![]() ![]() While the Whitworth's light weight meant that while a soldier could easily carry it around the battlefield, he could count on it giving him a heavy kick when he pulled the trigger. Seventy to eight-five grains of British-manufactured powder launched the bullet at twelve hundred to fourteen hundred feet per second, considerably faster than the Enfield. In order to give his long bullet the same 530-grain weight as that of the Enfield, Sir Joseph reduced the caliber to. It fired a unique, hard metal, hexagonal-sided bullet with a very long aspect ratio (.445 inches by 1.45 inches, or 2½ times its diameter) that gave it superior ballistic performance at extended ranges. Sir Joseph Whitworth, one of the premier inventors and firearms designers of his era, manufactured his singular rifle in Manchester, England. This particular P60 Enfield belonged to Berry Benson, a sharpshooter with McGowan's South Carolina brigade. The short guns were given them, as they were lighter and handier." Both kinds had a long range and were very effective. "Every short Enfield which came into possession of any of our men was taken away and given to these men," said a Georgian in Gordon's brigade, "but there were not enough, and some of them had the common long Enfield. The two-band Enfield quickly became the top choice for Confederate sharpshooters. The Pattern 56 and 58 rifles had a light three-groove barrel, while the Pattern 60 Army rifle and the Pattern 58 Navy rifle both featured a heavier five-groove barrel with progressive depth rifling and a faster 1:48 twist, giving them superior accuracy. ![]() All had 33-inch barrels and an overall length of 48½ inches and were often called "two-band" Enfields after the number of bands securing the barrel. ( courtesy West Point Museum)Įnfield also produced several shorter versions of its P53 rifle-musket. The long rifle was thought necessary so that the muzzles of the second rank of soldiers would project beyond the faces of the men in front, and so that the weapon would be sufficiently long for a bayonet fight. The term “rifle-musket” meant that the rifle was the same length as the musket it replaced. Including the 17-inch blade on its triangular socket bayonet, the Enfield rifle-musket measured just over six feet long. With practice a good marksman could hit a man-sized target at about half that distance. For distances beyond that an adjustable flip-up blade sight was graduated (depending on the model and date of manufacture) from 900 to 1250 yards. ![]() The Enfield’s adjustable ladder rear sight had steps for 100 (the default or “battle sight” range), 200, 300, and 400 yards. Sixty-eight grains of black powder pushed a 530-grain Prichett ball (or a Burton-Minié ball) along at about 850-900 feet per second. Three metal bands held the P53s three-groove, 39-inch barrel (which sported a 1:78 twist) to the stock, and as such the weapon was often referred to as the “three-band” model. 577 caliber rifle was as close to a standard infantry weapon as the Confederacy ever got and was also used in large numbers by the Union. This nine and a half pound, single shot, muzzle loading. Confederate ordnance chief Josiah Gorgas called the Enfield, or British Pattern 53 Long Rifle-Musket, named for the year of its adoption, “the finest arm in the world.” Sturdy, reliable, and extremely accurate even at extended ranges, it consistently outshot everything but the Whitworth and quickly became a favorite on both sides. ![]()
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