Spencer Carbine
Spencer Repeating Rifle Company · Carbine · Out Of Production · 1863
Also known as: Spencer Model 1860 Carbine, M1860 Spencer Carbine, Spencer Repeating Carbine
Overview
The Spencer Carbine is the cavalry version of the Spencer Model 1860 repeating carbine, designed by Christopher Spencer and manufactured by the Spencer Repeating Rifle Company. It pairs a falling-block lever action with a 7-round tubular magazine housed in the buttstock, each cycle of the lever extracting the spent case and chambering a fresh .56-56 Spencer rimfire round before the hammer is manually cocked to fire. Its shorter 22-inch barrel, lighter weight, and saddle-ring bar made it the dominant repeating arm of Union cavalry in the second half of the American Civil War, giving mounted troopers a decisive volume-of-fire advantage over Confederates armed with single-shot muzzleloaders and carbines.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3742 g (132.0 oz) |
| Overall Length | 991 mm (39.02") |
| Barrel Length | 559 mm (22.01") |
| Action Type | Lever Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 7 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Tube |
| Muzzle Velocity | 366 m/s (1201 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 1521 J (1122 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 460 m (503 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 900 m (984 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 20 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Number of Grooves | 6 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .56-56 Spencer · primary — also known as .56-56 Spencer Rimfire, 56-56, .52 caliber rimfire
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Tubular Magazine In Buttstock, Blakeslee Cartridge Box
- Safety mechanisms: Manually Cocked Hammer, Half Cock Notch
- Features: Buttstock Tubular Magazine, Blakeslee Quickloader Compatible, Manually Cocked Hammer, Lever Action Breechblock, Saddle Ring Bar
Variants
- Spencer Model 1865 Carbine — Rechambered 56 50
Base model
Service history
Operators
- Union Army · adopted 1863
- United States Army · adopted 1865
- French Army · adopted 1870
Conflicts
- American Civil War (1861-1865)
- Indian Wars (1865-1890)
- Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871)
Production
Estimated total produced: 64,685 · Production years: 1863-1866
64,685 carbines delivered to the U.S. government by January 1, 1866; the carbine was the most numerous of all Spencer patterns and remained standard U.S. cavalry issue into the mid-1870s before replacement by the Springfield Trapdoor carbine.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: Christopher Spencer
Discontinued: 1869
Notes
The Blakeslee Cartridge Box, a wooden case holding pre-loaded tin tubes of seven rounds each, let Spencer-armed cavalry reload the buttstock magazine in seconds - a quickloader system that anticipated 20th-century stripper clips. The carbine was the most-produced Spencer pattern, with 64,685 carbines delivered to the U.S. government by January 1, 1866.
Background
Union Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson declared the Spencer 'excels all others in use in durability, rapidity of fire, and general effectiveness' - and his Spencer-armed cavalry corps put that to the test during the 1865 Selma campaign. President Lincoln's own test-firing of a Spencer on the White House lawn in 1863 had helped overcome Ordnance Department resistance to the costly repeaters.