The Gallager carbine is an American

black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...

breechloading A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition (cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle). Modern firearms are generally breec ...

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

produced in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. The weapon was designed by Mahlon J. Gallager, who licensed the design to Richardson and Overman of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

for production. On 31 August 1861 the first weapons were sold to the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. The Gallager was loaded from the rear with brass

case Case or CASE may refer to: Containers * Case (goods), a package of related merchandise * Cartridge case or casing, a firearm cartridge component * Bookcase, a piece of furniture used to store books * Briefcase or attaché case, a narrow box to c ...

s, which contained the projectile and the propellant. Covered by a disc made of greased felt, the projectile was inserted in the barrel after it was tilted up by a lever, followed by the case, and (like the concurrent

muzzleloader A muzzleloader is any firearm into which the projectile and the propellant charge is loaded from the muzzle of the gun (i.e., from the forward, open end of the gun's barrel). This is distinct from the modern (higher tech and harder to make) design ...

s, such as the

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) were ignited by

percussion cap The percussion cap or percussion primer, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. This crucial invention gave rise t ...

, which was placed on the bolt face. The brass cases had a paper patch in the base, to prevent powder seepage and still allow the cap to fire the round. The weapon was caliber with a barrel. The rifle was strongly made, but unpopular with troops. Frequently, the cases stuck due to expansion of the front part and had to be laboriously removed. A total of 17,782 were sold to the U.S. Army. According to the Government Procurement of Gallager Carbines, 17,728 Gallager 1860 carbines were delivered to the army by the end of 1964. In 1865, Mahlon L. Gallager modified this carbine. He adapted it to be fed with the .50/52 Spencer cartridge. This cartridge was a rimfire cartridge, and in place of the nipple on which the percussion cap was placed, he placed a massive firing pin, which, when struck by the cock, caused the gun to fire. The Spencer cartridge had a rim, which made it possible to equip the Gallager carbine with an extractor and eliminate the hassle of cartridges extraction. In 1865, the modified carbine was presented to the Ordnance Department. After the presentation, the Ordnance Department ordered the modification of 5,000 Gallager carbines with a cap lock to the new version. According to the Government Procurement of Gallager Carbines, 5,000 modified Gallager 1865 carbines were delivered to the army by the June 1865. Gallager - left side

After being withdrawn from the US Army's armament, Gallager carbines found their way into the civilian market. Richardson & Overman still briefly produced modified Gallager carbines for the civilian market, but with the market saturated with military demobilized weapons, production was halted in the second half of the 1960s. Many of the carbines were modified to thin-walled cartridges with a rim and cartridges extractor. This eliminated problems with gas blowback and cartridges extraction. Right side - Gallager

In 1870, Schuyler, Hartley and Graham of New York City purchased from the Government 2,500 of the Gallagers chambered for the Spencer cartridge at a cost of $12.25 each and shipped them to France for the Franco-Prussian War. The Gallager carbines, after the warfare in the 19th century, were modified in various variants for private use by shooters, due to their solid workmanship. They can now be found on the collector market in the US and Europe in various calibers.

References

http://www.oshkoshmuseum.org/Virtual/exhibit3/images/e30257b.jpg {{USCWWeapons American Civil War rifles Early rifles Carbines

See also

References