Firearms & Accoutrements

Inspection, ARMS! by Tim Prince, from the July 2023 issue of Civil War News.

Inspection, ARMS! by Tim Prince, from the June 2023 issue of Civil War News.

gives me double reasons, beyond just my reading addiction, to read obscure books. I will be reviewing the 1855 version of Whitman’s Leaves of Grass…

Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War.

Reviewed by Jonathan W. White

Published by Historical Publications LLC

Published by Historical Publications LLC

A question came up on one of the internet forums about the U.S. Model 1842 smoothbore musket compared to the rifled version of that model…

The monument features an upright U.S. 30-pdr. Parrott rifle. Visible on the right rimbase is the foundry number 666, matching to registry number 183.…

The 9th Virginia carried their M1841 rifles to the “high water mark” (seen in this clump of trees) in Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg. (Jack W. Melton…

On December 4, 1852, Joseph Bentley received British Patent No. 960/1852 for a percussion revolver, and on April 4, 1854, he received an additional…

One of the best illustrations of the Confederacy’s lack of manufacturing capacity when compared to that of the Union is the small number of revolvers…

The U.S. Model 1843 Hall carbine was one of the more colorful long arms of the American Civil War era because roughly half the production run was…

MK Shows presents the 34th Annual Middle Tennessee Civil War Show and Sale at the Williamson County Ag Expo Park, 4215 Long Lane in Franklin. The…

There is probably no more iconic Civil War image than the young Confederate soldier, heading off to war with an absurdly large fighting knife in his…

The Allen & Wheelock Center Hammer Army percussion revolver was manufactured in rather limited quantities, with production estimated by most…

During the course of the American Civil War a large number of contracts were let by the Ordnance Department to various makers to produce the U.S.…

As the American Civil War ground into its third year of combat, the ever conservative Ordnance Department began actively looking for metallic…

The Ballard Carbine was a breechloading, single shot metallic cartridge firearm invented by Charles H. Ballard of Worcester, Mass. His invention was…

The Terry’s Patent Carbine, produced by the Birmingham firm of Calisher & Terry, as well as some other Birmingham contractors, was one of the more…

In the March 2020 CWN, we looked at John Walch’s superimposed load, 10-shot pocket revolver; a gun that almost bankrupted Oliver Winchester and the…

By an act of the Virginia legislature, the Virginia Manufactory of Arms was established in 1797. The goal of this armory, located along the James…

The Confederate long arms produced by the firm of Cook & Brother are some of the best made and most sought after guns produced in the South during…

During the American Civil War, the U.S. government entered into contracts with more than two dozen firms to produce the U.S. Model 1861 and Model…

In 1850, Samuel Colt introduced what would become his most successful large frame percussion revolver, a revolver that would be second only to his…

The best possible description of the British Pattern 1856 cavalry carbine is that it was a compromise; a carbine that no one wanted, and yet was the…

Revolver— The Gun That Almost Put Oliver Winchester Out of

The U.S. Model 1855 Pistol Carbine was a classic example of the pre-Civil War United States Ordnance Department’s inability to be forward thinkers…

On January 25, 1856, one of the first, and most important, long arms to be derived from the Pattern 1853 Enfield Rifle Musket was officially approved…

In 1857, the firm of E. Remington & Sons introduced their first percussion revolver. Since the founding of the firm in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington…

With the April 12, 1861, firing on Fort Sumter and the subsequent outbreak of hostilities that was the American Civil War, a concerted effort was…

In 1836, the British military officially adopted the percussion cap to replace flint as the ignition system for small arms, although it would be 1839…

The American Civil War provided an opportunity for European arsenals to divest themselves of a wide array of obsolete and unwanted small arms in a…

During the latter part of the 1850s, the Spanish military adopted a family of .577 caliber, percussion ignition, muzzleloading long arms based on the…

The topic of this article was recently suggested by one of my customers. I appreciate the suggestion and welcome them from the readership.

It is interesting to note that the three most advanced, self-contained metallic cartridge handguns to see use during the American Civil War were…

It is interesting to note that the three most advanced self-contained, metallic cartridge revolvers to see use during the American Civil War were all…

Of all the imported arms utilized by the U.S. government during the American Civil War, the Suhl Contract Model 1861 Rifle Musket is probably one of…

With all of the trials and tribulations experienced during the life of the Gibbs Carbine, it is a story might best be entitled The Carbine That Was…

Last month we looked at the background and evolution of Thomas Wilson’s Breechloading Rifle. This month we will look more deeply into Confederate…

The Wilson Patent Breech Loading Rifle is one of the rarest and most sophisticated of the small arms imported by the Confederacy during the American…

On October 9, 1860, John Parker Lindsay of New York City received U.S. Patent #30,332 for “improvement in locks for firearms.” The patent covered a…

“I captured a splendid revolver, our Col. says we can keep all our booty.”– R. Wallace Mitchell, 16th Penn. Cavalry, wrote in a letter home to his…

The revolvers designed by C.S. Pettengill were some of the more unique percussion handguns produced in mid-19th century America. The pistols were…

The Freeman Army Revolver, a Civil War contract handgun that was never delivered.

In 1847, the Whitney Arms Company made its first foray into the production of handguns. From the time the company was founded by the inventor of the…

The Maynard breechloading percussion carbine was the invention of dental surgeon and firearms innovator Dr. Edward Maynard. Dr. Maynard is probably…

Last month we started a twopart series about the ten books that I feel are an essential part of any Civil War firearms collector’s library. We…

Eli Whitney Jr. was probably the single largest supplier of “contract arms” to the state and local militias of the United States during the middle of…

Last month, while talking about the some of the alterations performed on Austrian Model 1842 Muskets imported for use during the American Civil War…

During the American Civil War, some 68,505 Austrian Model 1842 Muskets were imported for use by the United States military. It is most likely that…

Last month we talked about James Kerr’s revolver in Confederate service. Now we turn our attention to his rifle design, a gun that was acquired in…

Last month we discussed the Confederate use of English made Tranter revolvers, this month we turn our attention to the English revolver that was most…

Inspection, ARMS is a new addition to the monthly columns in Civil War News. Authored by antique military arms dealer & collector Tim Prince of…