The Weapons of the Civil War

Episode three focuses in on the guns of the North and South, notably the smoothbore muskets on both sides, some converted to percussion guns, some not, and some coming straight from the armories as percussion tools. The episode looks at the evolution of arms in the Civil War, beginning with the model 1855, a smaller caliber but more accurate "tape primer" firearm invented by a dentist named Edward Maynard that ultimately proved unreliable in practice. The model 1861 was developed in response, a classic percussion fired weapon that added in a rear sight and that would become the most widely used arm in the war. Episode three also examines the Confederate raid on the Harper's Ferry armory and the Confederacy's dire need for arms and their purchase and trading of cotton for arms with Europe, notably acquiring the British Enfield and Austrian Lorenz. Also introduced are the Henry repeater and Spencer rimfire rifles that allowed for multiple cartridges to be loaded into the weapon, increasing the rate of fire over single-shot muskets. Also: the 1860 Colt .44 revolver, the most common handgun in the war and its advantages over single-shot muskets.