Springfield 1863 and Enfield 1861 rifles

The Pattern 1861 Enfield musketoon was a short-barrel version (610 mm or 24 inches) of the Pattern 1853 Enfield

rifled musket A rifled musket, rifle musket, or rifle-musket is a type of firearm made in the mid-19th century. Originally the term referred only to muskets that had been produced as a smoothbore weapon and later had their barrels replaced with rifled barrel ...

, having a faster rifling twist rate (1:48 versus 1:78), along with more rifling grooves (five grooves versus the Pattern 1853's three grooves), which made it as accurate as the rifle at shorter ranges. The much shorter barrel would otherwise reduce the accuracy at longer ranges. The shorter rifle was therefore easier to carry and reload.

Usage

In the British Army, the Pattern 1861 was issued to artillery units, who required a weapon for personal defence and which could be more easily wielded from horseback. They were also imported by the

Confederacy Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between ...

during the American Civil War and issued to artillery and

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

units. However, the longer Pattern 1853 was more suitable for infantry units which fought in line formation of several ranks deep, in order to minimize the risk that the men in the rear ranks would accidentally shoot the men in the front ranks in the back of the head, or scorch their faces an