Burnside Carbine

History of the Burnside Carbine

The Burnside Carbine was a popular carbine used on all major battlefields of the American Civil War. The weapon was developed by Ambrose E. Burnside, from which the carbine got its name. Burnside was a member of the U.S. Army, but he left his post to focus on developing the weapon as a whole. The Burnside Carbine uses a specially designed cartridge, the brass cartridge.

Burnside's own 54 caliber cartridge. His new gun and cartridge did a great job eliminating the hot fumes common when firing other breech-loading guns at the time. With the Burnside Carbine, due to its special design, the cartridge itself seals the barrel with the breech, creating a seal to contain the gas. In the end, the Burnside Carbine was the most important and most numerous carbine of the American Civil War, rivaled only by the Spencer and Sharps types.

Both sides of the conflict used the Burnside Carbine - a testament to its quality design and construction.

Burnside Carbine uses the breech-loading concept. This allows operators to reload their guns from the rear of the barrel, rather than clipping the cartridge and propellant into the muzzle with a push rod (muzzle loading) as with a smoothbore gun. The carbine used two trigger guards that were depressed to open the breech block. The opened breech block is now ready to receive a new one. 54 cartridges.

Once the cartridge is inserted and the breech is closed, the operator can fire. As a percussion-based system, the operator cocks the hammer back via the hammer head branch. Pulling the trigger activates the hammer, which hits the primer. The cap ignited and ignited the black powder in the cartridge, knocking the bullet out of the barrel.

The firing system was installed on the right side of the body, in keeping with the muskets of the time.

The gun weighs 7 pounds and has a muzzle velocity of 950 feet per second. Effective range is 200 yards.

The carbine is called a "carbine" because it has a shorter barrel length compared to a contract rifle. The Burnside Carbine has a 21" barrel and an overall length of 39.5" - suitable for special battlefield elements like cavalry - basically cavalry and trained to use a saber and a powerful cavalry charge. The barrel features a wooden frame that is simply strapped along the fore grip.

The front sight is mounted behind the muzzle. The metal fuselage contains the trigger and strike mechanisms, as well as the breech. There is a rifle-style handle, and a curved stock covered with a metal cap. The trigger is mounted under the rifle grip and surrounded by a double trigger guard.

In 1857, Burnside used his carbine against about 17 other carbine designs in a match at West Point and won. However, the initial government orders were slow to execute, and only the arrival of total war in the United States resulted in thousands of orders. The Combined Cavalry was one of the largest groups using this small, lightweight gun. Carbine production was taken over from 1857 to 1865 by the Burnside Rifle Company and the Bristol Firearms Company of Providence, Rhode Island.

Although the Burnside Carbine appeared in five different models, and the design was refined by George P. Foster, it was eventually replaced in production by the Spencer Carbine at the end of the war - the Burnside facility was modified to accommodate Spencer-branded national production. Ambrose Burnside eventually sold his stake in the company and became commander of the Union Army of the Potomac.

Despite his technical success with his carbine, Burnside proved some incompetent officers on the battlefield - leading Union troops at the Battles of Fredericksburg and Crater both failed. Nonetheless, his carbine became legendary for what the war made possible.

Burnside Carbine Specification

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STRUCTURAL

PERFORMANCE

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