The Spencer is a North American military rifle designed in 1860. It combines radical innovations for the time:breech loading and a quick reloading system with manual repetition by trigger lever. The reserve of seven metal cartridges (rimfire) is contained in a tubular magazine housed in the butt.
The Spencer is the first personal long gun officially adopted and mass-produced by an industrialized nation.
The Spencer rifle, widely used by the Unionists during the Civil War, never dethroned the "rifled muskets" (single-shot, rifled barrel, percussion and muzzle-loading rifles like the Springfield Model 1861 rifle). in particular) with which the infantry was equipped.
But its short-barreled version, the Spencer carbine, was much more widely distributed than the "long rifle" version and was extremely popular with the US cavalry - and then with the pioneers and Native Americans during the conquest of the West. br class='autobr' />The Spencer carbine is a version with a short barrel (20 inches, i.e. 51 cm - instead of 22 inches, i.e. 56 cm) and lightened (tapered handguard, no bayonet holder) of the spencer rifle military rifle. The US cavalry was equipped with it, and this version was much more widespread in North America than the long-barreled version (visible below)
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Technical
Spencer carbine bolt open. In this position, it is possible to feed the chamber with one cartridge at a time, which allows firing shot by shot to save cartridges. A sliding ring is fixed on the left side of the box and allows the rider to attach the weapon to a strap to prevent it from falling on the ground
The rifle was designed by Christopher Miner Spencer in 1860, and manufactured initially by the Spencer company and later also by the Ambrose Burnside Rifle Co. The carbine (carbine) version of the Spencer was produced about 6 times more than the military rifle (rifle) version. and was very popular among the Unionist troopers.
As its large caliber (.52, or 13 mm) projectile and low muzzle velocity dropped rapidly, the Spencer in the hands of an average shooter was only accurate up to 200 yards:it was then in short hardly more effective than the classic Springfield Model 1855 or Springfield Model 1861 with which the blue soldiers were equipped. But its rate of fire (14 to 20 rounds/min) crushed that of any "rifled musket" (single-shot military rifle, rifled barrel and muzzle-loading), which could not fire more than 3 shots /min in trained hands.
The "56-56 Spencer" cartridge:thin copper cylindrical case (which expands in the chamber and seals it), large skirted lead bullet (they hug the grooves of the barrel and ensure the trajectory stability of the projectile), annular priming
The cartridge, whose metal case has a rim (which facilitates extraction and increases the tightness of the chamber during the explosion), is cylindrical, which is symbolized by its name:"56-56 Spencer ". While in principle the 1° of the numbers relates to the caliber of the barrel and the 2cd to the weight of black powder present in the cartridge here the numbers relate to the diameter of the case at the level of its base and at the level of its neck .
The standard load was 45 grains (2.9 g) of black powder, and ensured the bullet a speed of approximately 350 m/s at the muzzle of the barrel, and therefore a kinetic energy of approximately 1,500 joules 2 . The primer was of the ring type, and the diameter of the lead bullet varied (depending on the manufacturer) from .54 to .555 inches (13.7 to 14.1 mm).
Operation:lowering the trigger lever expels the empty case from the chamber; moving the lever back closes the chamber on the fresh cartridge which has been pushed forward by the magazine spring. Since the hammer is not cocked during the movement of the trigger guard, the shooter must pull it back to be able to fire (as on "single-action" revolvers).
The rate of fire is about 14 rounds/min in trained hands.
Once empty, the removable tubular magazine housed in the stock could be quickly replaced by a full one thanks to cylindrical magazines invented by a certain Blakeslee.
In America
The conservatism of the United States Department of War (Department of War in Washington D.C.) hindered the official adoption of the Spencer. In addition, the expert Hiram Berdan and President Abraham Lincoln, who had tried the Spencer, were rather reserved, and various businessmen supported by lobbying several models of new weapons. The order contracts were finally signed.
The Spencer was first issued to the US Navy, in rifle version (military rifle). It then appeared in combat for the first time, in the form of the Spencer carbine, in the hands of US Army cavalry at Sharpsburg, during the Battle of Antietam (September 17, 1862).
During the Civil War, the Spencer's dependability and firepower made it a popular weapon.
