Henry rifle

Henry rifle

Type	Lever-action rifle
Place of origin	United States
Service history
Used by	United States (Union) Confederate States
Wars	American Civil War, Indian Wars
Production history
Designer	Benjamin Tyler Henry
Designed	1860
Manufacturer	New Haven Arms Company
Produced	1860-1866
No. built	14,000 approx.
Specifications
Weight	9 lb 4 oz (4.2 kg)
Length	44.75 in (113.7 cm)
Barrel length	24 in (61 cm)

Caliber	.44 Henry rimfire
Action	breech-loading lever action
Feed system	15-round tubular magazine +1 round in the chamber

The Henry repeating rifle is a lever-action, breech-loading, tubular magazine rifle famed both for its use at the Battle of the Little Bighorn and being the basis for the iconic Winchester rifle of the American Wild West.

Designed by Benjamin Tyler Henry in 1860, the Henry was introduced in the early 1860s and produced through 1866 in the United States by the New Haven Arms Company. It was adopted in small quantities by the Union in the Civil War, favored for its greater firepower than the standard issue carbine. Many later found their way West, notably in the hands of the Sioux and Cheyenne in their obliteration of Custer's U.S. Cavalry troops in June 1876.

Modern replicas are produced by A. Uberti Firearms and Henry Repeating Arms. Most are chambered in .44-40 Winchester or .45 Long Colt.

History

patent drawing of the Henry rifle.

The original Henry rifle was a sixteen shot .44 caliber rimfire, lever-action, breech-loading rifle patented by Benjamin Tyler Henry in 1860 after three years of design work.^[1] The Henry was an improved version of the earlier Volition Repeating Rifle, and later Volcanic Repeating Rifle. The Henry used copper (later brass) rimfire cartridges with a 216 grain (14.0 gram, 0.490 ounce) bullet over 25 grains (1.6 g, 0.056 oz.) of gunpowder. Production was very small (150 to 200 a month) until the middle of 1864. Nine hundred were manufactured between summer and October 1862; by 1864, production had peaked at 290 per month, bringing the total to 8,000 manufactured.^[2] By the time production ended in 1866, approximately 14,000 units had been manufactured.

For a Civil War soldier, owning a Henry rifle was a point of pride.^[3] Letters home would call them "Sixteen" or "Seventeen" Shooters, depending whether a round was loaded in the chamber. Just 1,731 of the standard rifles were purchased by the government during the Civil War.^[4] The Commonwealth of Kentucky purchased a further 50. However 6 to 7 thousand saw use by the union on the field through private purchases by soldiers who could afford it. The relative fragility of Henrys compared to Spencer repeating rifles hampered their official acceptance. More Henrys were purchased by soldiers than by the government.^[5] Many infantry soldiers purchased Henrys with their reenlistment bounties of 1864. Most of these units were associated with Sherman's Western Troops.

When used correctly, the brass framed rifles had an exceptionally high rate of fire compared to any other weapon on the battlefield. Soldiers who saved their pay to buy one believed it would help save their lives. Since tactics had not been developed to take advantage of their firepower, Henrys were frequently used by scouts, skirmishers, flank guards, and raiding parties rather than in regular infantry formations. To the amazed muzzleloader-armed Confederates who had to face this deadly "sixteen shooter", it was called "a rifle that you could load on Sunday and shoot all week long."^[6] Those few Confederate troops who came into possession of captured Henry rifles had little way to resupply the special ammunition used by the weapon, making its widespread use by Confederate forces impractical. The rifle was, however, known to have been used at least in part by some Confederate units in Louisiana, Texas, and Virginia, as well as the personal bodyguards of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.^[7]

Operation

The Henry rifle used a .44 caliber cartridge with 26 to 28 grains (1.7 to 1.8 g) of black powder.^[8] This gave it significantly less muzzle velocity and energy than other repeaters of the era, such as the Spencer. The lever action, on the down-stroke, ejected the spent cartridge from the chamber and cocked the hammer. A spring in the magazine forced the next round into the follower; locking the lever back into position pushed the new cartridge into the chamber and closed the breech. As designed, the Henry lacked any form of safety. When not in use its hammer rested on the cartridge rim; any impact on the back of the exposed hammer could cause a chambered round to fire. If left cocked, it was in the firing position without a safety.^[9]

Legacy

While never issued on a large scale, the Henry rifle demonstrated its advantages of rapid fire at close range several times in the Civil War and later during the wars between the United States and the Plains Indians. Examples include the successes of two Henry-armed Union regiments at the Battle of Franklin against large Confederate attacks, as well as the Henry-armed Sioux and Cheyenne's destruction of the 7th Cavalry at Little Big Horn.

