There were a wide variety of weapons used during the American Civil War, especially in the early days as both the Union and Confederate armies struggled to arm their rapidly-expanding forces. Everything from antique flintlock firearms to early examples of machine guns and sniper rifles saw use to one extent or the other. However, the most common weapon to be used by Northern and Southern soldiers was the rifled musket. Born from the development of the percussion cap and the Minié ball, rifled muskets had much greater range than smoothbore muskets while being easier to load than previous rifles.Coggins (1983), p. 26-32
Most firearms were muzzleloaders which were armed by pouring the gunpowder and bullet down the muzzle. While they only fired once before needing to be reloaded, a trained soldier could achieve a rate of fire of three rounds per minute. Newer breechloaders were easier and quicker to reload, but perhaps the most revolutionary development were repeating firearms, which could fire multiple times before reloading. However, for a number of reasons, repeating firearms did not see widespread use.King-Robertson-Clay, pp. 11–14.
The diversity of long guns in the war led to a classification system which categorized them by their quality and effectiveness. There were "first class" weapons like Springfield rifles, "second class" weapons like the older M1841 Mississippi rifle, and "third class" weapons like the Springfield Model 1842 musket. Efforts were made to ensure that troops had the best possible firearms available, including rearming with captured enemy weapons after a battle.Gabel, pp. 32–34.
Personal weapons Melee weapons The most common melee weapon carried by both sides was the bayonet given to infantry soldiers. Beyond its use as a weapon, the bayonet had utilitarian purposes, such as a makeshift entrenching tool and even a spit. Infantry sergeants and officers were also equipped with a sword. Sabers were the traditional weapon of the cavalry, although Union cavalry tended to place greater emphasis on their use in combat over the Confederates.Coggins (1983), p. 49 Another traditional cavalry weapon, the lance, was very rare: the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment was one of the only units to carry them, and they eventually discarded their lances in May 1863.Coggins (1983), p. 56
One weapon which saw an unexpected revival during the Civil War was the pike. The Confederacy in particular suffered from a shortage of modern weapons, and by 1862 prominent military leaders like Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson advocated the manufacture and distribution of pikes as a stopgap measure. Joseph E. Brown, governor of Georgia, was the strongest proponent of pikes and procured thousands of them for local state militia. Such weapons were primarily given to home guard units until they could be rearmed with guns.Broadwater (2014), "The Pikemen"
Model Notes for the subject Arkansas toothpick Could be used as a short sword in combat Bayonet Attached to rifles and muskets Bowie knife Often carried by Confederates instead of bayonets M1832 foot artillery sword Issued to artillerymen, based on the Roman gladius M1833 dragoon saber Issued to the US Cavalry. An engraved version was privately purchased by senior officers. M1840 army noncommissioned officer's sword Issued to infantry sergeants M1840 cavalry saber Issued to Union cavalry M1840 light artillery saber Issued to mounted artillery M1850 army staff & field officer's sword Regulation officer's sword, though in practice most officers used cavalry sabers. Southern officers sometimes carried ancestral blades from the American Revolutionary War or even from the War of 1812. M1852 naval officer's sword M1860 cutlass Issued to naval boarding parties. Sailors also had access to harpoons, axes and grappling hooks. M1860 light cavalry saber Issued to Union cavalry Mameluke sword Carried by Marine officers Hatchet Issued to mounted riflemen from the elite Lightning Brigade USMC noncommissioned officer's sword
Sidearms Many different pistols and revolvers were used in the Civil War, although the most common were cap and ball revolvers with five or six chambers. The most popular revolvers were those produced by Colt, with over 146,000 purchased by the US government. The bullet and gunpowder could be packaged together as a paper cartridge or loaded separately into each chamber. Some models also came with a shoulder stock.Coggins (1983), p. 40-41
Revolvers were the standard sidearm of infantry officers; many soldiers also brought with them handguns when they first volunteered, but these were often discarded to reduce weight. Nearly all cavalry soldiers carried at least one handgun but more frequently two. John Mosby's rangers were famous for carrying four revolvers, with the additional pair held in saddle holsters.Coggins (1983), p. 54 Model Notes Adams M1851 revolver A double-action only revolver and predecessor to the Beaumont–Adams M1862. Allen & Thurber M1837 revolver pepperbox With the shortage of pistols in the American Civil War, many soldiers on both sides carried these as a backup arm. Allen & Wheelock M1861 revolver Beaumont–Adams M1862 revolver Imported by both the Union and the Confederacy Butterfield M1855 transitional revolver A transitional revolver with tape primer invented in 1855 by Jesse Butterfield of Philadelphia. Two thousand were ordered by the US Army, but production was canceled in 1862. Colt M1836 Paterson revolver The first true revolver produced by Colt in 1836. Colt M1847 Walker revolver Issued to the US Cavalry. A heavy .44 caliber