TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Ian at Forgotten Weapons posts a correction to his Whitworth video, and explains the difference between Minute of Angle, which is how accuracy is measured today, and Figure of Merit, which is how it was done in the 19th Century. Not only that, the British and the Americans had their own versions that differed considerably. […]

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Ian at Forgotten Weapons has two recent looks at Civil War weapons. The first is at the fabled Whitworth rifle, used to telling effect by Confederate sharpshooters. This particular rifle actually has a Confederate provenance and a telescopic sight. Confederate Whitworth Sniper: Hexagonal Bullets in 1860 One of the commenters recommends a book, The Story […]

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I was greatly saddened to learn yesterday of the untimely demise of Kevin “Hognose” O’Brien, who ran the excellent Weaponsman blog site, a mixture of weapons lore, gun politics, and Kevin’s own unique brand of blarney. Although I never met him, Kevin and I became acquainted earlier this year when he linked to one of […]

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Auctioneer James D. Julia has a rare Confederate Whitworth up on the block. This one even has the four power Davidson telescope. The brass tube Davidson scope was adjusted for elevation by turning the knurled knob on the right side of the forearm. This loosened the clamp on the left side so the 1-1/2″ bar […]

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Couple of very nice period Whitworths have come up for sale recently, and the outfit selling them has been kind enough to allow me to post the photos of them. First up is target model. Whitworths were the rifle to beat in 1860s long-range matches and were competitive well into the 1880s in Britain, and […]

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British shooter Michael Yardley participated in a Discovery Channel special for their Unsolved History series, “The Plots to Kill Lincoln.” One of these plots was the shot taken at him by a Confederate sharpshooter at Fort Stevens on July 11 or 12, 1864 during Jubal Early’s raid. The question was if it was realistic to […]

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The Whitworth rifle, used by Confederate sharpshooters during the Late Unpleasantness, has acquired an almost mythic status and a matching price tag. American Rifleman takes a look at current specimen in private hands. Whitworths were prized sharpshooter arms during the Civil War, some numbers of them being run through the blockade by the rebels and […]

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