Help me learn about the 1863 Springfield please.

[Crispy]

I have recently come into possession of a genuine 1863 Springfield rifled musket, type 2.
Before doing anything to or with this rifle I would like to become familiar with it's details.
Has anyone written a book detailing the parts, variations, manufacturing etc.. on this rifle?
How about a reproduced copy of "Rules for Management" of same?
I would very much appreciate it if someone could steer me in the right direction.
Thanks.
Chris B.

[Dick Hosmer]

It's a bit before 'my period', but I would recommend "The Rifled Musket" by Fuller, and "Civil War Guns" by Edwards, at least for a start.

I'm sure the manual has been reproduced, though, since you have an original gun, you might want to try and find an original manual.

Once you get past the band variation, the 1863 is pretty much vanilla - no changes, and - unlike the 1861 - no contractors, since they were all made at SA.

Google will be your best friend in this.

[Dan Shapiro]

"Rules for Management"

Website for viewing:
https://archive.org/details/rulesformanageme00unit

Repro:
http://www.regtqm.com/product-p/book-014.htm

or
http://www.amazon.com/Management-Cleaning-Musket-Soldiers-Descriptive/dp/0879470003

[Southron]

Actually, the Model 1863 was made by not only Springfield but contractors such as: Remington, Bridesburg (Alfred Jenks & Son) while Samuel Norris and W.T. Clement delivered Model 1863's under contract to the State of Massachusetts.

[Dick Hosmer]

Actually, the Model 1863 was made by not only Springfield but contractors such as: Remington, Bridesburg (Alfred Jenks & Son) while Samuel Norris and W.T. Clement delivered Model 1863's under contract to the State of Massachusetts.

Thanks - I was unaware of that. I know that the Model 1861 was widely contracted for - did the manufacturers make changes in product as they went along? The 1861 Special is a different case, of course, since many of its' parts were not interchangeable.

[Southron]

During the War of Northern Aggression, something like 20 plus contractors manufactured Model 1861 Rifle-Muskets under contract with the federal government.
The vast majority continued to make the Model 1861 throughout the war with final deliveries moths after the end of the war. Almost 1 million "Springfields" were made during the war, and the vast majority of them were the Model 1861.

Suggest you get a copy of United States Military Small Arms, 1816-1865 by Robert M. Reilly, ISBN 0-88227-019-2 The book has a listing of all the contractors and what specific model "Springfield" they produced.

[Crispy]

An update on this project if anyone is interested, after receiving this rifle in July I decided to just let it sit while I "did my homework".
I must say there really doesn't seem to be a lot of info out there specific to the 1861/1863 rifles, they get mentioned generically a lot in fairly broad works like the one cited by Southron above.
The best detail available is still the "Rules for management".
All that aside, once I felt comfortable with the parts and assembly, had located sources of parts & supplies etc..., I started to disassemble on Thanksgiving weekend.
My intention is to clean and preserve only, not "restore", but make repairs if required, I want to shoot this rifle.
When I removed the breech plug I found the rifle was "loaded" but I believe the load was probably a "souvenir" cartridge loaded by someone playing with it, the kind you might purchase at a civil war battlefield shop.
I also found the bridle and bridle-screw were broken, most likely by repeated dry-firing by the same individuals.
I have replaced them with originals and just this week performed mag-particle and dye penetrant inspection on the barrel, which shows no cracks.
The rifling is in outstanding condition, I suspect this one has never actually been fired.
Don't fret guys, this one shows plenty of abuse and patina, it looks 150 years old and I will not be ruining a "museum piece" if I fire it.
Chris.

