Whitworth rifle - Wikipedia
The Whitworth Rifle was a single-shot muzzle-loaded rifle
used in the latter half of the 19th century.
History
The Whitworth rifle was designed by Sir Joseph Whitworth,
a prominent British engineer and entrepreneur. Whitworth had experimented
with cannons using twisted hexagonal barrels instead of traditional round
rifled barrels, which was patented in 1854. The hexagonal shape of the
barrel and bullet meant that the projectile did not have to bite into grooves
as was done with conventional rifling. In 1856, this concept was demonstrated
in a series of experiments using brass howitzers.
Whitworth believed that the same type of system could
be used to create a more accurate rifle to replace the Pattern 1853 Enfield,
which had shown some weaknesses during the recent Crimean War. Trials were
held in 1857 to compare Whitworth's design against the Enfield. The Whitworth
rifle outperformed the Enfield at a rate of about three to one in the trials,
which tested the accuracy and range of both weapons. Notably, the Whitworth
rifle was able to hit the target at a range of 2,000 yards, where the Enfield
was only able to hit the same target at a range of 1,400 yards.
While the trials were generally a success for the Whitworth
rifle, the British government ultimately rejected the design because the
Whitworth's barrel was much more prone to fouling than the Enfield, and
the Whitworth rifle also cost approximately four times as much to manufacture.
The Whitworth Rifle Company was able to sell the weapon to the French army,
and also to the Confederacy during the American Civil War. |
Type
Place of origin
Used by
Wars
Designer
Designed
Manufacturer
Produced
Number built
Specifications
Length
Barrel length
Caliber
Action
Rate of fire
Effective firing range
Maximum firing range
Feed system |
Rifled Musket
United Kingdom
Confederate States of America
American Civil War
Joseph Whitworth
1854-1857
Whitworth Rifle Company
1857-1865
13,400
49 in (1,200 mm)
33 in (840 mm)
.45 caliber bullet .. 0.451 inches (11.5 mm)
muzzle loaded
2–3 rounds per minute
800 to 1,000 yd (730 to 910 m)
1,500 yd (1,400 m)
single shot |
|
Design and features
While the barrel design of the Whitworth rifle was innovative,
the rest of the rifle was similar to other rifles and rifle-muskets used
at the time. The rifle was muzzle loaded, and used a percussion lock firing
mechanism. The lock mechanism was very similar to that used on the Enfield
rifle-musket.
Whitworth chose to use a longer and more slender bullet
than was common at the time, which resulted in a bore diameter of .451
caliber, significantly smaller than the Enfield's .577 caliber bore. Whitworth's
bullets were more stable at longer ranges than the shorter and larger diameter
bullets found in other rifles of the time. Whitworth also engineered the
barrel with a 1-in-20" twist, quite a bit tighter than the 1-in-78" of
the 1853 Enfield, or the later 1856/1858 variants with 5 groove barrels
and a 1-in-48" twist. The extra spin the faster twist imparted to the projectile
further stabilized the bullet in flight.
The Whitworth rifle weighed 9 pounds. Other long range
rifles of the period tended to have much larger and heavier barrels, which
made them too heavy for standard infantry use.
Whitworth rifles, being used by sharpshooters, were usually
rested against a tree or log while fired to increase their accuracy. Some
sharpshooters carried their own forked rests for the rifle, so that a suitable
rest was always available.
Use
In 1860, the British National Rifle Association held its
first annual meeting at Wimbledon. Queen Victoria fired the first shot
from a Whitworth rifle on a machine rest at 400 yards, and struck the bull's-eye
1-1/4 inch from its center.
Britain was officially neutral during the American Civil
War; however, private arms manufacturers were not required to remain neutral.
The Whitworth Rifle Company, for example sold the rifle to the Confederacy.
The Confederate soldiers that used these rifles were referred to as Whitworth
Sharpshooters. They accompanied regular infantrymen, and were usually used
to eliminate Union artillery gun crews.
According to popular accounts, on May 9, 1864, during
the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Union General John Sedgwick was
chiding some of his troops for lying down in a ditch to avoid Confederate
sharpshooters at a range of around 800 to 1000 yards. Shots from Confederate
Whitworth rifles, easily identifiable due to the shrill whistling noises
their hexagonal bullets made in flight, caused members of his staff and
artillerymen to duck for cover. Sedgwick strode around in the open and
was quoted as saying, "What? Men dodging this way for single bullets? What
will you do when they open fire along the whole line? I am ashamed of you.
