Springfield musket may refer to any one of several types of

small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

produced by the

Springfield Armory The Springfield Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield located in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, was the primary center for the manufacture of United States military firearms from 1777 until ...

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

, for the

United States armed forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six Military branch, service branches: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States N ...

. In modern times, these

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

s are commonly referred to by their date of design followed by the name Springfield ("1855 Springfield", for example). However, U.S. Ordnance Department documentation at the time did not use "Springfield" in the name ("Rifle Musket, Model 1855", for example). They are sometimes incorrectly referred to as " Springfield rifles". Rifles have grooves on the inside of their barrels. Smoothbore muskets do not. The term "

Rifled musket A rifled musket, rifle musket, or rifle-musket is a type of firearm made in the mid-19th century. Originally the term referred only to muskets that had been produced as a smoothbore weapon and later had their barrels replaced with rifled barrels ...

" originally referred to smoothbore muskets that later had their barrels rifled for use of the

Minié ball The Minié ball or Minie ball, is a type of hollow-based bullet designed by Claude-Étienne Minié, inventor of the French Minié rifle, for muzzle-loading rifled muskets. It was invented in 1847 and came to prominence in the Crimean War an ...

. This term was extended to include weapons that were produced with

rifled In firearms, rifling is machining helical grooves into the internal (bore) surface of a gun's barrel for the purpose of exerting torque and thus imparting a spin to a projectile around its longitudinal axis during shooting to stabilize the p ...

barrels, as long as the overall design was very similar to the original

smoothbore A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars. History Early firearms had smoothly bored barrels that fired projectiles without sig ...

musket. Smoothbore muskets: * Springfield Model 1795 – .69 caliber

flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism itself, also kn ...

smoothbore musket and first longarm to be manufactured at Springfield. * Springfield Model 1812 – .69 caliber flintlock smoothbore musket. * Springfield Model 1816 – .69 caliber flintlock smoothbore musket. * Springfield Model 1822 – .69 caliber flintlock smoothbore musket. * * Springfield Model 1835 – .69 caliber flintlock smoothbore musket. * Springfield Model 1840 – .69 caliber flintlock smoothbore musket. * Springfield Model 1842 – .69 caliber

percussion lock 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 ...

smoothbore musket. *

Springfield Model 1847 The Springfield Model 1847 was a percussion lock musketoon produced by the Springfield Armory in the mid-19th century. History Muskets were designed for a dual purpose on the battlefield. They could be used as a ranged weapon, and they could also ...

– .69 caliber percussion lock smoothbore musketoon. Rifled musket: * Springfield Model 1855 – .58 caliber Maynard tape primer percussion lock rifled musket. *

Springfield Model 1861 The Springfield Model 1861 was a Minié-type rifled musket used by the United States Army and Marine Corps during the American Civil War. Commonly referred to as the "Springfield" (after its original place of production, Springfield, Massach ...

– .58 caliber percussion lock rifled musket. * Springfield Model 1863 – .58 caliber percussion lock rifled musket.

References

{{reflist Springfield firearms History of Springfield, Massachusetts Massachusetts in the American Civil War Military in Massachusetts

See also

References