[Southron]

If you want to preserve your original barrel, Whitacres Machine Shop can make you a perfect replica out of modern steel you can shoot. His barrels are a "drop in" fit and have the Progressive Depth Rifling just like the original barrels. The only problem with original barrels is that they were usually made out of soft iron and while the soft lead Minie Balls did not "wear" the rifling, ramrod caused a lot of the wear! So preserve the original and shoot the replica barrel.

http://whitacresmachineshop.com/

S & S Firearms has all the replacement parts you will ever need for your rifle:

http://www.ssfirearms.com/products.asp?cat=88

The Northwest Territory Page of the N-SSA website has some good tutorials on casting Minie Balls for your M1863 and a tutorial on how to modify your rifle's musket lock for optimum accuracy:

http://www.nwtskirmisher.com/useful.shtml

The Skirmishers on the Civil War Small Arms page of the N-SSA can answer any question you have about your M1863:

http://www.n-ssa.org/vbforum/forumdisplay.php/8-Civil-War-Small-Arms

Another book I can recommend is:

United States Rifle-Musket Model 1861 -as manufactured by the United States Armory at Springfield, Massachusetts and various contractors

The book is written by: Daniel D. Hartzler, Larry W. Yantz and James Biser Whisker. Published by Tom Rowe Publications in 2000-however it has no ISBN number.

I would suggest you visit the Springfield Armory Museum website:

http://ww3.rediscov.com/spring/spring.htm

Their entire collection is "on line" and you can view other examples of M1863s like yours.

GOOD LUCK!!!

[Southron]

Oh Yes, This article below on how to develop an accurate load for a .58 Rifle-Musket like yours is considered to be the "Holy Grail" by Skirmishers who shoot theirs in target competition:

http://www.n-ssa.org/NATIONAL/CONTRIB/bagdon.html

[musketjon]

Actually, the Model 1863 was made by not only Springfield but contractors such as: Remington, Bridesburg (Alfred Jenks & Son) while Samuel Norris and W.T. Clement delivered Model 1863's under contract to the State of Massachusetts.
Don't forget Wm Mason. I have one of his rifle-muskets and it is one of the few 1863 models he produced. He mostly produced M1861 types. He produced a total of 30K arms. I shoot it regularly in competition in the CWSA (the west coast equivalent to the NSSA). Original barrel is still pristine.
Jon

[Southron]

I can recommend the book: "Civil War Guns" by the late William B. Edwards. The book is highly readable and if you have an interest in Civil War guns, it is hard to put down the book.

http://www.amazon.com/Civil-War-Guns-William-Edwards/dp/1577470230

I knew Bill Edwards and he was the consummate historian. I recall on on visit to his home in Afton, Virginia (many, many years ago) I questioned a statement he had made in his book about Sharps Carbines. He led me into a room that literally had banks of filing cabinets, went to one of the cabinets, opened a drawer and then flipped through manila folders until he found the one he wanted.

He brought the folder to me, opened up and showed me the original documents on which he had written what he did on that subject! I never again questioned his accuracy. Historians since him have done more research and brought to light more facts and details...but Bill was one of the first authors to write a very readable book that never will really get "out of date."

[RicM]

Crispy, best of luck with your 1863. I also am coming into an all original 1864 Springfield 3 band complete with original bayonet. A very good lifetime friend dealing in older firearms has told me this Musket was from an estate sale about 10 years ago. He only knows its all original, which it was past on thru the family for generations. Its in good shape, no pitting or rust and the barrel is not shot out Stock has its share of nicks and light scratches but is NOT split or cracked, the bayonet is not bent or damage and has the original scabbard is also with it. Was told it needs a good cleaning, was stored indoors for decades. Like you, Crispy I am jumping into the deep pool being a sponge on all and any info. Can't wait to see some pics of yours. Thank you BIG TIME also to other guys here posting some great info on this thread, I will no doubt post pics once I get it by early February. I really like the idea of a repro barrel (mentioned in this thread) so not to damage the original one.

[Major Tom]

I have a Uberti 1863 musket, 58 cal. that has CS over Richmond, VA on the side plate. Were there originally made muskets like this? That would imply that copy cat Springfields were made in the South?