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    Legacy Member gew8805's Avatar
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    Concerning period photographs done in studio, the weapons shown in pictures were as often as not the property of the photographer and usually have no relevancy to what the soldier actually carried.

    To find what rifle musket your ancestor carried, see if you can locate the ordnance records for his regiment, it's possible that they still exist, many do but they are not always too specific. He could have carried any of several rifle muskets in the late war period - a P53 Britishicon or US M1861, even a M1863. However, since he seems to have served near the end of the War, it is most likely he was issued the standard M1861 rifle musket, the most common weapon of the War. Had he been a "Regular" (US Army) soldier instead of a state soldier his likely weapon at the War's end would have been the far less common M1863 Type I. Personally, my best guess? I say he likely carried an 1861 Rifle Musket made at Springfield or one of the many contractors. It's your safest bet.
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    Last edited by gew8805; 02-05-2010 at 04:15 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by gew8805 View Post
    Concerning period photographs done in studio, the weapons shown in pictures were as often as not the property of the photographer and usually have no relevancy to what the soldier actually carried.
    Understood... a very good point.

    Quote Originally Posted by gew8805 View Post
    To find what rifle musket your ancestor carried, see if you can locate the ordnance records for his regiment, it's possible that they still exist, many do but they are not always too specific. He could have carried any of several rifle muskets in the late war period - a P53 Britishicon or US M1861, even a M1863. However, since he seems to have served near the end of the War, it is most likely he was issued the standard M1861 rifle musket, the most common weapon of the War. Had he been a "Regular" (US Army) soldier instead of a state soldier his likely weapon at the War's end would have been the far less common M1863 Type I. Personally, my best guess? I say he likely carried an 1861 Rifle Musket made at Springfield or one of the many contractors. It's your safest bet.
    Thanks for your input. Your analysis and logic are consistent with a number of expert opinions I have received. Most think it is very doubtful (yet still possible) that he would have been issued an Enfield. Further, your opinion that regular forces would have been issued the newer Springfield 1863s while state volunteers would have continued to receive contract 1861s in that late stage of the Civil War is also a popularly held belief.

    CLMN

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