber revolver invented during the Mexican War and designed for killing the mounts of charging enemy troopers.Ricketts, H, Firearms (London, 1964)

Colt Dragoon>Colt M1848 Dragoon revolver	A .44 caliber revolver that was developed from the Colt M1847 Walker.

Colt Pocket Percussion Revolvers>Colt M1849 Pocket revolver	A popular revolver that was never officially issued but was often bought privately.

Colt 1851 Navy>Colt M1851 Navy revolver	Colt's most popular revolver for the 1850s civilian market in .36 caliber. The name 'Navy' came from the cylinder of the revolvers being engraved with a scene of the victory of the Second Texas Navy at the Battle of Campeche on May 16, 1843. The preferred sidearm of the Confederacy. Copies such as the Griswold & Gunnison were made all over the South.

Colt M1860 Army>Colt M1860 Army revolver	A .44 caliber revolver made for the US Cavalry to replace the heavier Colt M1848 Dragoon. The Bessemer steel process invented in the 1850s made a lighter stronger revolver in .44 caliber possible.

Colt M1861 Navy>Colt M1861 Navy revolver	Updated version of the .36 caliber Colt M1851 Navy with lines similar to the Colt M1860 Army.

Colt Pocket Percussion Revolvers>Colt M1862 Police revolver	The .36 caliber Colt M1862 originally made for the New York Metropolitan Police Department.

Colt Model 1855 Sidehammer Pocket Revolver>Colt Root M1855 revolver	The first of Colt's revolvers to use a "creeping" loading lever mechanism.

Derringer>Deringer M1825 Philadelphia caplock pistol

Pistol sword#Military use>Elgin M1838 cutlass caplock pistol	Issued to navy personnel but proved unpopular and was quickly replaced with the M1860 cutlass.

Kerrs Patent Revolver>Kerr M1855 revolver	A five shot back-action revolver made by the London Armoury Company was used by Confederate cavalry.

Lefaucheux M1854>Lefaucheux M1854 revolver	A pinfire revolver imported from France by Union and Confederate officers.

Lefaucheux M1858>Lefaucheux M1858 revolver

LeMat Revolver>LeMat M1856 revolver	Perhaps the most well known foreign designed revolver during the Civil War. It had two barrels, a .42 caliber barrel on top and a 20 gauge shotgun barrel underneath. The creator, a French doctor living in New Orleans, Jean Alexandre LeMat, moved back to France to create more revolvers for the Confederacy. The French made revolvers, however, proved unreliable and difficult to manufacture.

Teat-fire cartridge>Moore M1864 revolver	A seven shot revolver firing the .32 teat-fire cartridge.

Remington Model 1858>Remington M1858 revolver	Colt's chief competitor, the Remington Repeating Arms Company, also made revolvers during the Civil War. The most common was the Remington M1858 New Army in .44 caliber. The .36 caliber version referred to as the Remington M1858 New Navy.

Remington Elliot>Remington M1860 Elliot revolver pepperbox

Savage 1861 Navy>Savage-North M1861 Navy revolver	A proto double-action revolver with a second trigger underneath the first. Used by the Navy and a few Army regiments.

Smith & Wesson Model 1 >	Rimfire ammunition>rimfire cartridges.

Smith & Wesson Model No. 2 Army >| A larger version of the Smith & Wesson Model 1 chambered in .32 caliber rimfire.

		DATE=MAY 16, 2014	ISSUE=SUMMER 2014, August 22, 2017,

Starr revolver>Starr M1858 and M1863 revolver	A double-action revolver which was briefly used in the western theater of the war, until the U.S. Ordnance Department persuaded Starr Arms Co. to create a single-action variant after the discontinuation of the Colt revolver. The company eventually complied, and the Union acquired 25,000 of the single-action revolvers for $12 each.

Tranter (revolver)>Tranter M1856 revolver	The first model also had a proto double-action with a second trigger underneath the first. But in a later model this was reduced to a single trigger that could work with both single-action and double-action.

