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M1841 Mississippi rifle

M1841 Mississippi rifle
Type Rifled Musket
Place of origin  United States,
Harper's Ferry
Service history
Used by  USA
1 Mississippi Regiment
 Confederate States of America
Wars Seminole Wars
Mexican–American War
American Civil War
Production history
Designed 1840
Manufacturer Harpers Ferry Armory, E. Whitney
Unit cost 16 dollars
Produced 1841–1861
Variants bayonet mounts
Specifications
Weight 9 pounds 4 ounces (4.2 kg)
Length 48.5 inches (1,230 mm)
Barrel length 33 inches (840 mm)

Cartridge .54 ball,.58 minie ball
Cartridge weight 0.5 ounces (14 g)
Caliber 0.54, 0.58
Action percussion lock
Rate of fire 2-3 per minute
Muzzle velocity 1,000 to 1,200 feet per second
Effective firing range 0-1100 yards
Maximum firing range 2000
Feed system muzzle
Sights blade (front), V-notch, leaf, ladder sight (rear)

The M1841 Mississippi rifle is a muzzle-loading percussion rifle used in the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War.

When Eli Whitney Blake took over management of the Harpers Ferry Armory in 1842, he set about tooling up under his new contract from the U.S. government for making the model 1841 percussion rifle. Machinery and fixtures for making the 1822 contract flintlock musket had to be retooled or replaced in order to produce the lock and barrel of the new model. Whitney, Jr. had the good sense to hire Thomas Warner as foreman, who, as master armorer at Springfield Armory, had just been making the same kind of major changes there. Thomas Warner had spearheaded the drive to equip the Springfield Armory with a set of new, more precise machines and a system of gauging that made it possible for the first time to achieve, in the late 1840s, the long-desired goal of interchangeability of parts in military small arms. Under his tutelage, Eli Whitney, Jr. equipped the Whitney Armory to do likewise.

The nickname "Mississippi" originated in the Mexican–American War when future Confederate president Jefferson Davis was appointed Colonel of the Mississippi Rifles, a volunteer regiment from the state of Mississippi. Colonel Davis sought to arm his regiment with the Model 1841 rifles. At this time, smoothbore muskets were still the primary infantry weapon and any unit with rifles was considered special and designated as such. Davis clashed with his commanding officer, General Winfield Scott, who said that the weapons were insufficiently tested and refused the request. Davis took his case to the President James Knox Polk who agreed with Davis that his men be armed with them. The incident was the start of a lifelong feud between Davis and Scott.


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