The .58 Caliber 1861 Springfield Rifle Musket was first made by the Springfield gun company in 1861 (Civil War - 1861 Springfield). This rifle musket was the most used weapon in the Civil War, mostly by the Union (Civil War - 1861 Springfield). More than 700,000 of them were made from 1861 to 1865, the most amount of identical guns made up to that time (Civil War - 1861 Springfield). The .58 Caliber Springfield fired .58 caliber bullets called “minie balls.”( Civil War - 1861 Springfield) This gun was durable as well as easy to maintain, and was very popular among soldiers in the Civil War (Civil War - 1861 Springfield). Many confederate soldiers would take these rifle muskets when they found them on the battlefields, due to the guns superiority. The .58 Caliber Springfield’s power and the aerodynamics of the minie ball allowed skilled marksmen to shoot from up to 1,000 yards away (Civil War - 1861 Springfield). This gun was unrivaled in its firing rate; it could fire 3 bullets a minute more than any gun out there (Civil War - 1861 Springfield). The .58 Caliber Springfield Rifle Musket was very influential in the Union’s victory in the Civil War because it gave them an edge over the confederates concerning weapons, especially since so many of these weapons were made and sold to the Union Army.
Image Source: "The Last Full Measure: Civil War Photographs from the Liljenquist Family CollectionUnion Case Four." Union Case Four. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
Work Cited:
- "Civil War - 1861 Springfield." : Cabela's. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.