Springfield Model 1866 rifle

E864643

The Springfield Model 1866 rifle was an early “trapdoor” breech-loading conversion of Civil War muzzle-loading muskets, widely used by the U.S. Army during the Indian Wars.

All labels observed (4)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf breech-loading rifle
trapdoor rifle
actionOrigin Erskine S. Allin trapdoor system
actionType hinged-breech action
barrelType rifled barrel
cartridge .50-70 Government
cartridgeType centerfire metallic cartridge
category 19th-century firearms
United States military small arms
conversionFrom Civil War muzzle-loading muskets
Springfield Model 1863 rifled musket
countryOfOrigin United States
designed 1866
designedFor conversion of existing muzzle-loading muskets
designedToReplace muzzle-loading rifled muskets in U.S. service
era post–American Civil War era
feedSystem single-shot, manually loaded
firingMechanism trapdoor breechblock
followedBy Springfield Model 1868 rifle
hasPart external hammer
hinged breechblock
ramrod channel from original musket stock
historicalSignificance early U.S. Army adoption of metallic cartridge breech-loaders
transitional design between muzzle-loaders and later trapdoor Springfields
ignitionSystem centerfire primer
introduced 1866
loadingMechanism single-shot
manufacturer Springfield Armory
material steel barrel
walnut stock
namedAfter year of adoption 1866
notableFeature improved trapdoor breech over Model 1865
use of .50-70 Government metallic cartridge
numberOfShots 1
operatedBy manual operation
precededBy Springfield Model 1865 rifle
primaryServicePeriod 1870s
late 1860s
propellant black powder
serviceEntry late 1860s
typeDesignation Model 1866
usedBy U.S. cavalry units (in limited numbers)
U.S. frontier garrisons
U.S. infantry units
United States Army
usedInConflict American Indian Wars
usedInRole frontier defense weapon
standard service rifle

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Wagon Box Fight weaponUnitedStates Springfield Model 1866 rifle
Springfield Model 1863 rifle-musket successor Springfield Model 1865
linked to: Springfield Model 1866 rifle
Springfield Model 1866 rifle precededBy Springfield Model 1865 rifle
linked to: Springfield Model 1866 rifle
Springfield Model 1866 rifle followedBy Springfield Model 1868 rifle
linked to: Springfield Model 1866 rifle
Springfield Model 1873 "Trapdoor" rifle replaced Springfield Model 1866 rifle