Model 1816 Musket

The War of 1812 had revealed many weaknesses in American muskets. The Model 1812 Musket was created in an attempt to improve both the design and manufacture of the musket. The Model 1816 made further improvements, and replaced the Model 1812. The Model 1812 had borrowed heavily from the design of the French Charleville model 1777 musket, and this design was retained for the Model 1816. The Model 1816 had a 42-inch (107 cm) long .69 caliber smoothbore barrel, similar to the Model 1812, but had a longer lock plate, a shorter trigger guard, and a longer bayonet than the Model 1812. The Model 1816 also had a more straight lined stock. The overall length of the weapon was 58 inches (147 cm).[2]

A Model 1816 Musket Exploded View Diagram

The Model 1816 musket was originally manufactured at the Harpers Ferry and Springfield Arsenals between 1816 and 1844. Around 675,000 were made, more than any other flintlock in U.S. history.[3]

The Model 1816 was originally manufactured as a flintlock musket. Like many flintlock muskets, many of these were later converted to percussion cap, as the percussion cap system was much more reliable and weather resistant.

This model of Springfield musket was used by Texans during the Texas Revolution and by the U.S. Army and militia during the Mexican–American War. During this conflict, the flintlock version of the Model 1816 was preferred by U.S. regular forces, due to percussion cap supply concerns.[4]

It was also used during the early years of the American Civil War until around 1862. The large majority of Model 1816 muskets had been converted to percussion firing by 1860. Muskets made prior to 1821 were considered too outdated to be serviceable weapons and were not converted. Most of them were in Southern arsenals and a large number of Confederate soldiers for the first year of the Civil War had the misfortune of carrying flintlock muskets, some of which dated back to the War of 1812.

Many improvements to the Model 1816 were made, producing the Model 1822 Musket, Model 1835, Model 1840, and Model 1842. U.S. Ordnance Department referred to these as different models, but in other U.S. government documents they are referred to as a continuation of the Model 1816.[5] Modern histories are similarly inconsistent in the nomenclature of these weapons.

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