revolver invented during the Mexican War and designed for killing the mounts of charging enemy troopers.Ricketts, H, Firearms (London, 1964) Colt M1848 Dragoon revolver A .44 caliber revolver that was developed from the Colt M1847 Walker Colt M1849 Pocket revolver A popular revolver that was never officially issued but was often bought privately. Colt M1851 Navy revolver Colt's most popular revolver for the 1850s civilian market in .36 caliber. The name 'Navy' came from the cylinder of the revolvers being engraved with a scene of the victory of the Second Texas Navy at the Battle of Campeche on May 16, 1843. The preferred sidearm of the Confederacy, copies such as the Griswold & Gunnison were made all over the South. Colt M1860 Army revolver A .44 caliber revolver made for the US Cavalry to replace the heavier Colt M1848 Dragoon. The Bessemer steel process invented in the 1850s made a lighter stronger revolver in .44 caliber possible. Colt M1861 Navy revolver Updated version of the .36 caliber Colt M1851 Navy with lines similar to the Colt M1860 Army Colt M1862 Police revolver The .36 caliber Colt M1862 originally made for the New York Metropolitan Police Department Colt Root M1855 revolver The first of Colt's revolvers to use a "creeping" loading lever mechanism Deringer M1825 Philadelphia caplock pistol Elgin M1838 cutlass caplock pistol Issued to navy personnel but proved unpopular and was quickly replaced with the M1860 cutlass Harpers Ferry M1836 pistol A single shot horse pistol predominantly used by the Confederacy Kerr M1855 revolver A five shot back-action revolver made by the London Armoury Company was used by Confederate cavalry. Lefaucheux M1854 revolver A pinfire revolver imported from France by Union and Confederate officers Lefaucheux M1858 revolver LeMat M1856 revolver Perhaps the most well known foreign designed revolver during the Civil War. It had two barrels, a .42 caliber barrel on top and a 20 gauge shotgun barrel underneath. The creator, a French doctor living in New Orleans named Jean Alexandre LeMat, moved back to France to create more revolvers for the Confederacy. The French-made revolvers, however, proved unreliable and difficult to manufacture. Moore M1864 revolver A seven shot revolver firing the .32 teat-fire cartridge Remington M1858 revolver Colt's chief competitor, the Remington Repeating Arms Company, also made revolvers during the Civil War. The most common was the Remington M1858 New Army in .44 caliber. The .36 caliber version referred to as the Remington M1858 New Navy. Remington M1860 Elliot revolver pepperbox Savage-North M1861 Navy revolver A proto double-action revolver with a second trigger underneath the first was used by the Navy and a few Army regiments. Smith & Wesson Model 1 Used as an alternative to the Colt and Remington revolvers. These usually fired brass rimfire cartridges. Smith & Wesson Model No. 2 Army A larger version of the Smith & Wesson Model 1 chambered in .32 caliber rimfire Spiller & Burr M1861 revolver A cheaper version of the Whitney M1857 with a frame made from gunmetal (bronze) instead of iron and the steel in the cylinder was replaced with twisted iron. The muzzle was also rounded instead of having sharp edges. Starr M1858 and M1863 revolver A double-action revolver which was briefly used in the western theater of the war, until the U.S. Ordnance Department persuaded Starr Arms Co. to create a single-action variant after the discontinuation of the Colt revolver. The company eventually complied, and the Union acquired 25,000 of the single-action revolvers for $12 each. Tranter M1856 revolver The first model also had a proto double-action with a second trigger underneath the first. But in a later model this was reduced to a single trigger that could work with both single-action and double-action. Volcanic M1855 repeating pistol This was a lever-action repeating pistol made in 1855 and chambered in .44 rimfire that was privately owned by those who could afford them. Walch M1859 revolver A very rare 12 shot revolver, fewer than 200 were made Wesson and Leavitt M1850 Dragoon revolver A large single-action revolver in .40 caliber Whitney M1857 revolver First produced in 1857, this .36 caliber percussion revolver was the first to be produced with a solid frame, which meant that it was much sturdier than the traditional Colt revolver.
Carbines Carbines were the preferred long gun for cavalry as they were smaller, lighter and more robust than infantry rifles. While accuracy was comparable, their range was lower on account of their shorter barrels and lighter gunpower loads. Early models had been muzzleloaders, but because of the difficulty reloading them on horseback, the majority during the war were breechloaders employing linen cartridges. The largest number of these was the Sharps carbine, which was also available as a rifle.Coggins (1983), p. 54, 58
As the war progressed, increasing numbers of Federal cavalrymen were armed with repeating carbines. The most widespread of these was the Spencer carbine, which was adopted as the Union cavalry's official carbine in 1864.Starr, S. Z. (1979). The Union Cavalry in the Civil War: The War in the East from Gettysburg to Appomattox, 1863--1865. United Kingdom: LSU Press. p. 68-71 However, since the South was incapable of producing the metallic cartridges necessary for their function, Confederate troopers were severely limited in their use of repeating firearms. As late as 1863, the British officer Arthur Lyon Fremantle observed Confederate cavalry in Texas armed with a wide variety of weapons: rifles, shotguns, carbines and revolvers.