Volcanic Repeating Arms>Volcanic M1855 repeating pistol	A lever-action repeating pistol made in 1855 and chambered in .44 rimfire. Privately owned by those who could afford them.

Walch Revolver>Walch M1859 revolver	A very rare 12 shot revolver. Fewer than 200 were made.

Daniel Leavitt>Wesson and Leavitt M1850 Dragoon revolver	A large single-action revolver in .40 caliber.

Colt Dragoon Revolver>Whitney M1857 revolver	First produced in 1857, this .36 caliber percussion revolver was the first to be produced with a solid frame, which meant that it was much sturdier than the traditional Colt revolver.

File:AllenAndThurberPepperbox.jpg|Allen & Thurber M1837 revolver pepperboxFile:Allen and Wheelock Lipfire Revolvers.jpg|Allen & Wheelock M1861 Navy revolver and Allen & Wheelock M1861 Army revolverFile:Beaumont Adams.JPG|Beaumont–Adams M1862 revolverFile:Ubertiperc.jpg|Colt M1836 Paterson, Colt M1847 Walker, and Colt M1848 Dragoon revolversFile:Colt49 Pocket.JPG|Colt M1849 Pocket revolverFile:Colt Navy 51 Squarebeck.JPG|Colt M1851 Navy revolverFile:Colt Army Mod 1860 US.JPG|Colt M1860 Army revolverFile:1861Navy2.jpg|Colt M1861 Navy revolverFile:Colt Root 2nd Model.jpg|Colt Root M1855 revolverFile:Booth deringer.jpg|Deringer M1825 Philadelphia caplock pistol used by John Wilkes Booth to assassinate Abraham Lincoln File:Elgin cutlass pistol.jpg|Elgin M1838 cutlass caplock pistolFile:Revolver Lefaucheux, modèle 1854, le LF 28.jpg|Lefaucheux M1854 revolverFile:Revolver Lefaucheux IMG 3108.jpg|Lefaucheux M1858 revolverFile:Le Mat Revolver.jpg|LeMat M1856 revolverFile:Moore's Single Action Belt Revolver.jpg|Moore M1864 revolverFile:Remington New Model Army Revolver.JPG|Remington M1858 revolverFile:Remington ZigZag derringer.jpg|Remington M1860 Elliot revolver pepperboxFile:Smith and Wesson Model 1.jpg|Smith & Wesson Model 1File:Starr DA 44 revolver 1862.jpg|Starr M1858 DA revolverFile:Volcanic Pocket pistol.jpg|Volcanic M1855 repeating pistol

Some Confederate cavalry units were equipped with single-shot caplock or even flintlock pistols early in the war. Some pistols were of the military make and had been issued to the US Army but were obsolete by the time of the Civil War due to the introduction of revolvers.

Rifles and muskets

{| class="wikitable" style="width:90%;"! style="width:25%;"| Model! Notes

Augustin Infantry Musket Model 1842>Augustin M1842 musket	The Augustin was an Austrian musket that featured in the U.S. Civil War in very small numbers.

Ballard Rifle>Ballard M1861 rifle

Brunswick rifle>Brunswick P1836 and P1841 rifle	A British percussion rifle imported in small numbers by the Confederacy.

Burnside carbine>Burnside M1855 carbine	A breech-loader invented by Ambrose Burnside and issued to the US Cavalry.

Charleville musket#Other variants>Charleville M1816 and M1822 musket	French muskets converted to percussion cap from flintlock and used in small numbers.

Colt revolving rifle>Colt M1855 revolver carbine and rifle	The Colt M1855 was an early repeater that was not favored by the troops because it tended to discharge all of its cartridges at the same time.

Model 1814 common rifle>Deringer M1814 Common rifle

Model 1817 common rifle>Deringer M1817 Common rifle

Pattern 1853 Enfield>Enfield P1853 rifled musket	The Enfield P1853 was used by both the North and the South in the American Civil War, and was the second most widely used infantry weapon in the war.

