U.S. Model 1842 Rifled Musket
A question came up on one of the internet forums about the U.S. Model 1842 smoothbore musket compared to the rifled version of that model, specifically how common were the rifled versions? The M1842 muskets were not designed to be rifled, and it was something of an afterthought to upgrade and modernize the arms. In attempting to answer the question, I looked up the figures on M1842 production from my 2006 book, The Civil War Musket: A Handbook for Historical Accuracy. I had the M1842 production figures in the chapter on smoothbore muskets as 272,565 (p. 218) which is awfully precise. So where did that come from? I did not cite the source and the text was written quite a while ago ... as I recall it was from the Springfield Armory National Park website, but I could be wrong. Hence, I decided to look a little further.
In fellow Civil War News columnist Joe Bilby’s Civil War Guns website, the article on the U.S. M1842 gives a somewhat similar but rounder number:
“The Model 1842 Percussion Musket was produced in great numbers by both the Harpers Ferry and Springfield Armories from 1844 to 1855. The Model 1842 was notable in several respects, chiefly, that it was the last .69 caliber musket. Additionally, it was the first weapon made at both Harpers Ferry and Springfield completely interchangeable parts. Harpers Ferry produced 103,000, while Springfield produced 172,000, for a total production U.S.
with surpassing a quarter of a million arms.”
Fellow News Civil War columnist Tim Prince, of College Hill Arsenal, gives a similar but slightly different figure in a listing he had for a M1842 rifledmusket as follows: “The U.S. M1842 percussion musket went into production at the Springfield Arsenal in 1844; with 2,956 completed guns being delivered into stores that fiscal year (July 1, 1843-June 30, 1844). Production did not commence at Harper’s Ferry until 1845. That armory
delivered 2,225 arms into store during fiscal year 1845 (July 1, 1844 to June 30, 1845). The M1842 muskets remained in production until 1855, with
U.S. Model 1842 Musket
Production Numbers
Year 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1951 1852 1853 1854 1855 Total Production: 272,599 Springfield 2,956 12,107 14,265 14,300 15,018 15,145 18,155 21,000 19,800 14,500 10,000 8,624
Springfield Armory producing 165,970 producing 106,629, making the total production for the M1842 musket 272,599.”
Harpers Ferry 0 2,225 12,203 12,000 11,000 8,300 9,600 11,000 13,400 10,101 9,000 7,700