Civil War Carbines: Myth vs. Reality
By Peter Schiffers

Illustrated, appendices, bibliography 144 pp., 2007. Mowbray Publishing, 54 East School St., Woonsocket, RI 02895, $29.99 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:
While reading accounts of Civil War cavalry actions we must have, at one time or another, questioned the reliability and accuracy of the Federal carbines. Since so many carbine models were in use, and the testing and combat reports widely varied, it has become difficult to sort out which were really the best and the worst of these arms.

Enter Peter Schiffers who took 11 original different Federal carbines, put them through their paces and came up with some startling results which shed a new and different light on the principal arm of the horse soldier.

Schiffers was as perplexed as many of us in reading contradicting ordnance and battlefield reports on the wide variety of carbines put into the field during the war. While shooting the limited number of reproduction carbines on the market it became apparent that the only way to hit the issue head-on was to reproduce the cartridge and then, in what he calls “Historical Shooting,” actually carry out “…shooting an unmodified antique weapon with close reproductions of the cartridges used at the time the weapon was in service.”

Eleven arms were chosen for the tests: Burnside, Gallager, Gwyn & Campbell, Joslyn, Maynard, Merrill, M1863 Sharps, Sharps & Hankins, Smith, Spencer and Staff.

The only way to determine gunpowder specs was to open original cartridges and test fire the powder in a revolver. Using a chronograph and modern black powder against the original powder it was determined that the Civil War propellant was “Musket Powder,” which is roughly equal to 1-1/2F. Modern Swiss #4 black powder came the closest in grain size and chemical composition to original Civil War powder and thus was used in most of the testing.

Reproducing the bullets and cartridges proved time-consuming and expensive. Schiffers gives good descriptions of making cartridges and the problems encountered. The rimfire cartridges were the most difficult to make while those of paper were the easiest.

Bullet molds had to be custom made and cases machined. Testing was done from a bench rest using only the original sights. The author lives in Europe, so the firing was carried out at European ranges of 55 (21” x 21” target size), 110 (42” x 21”) and 220 (33-½” x 33-½”) yards.

Each carbine chapter has a brief history of the make’s inception and wartime use. This is followed by the pitfalls, advantages, military testing and field reports, Schiffers’ work in duplicating the cartridge, a description of the weapon being used, his shooting results, and the strengths and weaknesses experienced during the testing.

Excellent B&W photos of the weapon, patent drawings, photos of officers involved in ordnance or combat connections with the carbine and target photos are included in each chapter.

The eight appendices hold a wealth of information including carbine ranks, shooting tables, rifling and bullet dimensions, cartridge info, purchases, weights and a complete final result section on each carbine fired.

This book is very well-written and illustrated. The paper is of high quality and should stand a great deal of usage. It answers a great number of questions that have come up over the years regarding the most widely used of the Civil War carbines and why or why not they didn’t hold up to their expectations.

Civil War Carbines: Myth vs. Reality is highly recommended for the reenactor, serious shooter, collector, cavalry enthusiast, historian and museum personnel.

And what did the author consider the best and worst Civil War carbine? You’ll have to buy the book and find out!