Civil War buffs, I need your help to identify a gun.

In Ken Burns’ CIVIL WAR, it mentions a gun the Union Army had. The narrator said that Confederate soldiers said something like, Union soldiers could load the gun at the beginning of the week and not have to reload until Thursday. Anyone remember this part, and can you identify the gun?

Did the Confederates have the same gun? It sounded as if they didn’t. I wonder how much that weapon had to do with the outcome of the war. I’m just thinking without it, the war might have lasted longer because the Confederates might have been able to hold out longer, etc.

In Hello Kitty Pink, of course. ;)

;-)

The description was an exaggeration, though. Just a little hyperbole.

The Spencer was more popular and more widely used. Both were used primarily by the Union Army.

For a Civil War soldier, owning a Henry rifle was a point of pride. Although it was never officially adopted for service by the Union Army, many soldiers purchased Henrys with their own funds. The brass framed rifles could fire at a rate of 28 rounds per minute when used correctly, so soldiers who saved their pay to buy one often believed it would help them survive. They were frequently used by scouts, skirmishers, flank guards, and raiding parties, rather than in regular infantry formations. To the amazed muzzleloader-armed Confederates who had to face this deadly "sixteen shooter," it was "that damned Yankee rifle that they load on Sunday and shoot all week!" Very few captured Henry rifles were used by Confederate troops. Since those few Confederate troops who came into possession of one of these rifles had little way to resupply the special ammunition used by this weapon, its widespread use by Confederate forces was very impractical. The rifle was however, known to have been used at least in part by some fifteen different Confederate units. These units included cavalry units in Louisiana, Texas, and Virginia, as well as the personal bodyguards of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.<1>

also happens to be the company slogan/motto of Henry Repeating Rifles.

http://henryrepeating.com/catalog.cfm

Wonder which came first the company slogan or the Confederates slang term?

Also IIRC this is the rifle used by Sitting Bull's troops against Custer at the Little Bighorn.

I believe that phrase was most often used to describe the 1860 Henry lever action repeating rifle. The full length versions in .44 rimfire could hold up to 15 rounds.

The 1866 Winchester, known as the "Yellowboy" to Native Americans because of it's brass receiver, was the direct descendant of the Henry. It improved the earlier design by adding a forestock and provided a magazine which loaded from the rear as opposed to the front loading Henry.

Far as I know the Confederates had no repeating rifles.

BTW, Henry rifles are still manufactured today but they are not replicas of the original Henry. If you want a replica, I believe one of the Italian manufacturers (Uberti?) makes one. It's a cool rifle.

The Henry Repeater. nt

Hubby had his g.g.g. grandfather's Henry before giving to a museum.

His g.g.g. grandfather was in the 7th Illinois. We have photos and a short diary he wrote.