Confederate forces destroyed the Harper’s Ferry armory in West Virginia at the beginning of the Civil War (1861-1865.) The Springfield armory in Springfield, Massachusetts, thus became the only United States government small arms manufacturing facility. Springfield rifle-muskets like this U.S. Model 1861, became the principal weapon of the Union infantryman. The spiraling grooves, or ‘rifling’ on the inside of the barrel forced a new style of bullet, called a “Minie ball”, to spin as it was shot, resulting in far greater long-range accuracy than the old smoothbore muskets of the American Revolution and the War of 1812. A percussion cap that ignited on impact by the gun hammer replaced the old flintlock system. A vigorous industrial base and large labor force allowed the Union to make ammunition and weapons in far greater quantities than the Confederates could produce.
Springfield percussion musket. 1862. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/1937-06-01/. Accessed on December 8, 2024.
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