They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." Although ashamed, his
men continued to flinch and he repeated, "I'm ashamed of you, dodging that
way. They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." Just seconds later
he fell forward with a bullet hole below his left eye. At least five Confederate
soldiers
would later claim that they had fired the fatal shot.
Earlier during the war, the Whitworth was responsible
for another high-ranking death. On Sept 19, 1863, at the Battle of Chickamauga,
an unnamed Confederate sharpshooter mortally wounded Union General William
Lytle, who was leading a charge at the time.
Variants
Whitworth rifles were made with barrel lengths of 33,
36, and 39 inches, giving the weapon an overall length of 49, 52, and 55
inches respectively. The barrel was attached to the stock using two or
three barrel bands, depending on the barrel's length.
Two types of bullets were used in the Whitworth rifle,
hexagonal and cylindrical. The cylindrical bullets had a small hollow base
which would expand and grip the hexagonal sides of the barrel, which required
that the bullets be made out of very soft lead. The cylindrical bullet,
however, easily upsets into the hexagonal bore under the influence of the
explosion of the charge of between 80 and 90 grains of fine rifle powder
used for this particular firearm - recovered bullets fired from a Whitworth
rifle are as hexagonal as their factory-made counterparts. The hexagonal
form bullet did not need to expand to properly grip the barrel, and therefore
could be made out of a harder alloy than pure lead.
The sights used on Whitworth rifles varied. Some used
Enfield type flip up sights that were graduated to 1,200 yards in 100 yard
increments. Others used a sliding blade sight with an adjustment for windage.
Some had simple fixed front sights, while others used a post and globe
front sight. A small number of Whitworth rifles were equipped with a four
power telescopic sight, designed by Colonel Davidson which, unlike modern
rifle scopes, was attached to the left side of the weapon instead of the
top. While the telescopic sight was very advanced for its time, it had
a reputation for leaving the user with a black eye due to the rifle's fairly
substantial recoil.
The typical Confederate rifle in the U.S. Civil war had
a barrel length of 33 inches, open sights with the front blade being adjustable
for windage, and a stock which extended to within a short distance of the
muzzle, giving the rifle a snub-nosed appearance.
Modern use
Modern reproductions of Whitworth rifles were manufactured
by Parker-Hale and Euroarms. These rifles are used by Civil War re-enactors
and those who have an interest in 19th century firearms. Many riflemen
enjoy using these rifles in target shooting competition at ranges up to
1,000 yards.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83gGIotGXN8
|
Jack Hinson - Wikipedia
John W. "Jack" Hinson, "Old Jack" (1807–1874) was a farmer
in Stewart County, Tennessee who operated as a Confederate partisan sniper
against Union forces in the Between-the-Rivers region of Tennessee and
Kentucky during the American Civil War.
Hinson, a prosperous plantation owner of Scotch-Irish
descent, was neutral at the outbreak of the war but took up arms after
two of his sons were executed as suspected bushwhackers by Federal troops;
their heads were cut off and stuck on the gate-posts to Hinson's home.
|
|
Hinson used a custom made 50 caliber 41-inch barrel Kentucky
Long Rifle to target Union soldiers more than a half-mile away on land,
transports, and gunboats along the Tennessee River and the Cumberland River,
killing as many as a hundred. Hinson also served as a guide for Nathan
Bedford Forrest in his assault on the Union supply center at Johnsonville,
Tennessee in November 1864. He was the father of Robert Hinson, who served
as the leader of a highly effective partisan band in the Between-the-Rivers
region until his death in combat on September 18, 1863. Jack Hinson was
never apprehended despite the commitment of elements of four Union regiments
to pursue him, and survived the war, dying on 28 April 1874 (according
to the 16 May 1874 Clarkville Weekly Chronicle, via the Dover Record) in
the White Oak/Magnolia area of Houston county, Tennessee. He is buried
in the family plot in the Cane Creek Cemetery (with a different birth year
of 1793 and death year of 1873), just off White Oak road (near McKinnon,
Tennessee). A marker was placed in the Boyd Cemetery far away to the North,
in the Land-Between-the Lakes (LBL) area.
He is commemorated in a roadside marker in Kentucky, and
his story has been told in two books by Tom McKenney:
Battlefield Sniper: Over 100 Civil
War Kills, Tom C. Lt. Col. McKenney
Jack Hinson's One Man War.
|