Manufactured by the New Haven Arms Company, the Henry rifle evolved into the famous Winchester Model 1866 lever-action rifle. With the introduction of the new Model 1866, the New Haven Arms Company was renamed the Winchester Repeating Arms Company.

Reproductions

The unrelated Henry Repeating Arms produces a replica of the Model 1860 Henry Rifle with brass receiver and American walnut stock, but a modern steel barrel and internal components.^[10]

Uberti produces an almost exact copy Henry Model 1860 chambered in .44-40 Winchester or .45 Colt, rather than the original .44 Henry rimfire. Distributed by several companies, these replicas are popular among Cowboy Action Shooters and Civil War reenactors, as well as competition shooters in the North-South Skirmish Association(N-SSA).^[11]

Gallery

Civil War 1860 Henry rifle
Henry rifle, receiver
Henry rifle, loading-lever, toggle-joint
Loading sleeve open, three Henry Flat cartridges, compare with .44 Winchester Center Fire round
Modern replica Henry rifle

References

Notes

↑ Butler, David F. United States Firearms The First Century 1776-1875. New York, Winchester Press, 1971. p229
↑ Butler, p.226 (8,000 by 1864)
↑ Butler, p.233
↑ Butler, p.232
↑ Butler, p.226
↑ http://www.henryrepeating.com/history.cfm
↑ Bresnan, Andrew L. "Chapter 7: The "Modern Henry"". The Henry Repeating Rifle: Victory thru rapid fire. rarewinchesters.com. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
↑ Bresnan, Andrew L. "Introduction". The Henry Repeating Rifle: Victory thru rapid fire. rarewinchesters.com. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
↑ Bresnan, jack L. "Chapter 6: Henry Odds and Ends". The Henry Repeating Rifle: Victory thru rapid fire. rarewinchesters.com. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
↑ Staff (January 2014). "Henry Repeating Arms Co. Expands line and capacity". American Rifleman. 162 (1): 32.
↑ NSSA Approved Arms page. Archived March 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.

Bibliography

Hartford Michigan Military History.
American Rifleman, May 2008; (Henry Repeating Arms) founder, p. 26.
Sword, Wiley. The Historic Henry Rifle: Oliver Winchester's Famous Civil War Repeater. Lincoln, Rhode Island : Andrew Mowbray Publishers, 2002.
Compared: .357 Mag. Henry Big Boy, Marlin 1894C and Uberti 1873 Rifles by Chuck Hawks.

External links

Henry Repeating Arms Company - website of the modern Henry Repeating Arms Company

Winchester firearms and cartridges

Rifles

Lever-action	Henry rifle Model 1866 Model 1873 Model 1876 Model 1886 Model 1892 Model 1894 Model 1895 Model 53 Model 55 Model 64 Model 65 Model 71 Model 88 Model 150 Model 250 Model 255 Model 9422
Bolt-action	Model 1878 Hotchkiss Model 1895 Lee Navy Model 1900 Model 1902 Model 1904 Model 43 Model 47 Model 51 Imperial Model 52 Model 54 Model 56 Model 57 Model 58 Model 59 Model 60 Model 60A Model 67 Model 68 Model 69 Model 70 Model 72 Model 75 Model 121 Model 131 Model 141 Model 320 Model 325 Model 670 Model 770
Pump-action	Model 1890 Model 1906 Model 61 Model 62 Model 62A Model 270
Semi-automatic	Model 1903 Model 1905 Model 1907 Model 1910 Model 30 Model 63 Model 74 Model 77 Model 100 Model 190 Model 490
Full-automatic	Olin/Winchester FAL Model 1917
Falling-block action	Model 1885

Shotguns

Pump-action	Model 1893 Model 1897 Model 1912 Model 25 Model 42 Model 1200 Model 1300
Lever-action	Model 1887 Model 1901 Model 9410
Single-shot	Model 20 Model 36 Model 37 Model 37A Model 41
Double-barrel	Model 21 Model 24 Model 96 Model 101
Semi-automatic	Model 1911 SL Model 40 Model 50 Model 59 Model 1400 Model 1500 SX-1

Cartridges

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