Springfield .58

At the beginning of the American Civil War, both the North and the South relied heavily on imported Enfield rifles from Britain. It was not until the North adopted the .58 Springfield Musket that the common infantryman would evolve into a shaped marksman and effectively turn the tide of any battle.

The Springfield Musket was a muzzle-loading .50 caliber weapon. Muzzle-loading in that the propellant and the round (a "Minie Ball" shot) was entered and rammed down the barrel of the weapon. The Minie Ball itself being of French invention, was a potent man stopper. It worked well to break bones at nearly any range and could be lobbed a great distance with a propensity to bounce after landing - sometimes inflicting more damage.

Ammunition was supplied as a paper cartridge, both round and propellant. A percussion cap would be issued separately and all three elements were combined in a trained action before the weapon could be fired. The development of the Springfield Musket (produced by the Springfield Armory among others) greatly increased the accuracy - though not to the extent that today's rifles offer - of the standard marksman. So much so in fact that artillery formations were now required to fire from positions further back to compensate for the rifles increased range.

The musket featured, for the first time in any arms market, static iron sights capable of engaging targets at a distance of 600 yards. The sights consisted of two folding leaves (marked "3" and "5"). When the weapon was fired with both leaves down, the weapon was set for a base 100-yard targeting range. With the "3" leaf raised, the weapon was then set for 300-yard targeting. Consequently, with the second leaf raised along with the first, the weapon was ready to target enemy elements upwards of 500 yards. Naturally, the South was not in possession of capabilities to developing and produce large quantities of new weaponry, thusly they relied on captured or abandoned Springfield Muskets to arm their armies but still relied on their Enfields or whatever other arms could be imported from Europe.

Almost immediately after the war, the US military switched from the old muzzle-loading type weapons to the newer breech-loading rifles, signifying the end of muskets as standard frontline firearms in American history.

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