Muskets of the Nineteenth Mass Vols

[guad42]

I have been trying to detirmine what musket that 19th Mass Inf. was issued during the first year of the war, but have struck out. Waitt's book and others on the regiment have not helped answer this. If anyone knows much about this regiment, it would be very helpful.

Regards,

Sam Dolan

[Pvt Schnapps]

Re: Muskets of the Nineteenth Mass Vols

I wish I could answer for the first year of the war, but maybe this will help -- the quarterly ordnance summary for the end of 1862 shows six companies reporting a total of three Springfields and 106 Enfields. These reports are on microfilm at the National Archives; unfortunately I couldn't find any for earlier in the war.

[roundshot]

Re: Muskets of the Nineteenth Mass Vols

http://www.nps.gov/frsp/historyculture/armament-of-the-union-army-at-fredericksburg.htm

At Fredericksburg at least, the unit was carrying Enfields with sabre bayonets. Click on armaments on the above link.

[MassVOL]

Re: Muskets of the Nineteenth Mass Vols

The state of Massachusetts and GOV Andrew mandated that all soldier leaving for the seat of war be equipped with the most "modern" arms available and with all accoutrements. The 19th Mass was formed at Lynnfield, MA from elements of the 1st Battalion Rifles and then rounded out with other volunteers from the Boston area. The regiment then left for the seat of war at the end of August. (Mass. Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines) We can assume that the regiment had its weapons at this time. The regiment was equipped with Enfields purshased under the Crowninshield commission to England to purchase arms for the state. They were subsequently issued american accoutrements to go with the rifles.
I find it odd that they reported Saber bayonets on the previous posted link (the 7th is listed also as having saber bayonets.) As I was not aware that any Infantry regiment that was issued enfields left the state with anything other than the standard bayonet.

[Pvt Schnapps]

Re: Muskets of the Nineteenth Mass Vols

I neglected to check the accoutrements the other day at the Archives, but if I get a chance I'll look again. The summary ordnance returns are on microfilm and are harder to read than original documents. The long arms stand out because most regiments have predominantly one type and usually have blank columns on either side. The accoutrements are all scrunched together, with the types of scabbards right next to each other, making it easy to misread. I'm not saying that happened, only that anyone who has ever transcribed detailed handwritten documents from the originals can understand how an error could slip in.

Curiously, I didn't see any separate columns for bayonets, just scabbards. Because the 19th had the Enfield rifle-musket, I just assumed they had the standard rifle-musket bayonet, not the sabre bayonet.