Sharps Infantry Rifle M1859

Service notes

The Sharps Rifle was issued to sharpshooter and cavalry units on both sides of the war. The M1859 featured a breech-loading system that allowed for faster loading than any rifle from its era. There were two variants of the Sharps produced: A full-lenght variant for infantry, and a Carbine variant for cavalry. The full-length guns had 11,000 produced, although most never saw use during the war. The carbine variant had almost 90,000 produced, most of which being supplied to cavalry units.