Federal Weapons of the Civil War

It was May 8th, 1864 at an area in central Virginia, to later be known as the Battle of Spotsylvania. Major General John Sedgwick, commander of the Sixth Army Corps of the Union Army, was with his troops as they probed the Confederate skirmish lines. This act was to determine where to place defensive forces. Maj. Gen. Sedgwick stood with his troops as Brevet Major General Martin T. McMahon gave the order for the troops to move right. As the men rose to execute the order, bullets whistled over head causing some of the men to duck. Maj. Gen. Sedgwick laughed and jokingly said " What! what! men, dodging this way for single bullets! What will you do when they open fire along the whole line? I am ashamed of you. They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." He repeated the phrase “They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance”. Moments later Maj. Gen. Sedgwick was struck below the left eye by a bullet from a Rebel sharpshooter, mortally wounding him. (McMahon)

This is an example of the deadliness of Sharpshooters during the Civil War. They rained death with unnerving accuracy, turning a rifle into a weapon to be feared and causing both physical and emotional damage. The weapons used during the Civil War were crude compared to the technology of the weapons today, but in the hands of trained and skilled men they became a machine to be feared.

Federal Weapons of the Civil War

The primary long gun of the Union Army was the M-1861 Springfield Rifle. The 1861 Springfield was a .58 Caliber, muzzle loading, single-shot rifle. The 1861 Springfield rifle used the 500 grain .58 caliber bullet and 60 grains of powder. It had a muzzle velocity of 950 Fps and was accurate up to 300 yards with a maximum range of 500 yards. The 1861 Spring...

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Company E, Berdans 1st Regiment United States Sharpshooters. (n.d.). Retrieved July 2009, from US Sharpshooters: http://www.ussharpshooters.co.uk/index_files/Page2772.htm

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