Springfield Model 1842
Springfield Model 1842 | |
---|---|
Springfield Model 1842 Musket | |
Type | Musket |
Place of origin | United States of America |
Service history | |
In service | 1844–1865 |
Used by | United States of America, Confederate States of America |
Wars | American Indian Wars Mexican–American War, American Civil War |
Production history | |
Designed | 1842 |
Manufacturer | United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield, United States Armory and Arsenal at Harper's Ferry |
Produced | 1844–1855 |
No. built | 275,000 |
Specifications | |
Mass | 9.8 lbs (4.45 kg) |
Length | 58 in (1,473 mm) |
Barrel length | 42 in (1,067 mm) |
Cartridge | Paper cartridge, musket ball undersized (.65/16,510 mm) to reduce the effects of powder fouling |
Caliber | 0.69 in (17.526 mm) |
Action | Percussion lock |
Rate of fire | User dependent; usually 2 to 3 rounds every 1 minute |
Muzzle velocity | 1400 feet per second (420 meters per second) |
Effective firing range | 100–300 yards[1] |
Maximum firing range | 400 yards[2] |
Feed system | Muzzle-loaded |
Sights | A front sight cast into the barrel band |
The US Model 1842 Musket was a .69 caliber musket manufactured and used in the United States during the 19th century. It is a continuation of the Model 1816 line of muskets but is generally referred to as its own model number rather than just a variant of the Model 1816.
The Model 1842 was the last U.S. smoothbore musket. Many features that had been retrofitted into the Model 1840 were standard on the Model 1842. The Model 1842 was the first primary U.S. muskets to be produced with a percussion lock; however, most of the Model 1840 flintlocks ended up being converted to percussion locks before reaching the field. The percussion cap system was vastly superior to the flintlock, being much more reliable and much more resistant to weather.
Like all Model 1816 derivatives, the Model 1842 has a .69 caliber smoothbore barrel that was 42 inches (110 cm) in length. The Model 1842 had an overall length of 58 inches (150 cm) and a weight of ten pounds (4,5 kg).
A great emphasis was placed on manufacturing processes for the Model 1842. It was the first small arm produced in the U.S. with fully interchangeable (machine-made) parts. Approximately 275,000 Model 1842 muskets were produced, manufactured at the Springfield and Harper's Ferry armories between 1844 and 1855. Model 1842 muskets were also made by private contractors. However, these were few in number. Some were made by A.H. Waters and B. Flagg & Co, both of Millbury, Massachusetts. These were distinguished by having brass furniture instead of iron. A.H. Waters went out of business due to a lack of contracts in New England, and Flagg entered into a partnership with William Glaze of South Carolina. They relocated the machinery to the Palmetto Armory in Columbia, South Carolina. Instead of "V" over "P" over the eagle's head, these guns were usually stamped "P" over "V" over the palmetto tree. Most of the output of the Palmetto Armory went to the state militia of South Carolina. There were only 6,020 1842 type muskets produced on that contract and none were made there after 1853.
Like the earlier Model 1840, the Model 1842 was produced with an intentionally thicker barrel than necessary, with the assumption that it would likely be rifled later. As the designers anticipated, many of the Model 1842 muskets had their barrels rifled later so that they could fire the newly developed Minié ball. Tests conducted by the U.S. Army showed that the .69 caliber musket was not as accurate as the smaller bore rifled muskets. Also, the Minié Ball, being conical and longer than it was broad, had much more mass than a round ball of the same caliber. A smaller caliber Minié ball could be used to provide as much mass on target as the larger .69 caliber round ball. For these reasons, the Model 1842 was the last .69 caliber musket. The Army later standardized on the .58 caliber Minié Ball, as used in the Springfield Model 1855 and Springfield Model 1861.
Both the original smoothbore version and the modified rifled version of the Model 1842 were used in the American Civil War. The smoothbore version was produced without sights (except for a cast one on the barrel band). When Model 1842 muskets were modified to have rifled barrels, sights were usually added at the same time as the rifling.
The 1842 musket was effectively used during the American Civil War.[3]
Preceded by | United States Army rifle 1842–1855 | Succeeded by |
See also
- List of individual weapons of the U.S. Armed Forces
- List of wars involving the United States
- Military history of the United States
- United States Army
- Confederate States Army
- Charleville musket
- Brown Bess
- Potzdam Musket 1723
- M1752 Musket
- Springfield musket
- Musket
- Rifle
- Carbine
- American Civil War reenactment
References
- ^ Stanage, Justin (2000). "The Rifle-Musket vs. The Smoothbore Musket, a Comparison of the Effectiveness of the Two Types of Weapons Primarily at Short Ranges". Iu South Bend Undergraduate Research Journal. 3: 84–89.
