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1861 percussion rifle-musket
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This Model 1861 was the standard rifle-musket used
throughout the war. It was originally made by the
Springfield Armory, but due to the need for more
firearms, the U.S. government contracted with twenty
private contractors. It is estimated that about
one million Model 1861–type muskets were manufactured
during the war. It was a modification of the Model
1855 rifle-musket that eliminated the patch box
and the Maynard tape primer. These changes lowered
its manufacturing costs and time, both of which
were beneficial to a country at war and in need
of firearms. |
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Division of the History of Technology, Armed Forces
History
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian
Institution
Behring Center
Bequest of Charles Bremner Hogg Jackson
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