Pattern 1861 Enfield Musketoon>Enfield P1861 musketoon

Fayetteville rifle>Fayetteville M1862 rifle

Gallager carbine>Gallager M1861 carbine	A single-shot breech-loading carbine with 17,782 sold to the US Army.

M1819 Hall rifle>Hall M1819 rifle	A single-shot breech-loader invented in 1811. A few were used by the Confederacy.

M1819 Hall rifle#Production history>Hall-North M1843 carbine

Harpers Ferry Model 1803>Harper Ferry M1803 rifle

Henry repeating rifle>Henry M1860 repeating rifle	The Civil War precursor to the Winchester repeating rifle based on early lever-action repeating rifles made by New Haven Arms Company Co. These highly prized weapons were privately purchased by those who could afford them.

Mule ear carbine >| All of these carbines were manufactured for the Navy and the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service.

Joslyn rifle>Joslyn M1855, M1861, M1862, M1864, M1865 carbine and rifle	The Joslyn was made in both percussion and rimfire configuration.

Lorenz rifle>Lorenz M1854 rifled musket	This Austrian firearm was the third most common rifled musket and imported by both sides. Many were modified to fire the same .58 caliber Minié ball as the Enfield and Springfield rifled muskets.

Maynard carbine>Maynard M1851 carbine

Merrill carbine>Merrill M1858 carbine

M1841 Mississippi Rifle>Mississippi M1841 rifle	A 2 band rifle with a sword bayonet which was issued to Confederate NCOs.

Brown Bess#Variations>P1839 and P1842 Brown Bess musket	A caplock conversion of older flintlock muskets imported by the Confederacy.

Potzdam Musket#Model 1831>Potzdam M1831 musket	Prussian caplock muskets converted from flintlock and imported during the conflict.

Richmond Rifle>Richmond M1861 rifled musket	A Confederate copy of the Springfield M1855 without Maynard tape primer.

Sharps rifle>Sharps M1848, M1850, M1851, M1852, M1853, M1855, M1859, M1863, M1865 carbine and rifle	The Sharps rifle was a falling-block rifle used during and after the American Civil War. The carbine version was very popular with the cavalry of both the Union and Confederate armies and was issued in much larger numbers than the full length rifle.

Sharps & Hankins Model 1862 Carbine>Sharps & Hankins M1862 carbine	Carbines manufactured for the navy that were made with a protective leather barrel cover.

Smith carbine>Smith M1857 carbine	Patented by Gilbert Smith in 1857.

Spencer repeating rifle>Spencer M1860, M1865 repeating carbine and rifle	The Spencer M1860 was a manually operated lever-action repeating rifle fed from a tube magazine with cartridges. It was adopted by the Union army especially by the cavalry during the American Civil War, but did not replace the standard issue muzzle loading rifled muskets in use at the time. The Spencer M1860 carbine was a shorter and lighter version of the Spencer M1860 rifle.

Springfield Model 1795>Springfield M1795 musket	The first .69 caliber smoothbore flintlock musket made in the US for the military.

Springfield Model 1812 Musket>Springfield M1812 musket

Model 1816 Musket>Springfield M1816 musket	Many of these old flintlock muskets were converted to the percussion system and some of the barrels were even rifled to accept the Minié ball. The quality of these conversions varies from manufacturer.

Model 1822 Musket>Springfield M1822 musket

Springfield Model 1835>Springfield M1835 musket

Springfield Model 1840 flintlock musket>Springfield M1840 musket	The last flintlock musket manufactured for the US military. Most were converted to percussion and rifled.

Springfield Model 1842>Springfield M1842 musket	The first musket produced with a percussion lock and last .69 caliber smoothbore. A large number were rifled prior to the start of the war.

Springfield Model 1847>Springfield M1847 musketoon

Springfield Model 1855>Springfield M1855 rifled musket	First standard issue rifled musket and in .58 caliber. Used both the Maynard tape primer system and the Minié ball.