The Confederates captured a number of Spencers, but their use by Southerners was limited, particularly because the lack of copper prevented the Confederacy from mass-producing the cartridge.
The Spencer rifle was mainly used from 1863. Thus, during the Battle of Hoover's Gap, the main confrontation of the Tullahoma Campaign, Colonel John T. Wilder's Lightning Brigade demonstrated the effectiveness of strong firepower .
During the Gettysburg Campaign, in the Battle of Hanover (June 30, 1863), 2 regiments of the Michigan Brigade under George Armstrong Custer used the Spencer against Jeb Stuart's horsemen.
Three days later, at the Battle of Gettysburg, at the battle ground since called East Cavalry Field, the Blue Horsemen under Brig.Gen. David McM. Gregg and George Armstrong Custer are armed with Spencers as they fend off Jeb Stuart who is trying (with a view to exploiting a possible success of the Pickett's Charge) to infiltrate the rear of George G. Meade's Army of the Potomac .
At the end of September 1863, northern and southern cavalry reconnaissance clashed on the eve of the Battle of Chickamauga; the Northerners are armed with Spencer carbines, which give them a clear superiority over the Southerners' Enfield P. 1861 carabiners.
Subsequently, more and more Unionist corps in the cavalry or mounted infantry were equipped with Spencers, so evident was that a cavalryman had much more difficulty than an infantryman in reloading a firearm by the stuffy. The Spencer had a good reputation for reliability, and provided its owner with firepower far superior to that granted by rifled muskets or classic single-shot rifles. . However, the evolution of mentalities which would have made it possible to fully exploit this tactical advantage was very slow to occur in the staffs:there was fear of the waste of ammunition, the supply of which also posed a problem. And some detractors complained about the smoke and heat waves rising above the barrel:it made it impossible, they said, to see the enemy.
This overheating of the weapons could also have occurred in particular during an intensive exchange as during the battle of Haw's Shop (May 28, 1864):the riders of the 2 camps dismounted, posted themselves behind parapets and shoot at will (Enfield P. 1861 carbines of the Confederates against Spencer carbines of the Unionists), signing the definitive decline of the cavalry of yesteryear in front of the modern firearm, a weapon which today causes nearly 800 losses in 7 hours of fight.
On May 11, 1864, in the Battle of Yellow Tavern, most of the men Philip Sheridan took on a huge raid (10,000 cavalry, 32 guns) were armed with Spencer carbines.
John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865, was in possession of a Spencer carbine when he was killed by his pursuers on April 26.
Another proof of the popularity that the Spencer acquired with the Unionist troopers, and consequently with the decision-makers:it dethroned the single-shot Burnside carbine designed and manufactured by Major General Ambrose Burnside. It is true that the Burnside is much inferior to the Spencer in the field:its reloading after each shot is long; the shooter must also then put in place a capsule, which is essential for firing; the tightness of the breech is uncertain and hot gases often threaten the eyes of the shooter. Additional insult at the time of a sad end of military career for the ex-general major Ambrose Burnside:from the beginning of 1865 and until the end of the hostilities, the "Burnside Arms Co." does not produce any more but "Spencer carbines .
Evolution
The superiority of the Spencer must have been obvious to the European belligerents during the War of 1870, if only in terms of ammunition
C.M. Spencer was not a businessman:he did not see the potentialities that the Conquest of the West offered to gunsmiths, and the factory declined as soon as, at the end of the Civil War, government orders ceased. .
The Spencer Arms Co. was purchased by the Fogerty Rifle Company, then by Oliver Winchester, and the Spencer, like the Henry rifle, ceased production in favor of Winchester 1866.
About 200,000 Spencers had been produced, and the classic "56-56 Spencer" rimfire ammunition could still be found well into the 1920s. Many Spencers were later modified to use a centerfire cartridge derived from the .50-70.
The Spencer carbine was long a favorite of Native Americans, especially during the later Indian Wars. Thus Roman Nose paraded with "a 7-shot Spencer carbine hanging from the side of his saddle, 4 large Navy revolvers slung around his belt, and he clutched a drawn bow and arrows in his left hand" 19.