Burnside Model 1865 Spencer Repeating CarbineDuring the American Civil War the US Army ordered limit

Burnside Model 1865 Spencer Repeating CarbineDuring the American Civil War the US Army ordered limited numbers of the M1860 Spencer carbine, a lever action repeater chambered in .56-52 rimfire. In addition, a number of Union soldiers purchased Spencer rifles out of pocket. After all, having a repeating rifle was certainly preferable in a war which mostly involved muzzleloading muskets.In 1865, the US Army requested even more Spencer carbines, however the company was unable to keep up due to both military and civilian demands for the rifles. Thus Spencer subcontracted the Burnside Rifle Company to manufacture a new model of the Spencer Carbine. The Burnside Rifle Company was a manufacturer based out of Providence, Rhode Island, named after Gen. Ambrose Burnside. Burnside was the inventor of the Burnside Carbine, a single shot breechloader which was one of the most popular cavalry carbines used by the Union Army. The Burnside Rifle Company had manufactured close to 100,000 Burnside Carbines before accepting the Spencer contract.Production began in late April of 1865, shortly after most combat during the Civil War had ended.  The Burnside Model 1865 had a few differences from the Spencer Model 1860.  First, the Burnside was chambered in .56-50 rimfire rather than .56-52 rimfire.  Secondly the rifling of the barrel featured only three grooves whereas the M1860 had six. Finally, as per request of the US Army, the Burnside had a magazine cutoff device called the Stabler Cutoff Screw.  When activated, this device disabled the magazine, converting it into a single shot.  Solders where encouraged to fire the carbine in single shot mode to save ammunition, only using its repeating feature in an emergency.  Such cutoff devices later became common with bolt action military rifles in the late 19th century up to World War I.Around 34,000 Burnside Model 1865 Spencer carbines were manufactured by the Burnside Rifle Company, of which 30,000 were purchased by the US Army. Most were issued to cavalry units. -- source link

More pics about