Spencer rifles - a favorite of the Civil War era

Many in your Company were issued Spencer rifles and carbines just a few weeks ago. You were fortunate enough tohave a carbine, those Spencer rifles are heavy to carry. Though the lever action rifle was new, learning to load and shoot this breech loader was not difficult. Yours is equipped with a Stabler cut off, a device that blocks the magazine from feeding. By turning a lever just ahead of the trigger, you are able to load and shoot it as a single shot, saving the rounds in the magazine for later.

You were also issued a Blakeslee cartridge box to carry your ammo in. The box contains 10 tubes that hold 7 rounds each for quickly recharging the magazine. You find the loading tubes useful but the cartridge box can be awkward to handle at times.

Now you find yourselves positioned along an old fence line overlooking a large bean field. Rifles at hand, the Confederates have formed a skirmish line at the far treeline. You check the Stabler cut off one more time. Yes. Single shot mode. For now. The enemy line is beginning to advance. You glance quickly at the Blakeslee cartridge box slung from your shoulder. Yes. The cover is open and ready for that first reload.

Your heart is pounding wildly now as the rebel skirmish line is entirely visible now and advancing quickly at about 300 yards. You take a deep breath and rest the carbine in a good shooting position on the top rail of the fence. With trembling hands and dry mouth you cock the hammer and wait for the command to fire.

Now they briefly vanish into a shallow depression at the far side of the field. You wipe the sweat from your brow as you wait for them to emerge. Suddenly there they are again in full view only 200 yards out and moving fast. There seems to be so many. You may be greatly outnumbered.

You didn't hear the command but suddenly everyone on both sides is shooting. You fire. Not sure of the result you quickly drop the lever and load another cartridge. This time taking more careful aim, you squeeze the trigger. There is so much gun smoke now that you don't know if your aim was true. Men are falling on both sides now. Terrifying screams and shouting and gunfire surround you. A bullet rips through the fence post to your right piercing your neck with small wood fragments.

You check the damage with your fingers and decide you are alright. Now you refocus on the battle field ahead. You single load another cartridge but now they are very close and moving faster. You instinctively reset the cut off device to allow rapid fire and raise your Spencer and take aim...

The model 1860 Spencer Repeating Rifle

The model 1860 Spencer Repeating Rifle

Description

The Spencer rifle was designed by Christopher Spencer and patented in 1860. It had a lever activated rolling block action. It was 47 inches long with a 30 inch barrel and weighed a whopping 10 pounds. The magazine was tubular and located in the stock. It fired a .52 caliber rimfire cartridge.

The rifle operated by lowering the trigger guard which ejected the spent cartridge and allowed the magazine spring to push another cartridge forward. The upstroke of the lever chambered the round and closed the action. The hammer would then be cocked manually. Perhaps this hammer configuration and style, being familiar in that day, gave the Spencer rifles a leg up on the Henrys.

A carbine version was introduced later in the war and was much appreciated by the cavalry. It was only 37 inches long with a 22 inch barrel. It had a single barrel band; the rifle had 3.

The cartridge was designated as No.56 Spencer or .56-56 Spencer. The 285 grain .52 caliber bullet was propelled by 46 grains of powder. It was comparable in power to the muskets of the day and far superior to the .44 caliber Henry. In 1865 a necked down version called the .56-50 was introduced followed by the .56-52. Also some rare sporting versions were chambered in .56-46.

A Little History

Christopher Spencer had a tough sale in the early going. The war was on and his repeating rifles clearly had advantages. A civil war muzzleloader cost the government $18 but a Spencer was $40. The war department was waffling on its initial orders when President Lincoln gave Mr. Spencer's rifle his own personal test firing. His approval jumpstarted the company and sent firearms history in motion. By 1863 the Spencer began to see military duty. The carbine version was well received and less expensive than the rifle. In all 94,000 carbines were purchased for the war effort.

In order to keep up production, The Burnside Rifle Co. was contracted to build a number of Spencers. They can be identified by having 3 groove rifling instead of 6. By war's end the Spencer had proven its worth on the battlefield. It was being called "The horizontal shot tower" by many.

Nearly 200,000 Spencer rifles and carbines had been produced by 1869 when slow post war sales forced bankruptcy. The army replaced them with the Springfield Trapdoor in 1873. Lever action rifles were here to stay and the Spencer had made an impression.

SBI!