Springfield Model 1861>Springfield M1861 rifled musket	Most widely used rifled musket of the civil war. Main feature was the elimination of the Maynard tape primer from the earlier Springfield M1855.

Springfield Model 1863>Springfield M1863 rifled musket	A slightly modified version of the Springfield M1861.

Starr carbine>Starr M1858 carbine

Tarpley carbine>Tarpley M1863 carbine	A Southern breech-loader which was not widely produced due to mechanical flaws.

Volcanic Repeating Arms>Volcanic M1855 repeating rifle	Used the same system as the Volcanic M1855 repeating pistol but with the exception of having a longer barrel, magazine, a larger lever loop and a stock. The repeating rifle was never issued but was bought privately.

Frank Wesson Rifles>Wesson M1859 carbine and rifle	The Wesson M1859 was a breech-loading, metallic rimfire cartridge rifle used during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. The carbine was used by US Cavalry, typically purchased by state governments or individuals.

Whitworth rifle>Whitworth P1857 rifle	Mainly imported by the Confederacy as a weapon for sharpshooters.

File:Burnside carbine.jpg|Burnside M1855 carbineFile:Colt Roots British Carbine.JPG|Colt M1855 revolver carbineFile:Pattern1853Rifle.jpg|Enfield P1853 rifled musketFile:Pattern 1861 Enfield Musketoon Reproduction.JPG|Enfield P1861 musketoonFile:Fayetteville Rifled Musket from Springfield Model 1855 Carbine.jpg|Fayetteville M1862 rifleFile:Gallagher carbine.png|Gallager M1861 carbineFile:NavyHenry1860.jpg|Henry M1860 repeating rifleFile:Joslyn Carbine Model 1864 .52 caliber at Springfield Armory NHS.jpg|Joslyn M1864 carbineFile:Lorenz Smithsonian.jpg|Lorenz M1854 rifled musketFile:US Model 1814 Johnson made.jpg|M1814 Common rifleFile:NMAH-2001-4046.jpg|Mississippi M1841 rifleFile:Richmond Armory Musket-NMAH-AHB2015q028577.jpg|Richmond M1861 rifled musketFile:Sharps 1863 Carbine .50-70 Calibre antique original.jpg|Sharps M1863 carbineFile:Springfield Model 1842 Percussion Musket-NMAH-AHB2015q027142.jpg|Springfield M1842 musketFile:Springfield Model 1855 US Rifle-NMAH-AHB2015q111593.jpg|Springfield M1855 rifled musketFile:Springfield 1861.jpg|Springfield M1861 rifled musketFile:L spencercarbine.jpg|Spencer M1860 repeating carbineFile:Tarpley breech-loading carbine.jpg|Tarpley M1863 carbineFile:Volcanic Carbine.jpg|Volcanic M1855 repeating rifleFile:Whitworth rifle fitted with Davidson telescope.png|Whitworth P1857 rifle

The .69 caliber muskets (mostly percussion, but some flintlocks as well) were common in the early part of the war (either in their original form or converted to rifling). Early in the war the Confederates used civilian firearms including shotguns and hunting arms like the Kentucky and Pennsylvania rifle due to the shortage of military weapons. The British officer Arthur Fremantle observed that revolvers and shotguns (especially double barreled models) were the favored weapons of Confederate cavalry and mounted infantry during his 1863 visit to the South.BOOK, Fremantle, Lieut.-Col Sir Arthur James, Three Months in the Southern States: April–June 1863,weblink 1864, S.H. Goetzel, Mobile, Alabama, 36, 39,

Grenades

The American Civil War belligerents did have crude hand grenades equipped with a plunger that would detonate upon.{{Clarify|reason=detonate upon what?|date=May 2021}} The Union relied on experimental Ketchum grenades with a wooden tail to ensure the nose would strike the target and start the fuse. The Confederacy used spherical hand grenades that weighed about six pounds sometimes with a paper fuse. They also used Rains and Adams grenades which were similar to the Ketchum in appearance and firing mechanism.Battle of 1st Bull Run Retrieved 3 May 2007

