Original Items: Only One Set Available. During the U.S. Civil War, there were a multitude of different arms in service, as both sides rushed to fill the need for small arms. This was a logistical nightmare, as all of these different types of ammunition needed to be sourced, however this also ended up being a dream for collectors digging around old battlefields, as the possibilities for research were great. Like all deactivated ordnance, this set is Not Available for Export.

During the American Civil War, an assortment of small arms found their way onto the battlefield. Though the muzzleloader percussion cap rifled musket was the most numerous weapon, being standard issue for the Union and Confederate armies, many other firearms, ranging from the single-shot breech-loading Sharps and Burnside rifles to the Spencer and the Henry rifles - two of the world's first repeating rifles - were issued by the hundreds of thousands, mostly by the Union. The Civil War brought many advances in firearms technology, most notably the widespread use of rifled barrels.

The impact that rifles had on combat in the Civil War is a subject of debate among historians. According to the traditional interpretation, the widespread employment of rifled firearms had a transformative effect which commanders failed to consider, resulting in terrible casualties from the continued use of outdated tactics. More recent scholarship has questioned this interpretation, arguing the impact was minimal and required no radical change in how armies fought. This debate is part of a larger discussion on whether the American Civil War is an early example of modern warfare or has more in common with Napoleonic warfare.

This lot of cartridges include:

- Smith Carbine: The Smith Carbine was a 0.50 caliber breech-loading rifle patented by Gilbert Smith on June 23, 1857 and successfully completed the Military Trials of the late 1850s. It was used by various cavalry units during the American Civil War. It was unique in that it broke apart in the middle for loading, and that it used rubber cartridges which sealed the gases in the breech. The downside was that these cartridges were difficult to remove. It was one of the many "capping breech loader" firearms that bridged the gap between percussion and cartridge firearms.

- Gallager Carbine: The Gallager carbine is an American black powder breechloading rifle produced in the American Civil War. The weapon was designed by Mahlon J. Gallager, who licensed the design to Richardson and Overman of Philadelphia for production. On 31 August 1861 the first weapons were sold to the Army. The round is in fantastic condition.

- Burnside Carbine: The Burnside carbine was a breech-loading carbine that saw widespread use during the American Civil War. The carbine was designed and patented by Gov. and General Ambrose Burnside, who resigned his commission in the U.S. Army to devote himself full-time to working on the weapon. The carbine used a special brass cartridge which was also invented by Burnside. This cartridge contained a bullet and powder, but no primer. Pressing the weapon's two trigger guards opened the breech block and allowed the user to insert a cartridge.

- Sharps Carbine: The carbine version was very popular with the cavalry of both the Union and Confederate armies and was issued in much larger numbers than other carbines of the war and was top in production in front of the Spencer or Burnside carbine. The falling-block action lent itself to conversion to the new metallic cartridges developed in the late 1860s, and many of these converted carbines in .50-70 Government were used during the Indian Wars in the decades immediately following the Civil War. Some Civil War–issue carbines have an unusual feature: a hand-cranked grinder in the stock. Although long thought to be a coffee mill, experimentation with some of the few survivors suggests the grinder is ill-suited for coffee. The modern consensus is that its true purpose was for grinding corn or wheat or, more appropriately, for grinding charcoal needed in the production of black powder.

- Snider Carbine: While not Civil War, this is a great early Snider cartridge from the late 1860s. Early .577 Snider cartridges were made from a composite design using paper and brass foil with a stamped metallic base and primer, much like the first generation of Martini-Henry cartridges. Later cartridges (after the design had been proved with the Martini-Henry cartridges) were made from drawn brass, much like modern small arms ammunition.

A great set of civil war era cartridges, ready for further research and display!