Enfield Pattern 1853

British 1853 Enfield

The Enfield 1853 Rifle-Musket was also used by both the North and the South in the American Civil War, and was the second most widely used infantry weapon in the war, surpassed only by the Springfield Model 1861 Rifled Musket. The Confederates imported more Enfields during the course of the war than any other small arm, buying from private contractors and gun runners when the British government refused to sell them arms after it became obvious that the Confederacy could not win the war. It has been estimated that over 900,000 P53 Enfields were imported to America and saw service in every major engagement from the Battle of Shiloh (April, 1862) and the Siege of Vicksburg (May 1863), to the final battles of 1865. At the Battle of Gettysburg on July 2nd, 1863, the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry, led by Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain, were armed with Enfield 1853 Rifle-Muskets during their famous bayonet charge against a relentless attack by Confederate Forces attempting to destroy the left flank of the Union Army on Little Round Top. Here is an excerpt from Chamberlain's Official Battle Report:

"The intervals of the struggle were seized to remove our wounded (and those of the enemy also), to gather ammunition from the cartridge-boxes of disabled friend or foe on the field, and even to secure better muskets than the Enfields, which we found did not stand service well." [1]

The ferocious charge of the 20th Maine, with bayonets fixed to their Enfield Rifle-Muskets, was victorious against the stunned Confederates, and Colonel Chamberlain received the Medal of Honor for his day on Little Round Top. (Note:This is from wikipedia.)

The British 1853 Enfield has appeared in the following movies, television shows and video games used by the following actors:

Springfield 1861 - .58 caliber.

Film

• Several Civil war soldiers and Hugh Jackman as James Howlett in X-Men Origins: Wolverine