Whitney Model 1861 Contract Rifle-Musket
Whitney Arms Company · Rifle · Discontinued · 1861
Also known as: Whitneyville Contract Model 1861, Whitney U.S. Model 1861 Rifle-Musket, Whitney Springfield Model 1861 Contract Musket
Overview
The Whitney Model 1861 Contract Rifle-Musket is a .58 caliber percussion-cap, muzzle-loading rifle-musket produced by the Whitney Arms Company of Whitneyville, Connecticut under U.S. government contract during the American Civil War. Built to the standard U.S. Springfield Model 1861 pattern, it has a 40-inch bright three-groove rifled barrel secured by three barrel bands, an iron-mounted black walnut fullstock, a leaf rear sight, and a socket-bayonet lug. Firing the hollow-based Minié ball, it armed Union infantry alongside the Springfield-made originals and dozens of other contract muskets.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4370 g (154.1 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1422 mm (55.98") |
| Barrel Length | 1016 mm (40.00") |
| Action Type | Muzzleloader |
| Firing Mechanism | Percussion |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Muzzle Velocity | 290 m/s (951 fps) |
| Effective Range | 200 m (219 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 549 m (600 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 3 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Rifling Twist | 1829 mm (72.01") |
| Number of Grooves | 3 |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Walnut |
| Finish | White Metal |
Calibers
- .58 Caliber Minié Ball · primary — also known as 0.58 in, 14.7 mm, .58 Springfield
Features
- Firing modes: Manual
- Feed systems: Muzzle Loaded
- Features: Rifled Barrel, Muzzle Loaded, Percussion Cap, Flip Up Rear Sight, Socket Bayonet Lug, Ramrod, Three Barrel Bands, Full Length Walnut Stock
Service history
Operators
- United States Army · adopted 1861 · as U.S. Model 1861 Rifle-Musket
- Union state militias
Production
Estimated total produced: 10,000 · Production years: 1861-1864
Whitney Arms filled a 10,000-stand U.S. contract for Model 1861 rifle-muskets, with most deliveries in 1863 and 1864.
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Discontinued: 1865
Notes
One of roughly twenty independent contractors that built the Model 1861 to federal specification. Whitneyville examples are stamped 'WHITNEYVILLE' on the lockplate with dated tail (1863-1864) and Federal inspector initials such as 'FCW' or 'JHG'. Whitney filled its 10,000-stand contract between 1861 and 1864; unlike some Connecticut contract guns, the Whitney arms met the strict federal interchangeability standards.
Background
Made in Eli Whitney's Whitneyville works — the same New Haven armory that pioneered interchangeable-parts manufacturing — the Whitney contract Model 1861 was one of the countless private-shop copies of the Springfield that armed the Union in the bloodiest years of the Civil War.