- ^ Stanage, Justin (2000). "The Rifle-Musket vs. The Smoothbore Musket, a Comparison of the Effectiveness of the Two Types of Weapons Primarily at Short Ranges". Iu South Bend Undergraduate Research Journal. 3: 84–89.
- ^ ".69 ball, buck and ball and buckshot cartridges of the U.S. Army Davide Pedersoli & C." www.davide-pedersoli.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-06.
External links
- Article about M1842 Musket
- "Civil War Weapons and Equipment" by Russ A. Pritchard, Jr., Russ A. Pritchard Jr., Published by Globe Pequot, 2003
- http://www.nps.gov/spar/historyculture/sa-firearms-questions.htm Springfield Armory Weapons Research
- v
- t
- e
- Arkansas toothpick
- Bayonet
- Bowie knife
- M1832 foot artillery sword
- M1833 dragoon saber
- M1840 army noncommissioned officer's sword
- M1840 cavalry saber
- M1840 light artillery saber
- M1850 army staff & field officer's sword
- M1852 naval officer's sword
- M1860 cutlass
- M1860 light cavalry saber
- Mameluke sword
- USMC noncommissioned officer's sword
- Adams M1851 revolver
- Allen & Thurber M1837 revolver pepperbox
- Allen & Wheelock M1861 revolver
- Beaumont–Adams M1862 revolver
- Butterfield M1855 transitional revolver
- Colt M1836 Paterson revolver
- Colt M1847 Walker revolver
- Colt M1848 Dragoon revolver
- Colt M1849 Pocket revolver
- Colt M1851 Navy revolver
- Colt M1860 Army revolver
- Colt M1861 Navy revolver
- Colt M1862 Police revolver
- Colt Root M1855 revolver
- Deringer M1825 Philadelphia caplock pistol
- Elgin M1838 cutlass caplock pistol
- Harpers Ferry M1836 and M1842 pistol
- Kerr M1855 revolver
- Lefaucheux M1854 revolver
- Lefaucheux M1858 revolver
- LeMat M1856 revolver
- Moore M1864 revolver
- Remington M1858 revolver
- Remington M1860 Elliot revolver pepperbox
- Savage-North M1861 Navy revolver
- Smith & Wesson Model 1
- Smith & Wesson Model No. 2 Army
- Spiller & Burr M1861 revolver
- Starr M1858 and M1863 revolver
- Tranter M1856 revolver
- Volcanic M1855 repeating pistol
- Walch M1859 revolver
- Wesson and Leavitt M1850 Dragoon revolver
- Whitney M1857 revolver
- Augustin M1842 musket
- Ballard M1861 rifle
- Brunswick P1836 and P1841 rifle
- Burnside M1855 carbine
- Charleville M1816 and M1822 musket
- Colt M1855 revolver carbine and rifle
- Deringer M1814 Common rifle
- Deringer M1817 Common rifle
- Enfield P1853 rifled musket
- Enfield P1861 musketoon
- Fayetteville M1862 rifle
- Gallager M1861 carbine
- Hall M1819 rifle
- Hall-North M1843 carbine
- Harper Ferry M1803 rifle
- Henry M1860 repeating rifle
- Jenks M1841 Mule ear carbine
- Joslyn M1855, M1861, M1862, M1864, M1865 carbine and rifle
- Lorenz M1854 rifled musket
- Maynard M1851 carbine
- Merrill M1858 carbine
- Mississippi M1841 rifle
- P1839 and P1842 Brown Bess musket
- Potzdam M1831 musket
- Richmond M1861 rifled musket
- Sharps M1848, M1850, M1851, M1852, M1853, M1855, M1859, M1863, M1865 carbine and rifle
- Sharps & Hankins M1862 carbine
- Smith M1857 carbine
- Spencer M1860, M1865 repeating carbine and rifle
- Springfield M1795 musket
- Springfield M1812 musket
- Springfield M1816 musket
- Springfield M1822 musket
- Springfield M1835 musket
- Springfield M1840 musket
- Springfield M1842 musket
- Springfield M1847 musketoon
- Springfield M1855 rifled musket
- Springfield M1861 rifled musket
- Springfield M1863 rifled musket
- Starr M1858 carbine
- Tarpley M1863 carbine
- Volcanic M1855 repeating rifle
- Wesson M1859 carbine and rifle
- Whitworth P1857 rifle
- Adams grenade
- Coach gun
- Congreve rocket
- Double-barreled shotgun
- Hale rocket launcher
- Ketchum Grenade
- Rains grenade
- Rains landmine
- Sea mine
- Winans Steam Gun
and equipment