Burnside Carbine
Burnside Rifle Company · Carbine · Out Of Production · 1857
Also known as: Burnside Model 1864 Carbine
Overview
The Burnside Carbine was a single-shot, breech-loading percussion cavalry carbine designed in the 1850s by Ambrose E. Burnside, who patented it in 1856 before rising to Major General in the Civil War. Its defining feature was a conical .54 brass cartridge that wedged tightly into a matching tapered breech, sealing the chamber against the hot-gas leakage that plagued other early breechloaders. The U.S. government ordered some 55,000 Burnsides, making it the third most widely used carbine of the conflict.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3200 g (112.9 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1003 mm (39.49") |
| Barrel Length | 533 mm (20.98") |
| Action Type | Break Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 1 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Internal |
| Muzzle Velocity | 290 m/s (951 fps) |
| Effective Range | 183 m (200 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 550 m (601 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 10 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .54 Burnside · primary — also known as .54 Burnside Carbine
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Single Shot Breech Loading
- Safety mechanisms: Half Cock Hammer
- Features: Tilting Breechblock, Conical Brass Cartridge Gas Seal, Moisture Resistant Metallic Cartridge, Saddle Ring
Variants
- Burnside Model 1864 Carbine — Improved Pattern
Service history
Operators
- United States Army · adopted 1858
- Confederate States Army · adopted 1861
Conflicts
- American Civil War (1861-1865)
Production
Estimated total produced: 55,000 · Production years: 1857-1865
Around 55,000 ordered by the U.S. government; the third most widely issued carbine of the American Civil War
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: Ambrose Burnside
Discontinued: 1865
Notes
Manufactured by the Burnside Rifle Company (and earlier the Bristol Firearms Company) of Providence, Rhode Island. Later models incorporated George P. Foster's improvements to the breech latch. The torch-shaped metallic cartridge resisted moisture far better than period paper cartridges.
Background
Ambrose Burnside's carbine made his name before his luxuriant whiskers did, the very whiskers that gave us the word 'sideburns'; the rifle business bankrupted him years before he commanded armies at Antietam and Fredericksburg.