The Burnside carbine was a breech-loading carbine that saw widespread use during the American Civil War. A carbine is a firearm similar to, but generally shorter and less powerful than, a rifle or musket of a given period. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... Ambrose Everett Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was a railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a U.S. Senator. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The word calibre (British English) or caliber (American English) designates the interior diameter of a tube or the exterior diameter of a wire or rod. ... A guns muzzle velocity is the speed at which the projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun. ... A carbine is a firearm similar to, but generally shorter and less powerful than, a rifle or musket of a given period. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total...

Design

The carbine was designed and patented by Ambrose Burnside, who resigned his commission in the U.S. Army to devote himself full time to working on the weapon. The carbine used a special brass cartridge, also invented by Burnside. Pressing the weapon's two trigger guards opened the breech block and allowed the user to insert a cartridge. When the trigger was pulled, the hammer struck a percussion cap and caused a spark; a hole in the base of the cartridge exposed the black powder to this spark. The unique, cone-shaped cartridge sealed the joint between the barrel and the breech. Most other breech-loading weapons of the day tended to leak hot gas when fired, but Burnside's design eliminated this problem.^[1] Ambrose Everett Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was a railroad executive, inventor, industrialist, and politician from Rhode Island, serving as governor and a U.S. Senator. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The percussion cap or primer was the crucial invention that enabled firearms to fire in any weather. ... Black powder was the original gunpowder and practically the only known propellant and explosive until the middle of the 19th century. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Service history

In 1857, the Burnside carbine won a competition at West Point against 17 other carbine designs. In spite of this, few of the carbines were immediately ordered by the government, but this changed with the outbreak of the Civil War, when over 55,000 were ordered for use by Union cavalrymen.^[2] This made it the third most popular carbine of the Civil War; only the Sharps carbine and the Spencer carbine were more widely used.^[3] They saw action in all theatres of the war. There were so many in service that many were captured and used by Confederates. A common complaint by users was that the unusually shaped cartridge sometimes became stuck in the barrel after firing.^[4] French Republican Guard - May 8, 2005 celebrations Cavalry (from French cavalerie) were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat. ... // The military Sharps rifle (also known as the Berdan Sharps rifle) was a falling block rifle used during and after the American Civil War. ... The Spencer repeating rifle was a manually operated lever-action, repeating rifle fed from a tube magazine with cartridges. ...

Five different models were produced.^[5] Toward the end of the Civil War, production was discontinued when the Burnside Rifle Company was given a contract to make Spencer carbines instead.^[6]

Effect of the carbine on Burnside's career

Though he was actually a poor military officer, Ambrose Burnside rose through the ranks partly because his carbine was so well known.^[7] He was pressured by President Lincoln several times to take command of the Union Army of the Potomac. He repeatedly declined, saying "I was not competent to command such a large army as this."^[8] When he eventually did accept command, he led the Army of the Potomac to defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg. The battle and the subsequent retreat left Burnside's "officers complaining loudly to the White House and the War Department about his incompetence."^[9] He also performed poorly at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, and a court of inquiry blamed him for the Union failure at the Battle of the Crater. For other uses, see Abraham Lincoln (disambiguation). ... Generals Burnside, Hancock, Couch, Ferro, Patrick, Wilcox, Cochrane, Buford and others. ... Template:Infobox Military Conflict TiTIES The Battle of Fredericksburg, fought in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, on December 13, 1862, between General Robert E. Lees Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. ... The Mud March was an abortive attempt at a winter offensive in January, 1863, by Major General Ambrose Burnside in the American Civil War. ... Combatants United States of America Confederate States of America Commanders Ulysses S. Grant George G. Meade Robert E. Lee Strength 100,000 52,000 Casualties 18,000 12,000 The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, sometimes simply referred to as the Battle of Spotsylvania, was the second battle in Lieut. ... Combatants United States of America Confederate States of America Commanders Ambrose E. Burnside Robert E. Lee Strength IX Corps elements of the Army of Northern Virginia Casualties 5,300 total 1,032 total The Battle of the Crater was a battle of the American Civil War, part of the Siege...

References