U.S. Military Carbines

By John D. McAulay
Illustrated, endnotes, bibliography, index, 256 pp., 2006. Mowbray Publishers, 54 East School St., Woonsocket, RI 02895, $49.99 plus shipping.

Reviewer: Dale E. Biever
Dale E. Biever received his M.Ed. in American history from Kutztown University. He is past vice president for administration and former member of the Board of Governors of the Company of Military Historians. A retired educator, he was registrar at the Civil War Library and Museum in Philadelphia.

Review:
In John McAulay's previous work on carbines the emphasis was primarily on government purchases and issues to mounted and dismounted Civil War troops. This book takes a major step forward by examining in detail the actual use of the carbine in service starting with the Civil War and ending with the issue of the Model 1903 Springfield to the cavalry in 1906. Carbine usage not only deals with the Army but also the Navy and the Marine Corps.

The six chapters are broken down into specific weapons of the Civil War and postwar eras. Two of the chapters cover Sea Service carbines and the last chapter is devoted entirely to the Krag. Numerous photos and tablets are found throughout the book. The heart of the publication, however, is the carbine's use in the field.

McAulay's first chapter covers almost half the book and examines the use of carbines during the Civil War. Nineteen weapons are mentioned, ranging from the Ballard to the Wesson.

The book's pattern is set with this chapter. It begins with a brief description of the carbine and purchase information. Unit issues follow and then a series of examples of the arm in combat and its performance as seen by the men who had to use it in life and death situations.

Photos of each carbine and a number of period photos of soldiers with that weapon are shown. Some of the pictures are from private collections and may be in print for the first time. The first of numerous tables appear in this chapter and note such things as unit issue by company, type of carbines and revolvers, slings, sabers, cartridge boxes and number of cartridges per company.

Personalities of average cavalrymen are injected into the text with their individual stories of heroism, which sometimes resulted in being awarded the Medal of Honor. An interesting sidelight to many of the carbines being issued was what was actually thought of them under field conditions.

Men who had to use them here reported a number of criticisms of many of the carbines and their ammunition. Following the war many of the troopers were allowed to purchase their carbines, while other arms were placed in government storage and eventual disposal through auction. Finding few buyers in 1872 for Model 1847 Musketoons at $2 each the price dropped to 35 cents in the 1880s.

Two chapters are about carbines in the Sea Service. The first chapter covers six carbines used during the Civil War and the second chapter looks at the Sharps & Hankins and the Model 1867 Remington Rolling Block carbine in the U.S. Navy from 1865 to 1873.

In addition to the format set in the first chapter, McAulay includes ship's pictures and tables of small arms issues to a number of named vessels. Much of the data includes the number of shoulder and hand guns, cutlasses and ammunition.

Three pages are devoted to the 1871 Korean expedition and the role of sailors and Marines in this operation in which both Plymouth rifles and Remington carbines were used. An interesting table shows the amount of ammunition fired in Remington carbines as reported by two ships that took part in the Korean affair.

Chapter Four ranges from 1866 to 1874 and relates the Army's attempt to find a replacement for the numerous weapons that it took into the field in the Civil War. This is the timeframe of much of the Indian fighting Army, so most of the text tells the story of the cavalry and their carbines on the frontier.

Here again are unit tables by regimental company and number of arms issued. There are a number of great photos of men and their weapons in the field, and accounts of actions using a varied assortment of carbines such as the Rimfire Starr, Joslyn, Maynard, Sharps, Ward-Burton and the Model 1870 Springfield. This chapter includes a very good account of the Modoc War.

In May 1873 the government adopted the .45 caliber Springfield "trapdoor" which would continue in service until replaced by the Krag. Three basic models were produced along with a Model 1886 24-inch barrel carbine. Field trials were also held with the bolt action Hotchkiss which elements of six cavalry regiments used.

Tables included figures on carbine issues to various regiments, carbines issued by companies, a 7th Cavalry arms inventory prior to the 1876 campaign, Benteen's weapons and equipment losses at the Little Bighorn, Hotchkiss issues, and target practice results.

Several major actions and the men involved make up much of the material along with the problems encountered with their errors. Photos show cavalry and Indian scouts in the field with Springfield and Hotchkiss carbines. Four pages note the role of the Springfield in the hands of state troops called up for the Spanish-American War.

The last cavalry carbine was the .30 caliber Krag, which was in service by 1895 and continued to be carried in the field until the advent of the Model 1903 Springfield which saw its first issue in 1905.

This chapter on the Krag again has some great pictures, combat accounts in the Spanish-American War and the Philippine Insurrection, and tables on a variety of carbine- related subjects. There is a nice account of the Rough Riders and five pages on the role of the cavalry in the Philippines.

U.S. Military Carbines is well-written with hard cover and quality paper. A table of contents breaks the chapters down to individual weapons. The role of the cavalryman runs throughout the text and gives that "you are there" feel to the book. Tables are very informative and the use of the pictures is excellent.

This book is highly recommended for all who are interested in the U.S. Cavalry and their carbines, and historical institutions and Western history students.