"US cavalry armament..." Topic

Do anyone here know if there where any Union cavalry units who used the enfield 1860 carbine during the war ?

Also,, did any Union cavalry unit use the henry rifle or was it only some infantry units ?

The only unit to carry Henry Rifles as their general issue weapon was the 1st DC Cavalry. They promptly got ambushed, and most of the destroyed regiments Henrys were reissued to Confederate cavalry.

I know a number of US cavalry units carried the Enfield as late as the 1862 Maryland Campaign, and probably later. I would have to dig out some of my reference books to give you the exact regiments.

67thtigers is correct about the 1st DC cavalry and their Henrys. The DC units in the Civl War had undistinguished careers.

John the greater.

I've read somewhere that the Enfields where used at a later date in the western and trans mississipi theater of war than in the eastern. Is that correct?

Was it possible for officers to purchase their own rifles/carbines or would they always go with the general supply if they ever used a rifle/carbine ?

I am very greatful if you could pick out some of the US cavalry regiments that used the Enfield.

Officers did not usually carry rifles/carbines. If they did, they bought their own or picked one up on a battlefield.

The Confederates were unable to manufacture ammunition for the Henry.

I don't believe that any US cavalry regiments actually used an Enfield of any pattern. There was more than enough of the various patterns of breech loaders available, even early on, so that I can't imagine a unit actually using a muzzle loading weapons in combat, especially after the 1st 6 months of the war.

There were the Maynard, Burnside, Merrill, Gallager, and Sharps right off the top of my head. Some units had Spencer rifles, since the carbine version didn't appear until 1864, but they would have been the exception, vice the rule. Same with the later war Henry weapons.

I found this link with a lot of pictures of civil war cavalrymen with all kinds of weapon, but no Enfield carbine.

Would be nice if John the greater or someone else could give a list of regimenst that carried them.

link

For what its worth not even the British were using the Enfield at the start of the war.

It had been superseded by the Wesley-Richards breech loader which came into service in 1861 after a competition with the British Terry (later supplied to the Confederacy) and the American Sharps and Green carbines.

Tim,

You forgot the Smith. How could miss such a memorable name? :o)

I know that at least some of the "Colored" cavalry were issued Enfields, despite the impossibility of loading them in the saddle.

Off the top of my head. I recall that the 2nd WI and 9th KS cavalry used Enfields at Prarie Grove in 1862. I am certain there were other units, but I haven't had the time to dig through my source material.

Just to make it more confusing, it was common for US cavalry units to be issued more than one type of carbine. So you might have a regiment with a couple hundred guys with Sharps, and a few Burnsides and maybe some Enfields.

Oh, and the carbines were not really intended for loading and firing from the saddle.

Oh, and the carbines were not really intended for loading and firing from the saddle.

Yeah, they had pistols for shooting from horseback. The carbines were for dismounted work!

That applies to all carbines by this time not just muzzle loaders.

Gents, I am no ACW expert by any means, but I think I read somewhere that even when Richmond Sharps and Sharps were available, many Confederate cavalrymen preferred their Enfields. Is this correct?

Depends which Enfields you are talking about.

In the East a fair number had the Short (two band) rifle, instead of a carbine, which gave them an edge in dismounted fire fights with their opposite numbers, due to the extra range and accuracy, which compensated for the slower reload times.

As I recall there's some examples quoted by Rhea from the Overland Campaign where they even made life difficult for units armed with Spencers for the same reasons.

According to John McAuley, Carbines of the U. S. Cavalry, 1861-1905 in September 1863 the 8th West Virginia Mounted Infantry was armed with sabres, 297 Lindner carbines and 58 Enfield rifles. The Enfields were all in the hands of Co. B.

In Missouri in early May 1964 the 3rd Illinois, 11th Indiana, 12th Missouri, and 12th Tennessee were armed with Starr and Gallager carbines and Enfield rifles. Frederick Todd, American Military Equipage only lists Enfields for the 11th Indiana.

In each of these cases I strongly suspect these were not Enfield carbines but instead were Enfield 2 or 3 banded rifles.

I'm not familiar with the 1860 Enfield carbine. Was it muzzle-loading or breech-loading?

Don, it was a muzzle-loading carbine.

Here's a picture. Note the rammer is attached to the muzzle with a swivel joint, so it isn't lost when riding, etc.

link

Better image.