Lorenz Rifle

Lorenz Infanteriegewehr M1854 - .54 Caliber

Lorenz 1854 Special Short Rifle - .54 Caliber

The Lorenz Rifle was developed by Austrian Lieutenant Joseph Lorenz and given to production in 1854. It was used in the Second Italian War of Independence (1859) and was later used in the Balkans. In addition to the Enfield Pattern 1853, it was one of the most important weapons during the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865. The Confederate Government ordered over 100,000 of these muskets while the Union had over 300,000 Austrian weapons, most of them Lorenz Muskets. They were sturdy and durable and extremely precise but succumbed in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 by the technical novelty of J. N. v. Dreyse's Needle Gun and the equally novel infantry tactics by Field Marshal Moltke.

After 1866 many Lorenz muskets were converted into breechloading Wänzl Rifles by the Austrians. The Prussians did the same with their captured rifles and converted Dreyse Zündnadelkarabiner M/57 carbines with it (known as Zündnadelgewehr Ö/M).

Specifications

• Weight: 9 lb (4.1kg)
• Length: 53 in (1,350 mm)
• Barrel length: 37.5 in (952.5 mm)
• Cartridge: none
• Caliber: .54, .58 (Confederation version)
• Action: Percussion

The Lorenz Rifle has appeared in the following films and television series being used by the following actors:

Film

Show Title	Actor	Character	Note	Air Date
Hussar Ballad (Gusarskaya ballada)	Nikolai Kryuchkov	Ivan	Dornstutzen M1854 Carbine	1962
	Yuri Belov	Russian officer
The Hills Run Red		Hung on the wall	Special Short Rifle	1966
The Sovereign's Servant (Sluga Gosudarev)		Russian soldiers	Mocked as flintlock musket	1967
Ludwig II		Bavarian soldiers	M1854/58	2012

Television

Show Title	Actor	Character	Note / Episode	Air Date
Famous Brigands Stories: Šobri Jožka		Austrian hussars	Special Short Rifle / 2nd episode	1986
Famous Brigands Stories: Convict Salvador		French gendarmes	Special Short Rifle / 6th episode	1986
1864		Danish soldier		2014