Landmines

Originally developed by General Gabriel J. Rains, were typically iron containers, loaded with gunpowder, a fuse and also a brass detonation cap. Some of these still-activated landmines were recovered in Alabama in the 1960s.Landmines were an intimidating method of psychological warfare but were viewed as unethical. Union General William T. Sherman also hated them and declared them as not warfare but murder. Confederate General James Longstreet banned their use for a time.{{harvnb|Andrews|2018}}

Rapid fire weapons

Similar weapons of the Union included the .58 caliber Agar machine gun also known as "coffee-mill gun" which was similar to the Claxton machine gun. Like the Gatling I and Gatling II machine gun, the cartridges of Ager's invention were fed by a hand crank with a hopper on top and had a steel guard, and this is why some people believe that President Lincoln called it "the coffee grinder gun".{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}} Other infantry support weapons included the Billinghurst Requa Battery volley gun which had eight banks of cartridge chambers that were rotated into alignment behind the row of 25 barrels.Rapid fire guns of the Civil war{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080324082556weblink |date=2008-03-24 }}Chief of Ordnance, General James Wolfe Ripley was against issuing repeating rifles and rapid fire weapons to the Union army as he believed it would waste ammunition. Nevertheless, several generals, including General Benjamin Butler and General Winfield Scott Hancock, purchased Gatling machine guns that were the logical outgrowth of the trends portrayed in the Ager machine gun and the Ripley machine gun.William B. Edwards, "Civil war guns", Thomas Pubns (October 1997)The Confederacy used the single barrel hand cranked Williams machine gun that was similar to the single barrel hand cranked Gorgas machine gun and the Vandenberg volley gun that was similar to the French De Reffye mitrailleuse and the Belgian Montigny mitrailleuse.BOOK, Chinn, George M., The machine gun: Part II manually operated machine guns, 1951, Washington, D.C., Bureau of Ordnance, Department of the Navy,weblink

Artillery

• Field artillery
• Siege artillery

Special weapons

• Congreve rocket
• Hale rocket launcher
• Sea mine
• Winans Steam Gun

Vehicles

Animals

• Horse

Carriages

• Horse drawn carriages
• Steam powered carriages

Trains

• BLW Armed train

Ships

• (:Category:Ships of the Union Navy|Ships of the Union Navy)
• Ships of the Confederate Navy

Submarines

• USS Alligator
• CSS Hunley
• CSS Pioneer
• CSS Pioneer II (Also known as CSS American diver)
• CSS Bayou Saint John

Aircraft

Air balloons

• Union Army Balloon Corps
• Confederate Army Balloon Corps

Airships

• Andrews Aereon airship

See also

• French weapons in the American Civil War

References

{{reflist}}

Bibliography

• WEB, Andrews, Evan,weblink 8 Unusual Civil War Weapons, History (U.S. TV channel), History, September 2018,
• BOOK, Myatt, Frederick, 1994, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 19th Century Firearms: An Illustrated History of the Development of the World's Military Firearms During the 19th Century,weblink 216, Crescent Books, 0-517-27786-7, none,
• BOOK, Ricketts, Howard, 1964, Firearms,weblink 115, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, none,
• List of contracts made with the approval or by the direction of the Secretary of War between April 12, 1861 and January 31, 1862

External links

• Weapons of the Civil War at Smithsonian
• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20080116153752weblink">Small Arms of the Civil War
• Artillery, small arms, and edged weapons
• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20071213164508weblink">Field Artillery of the Civil War
• Civil War Small Arms. National Park Service. Accessed 14 July 2008.
• weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20070928081611weblink">Weapon: Burnside Carbine. Antietam on the web. Accessed 15 July 2008.

{{American Civil War|Related topics}}{{USCWWeapons}}{{Weapons}}