31431 - Union Dismounted Cavalry Trooper Loading Carbine, No.2

Union Dismounted Cavalry Trooper Loading Carbine, No.2

The Civil War witnessed a technological revolution in weaponry. This was highlighted by a changeover from smoothbore firearms to rifled barrel firearms, but both still had to be loaded through the muzzle for each shot. However, repeating weapons such as the Burnside, Sharps, Smith, and Spencer carbines were beginning to be developed and became more readily available. Unfortunately for the common soldier, tactics did not advance as quickly as technology. Napoleonic linear tactics from the last century now clashed with more accurate, faster-firing weapons to catastrophic results.