historicalfirearms:Historical Trivia: The 7th Illinois with Their Henry RiflesIn1865, the Henry Rifl
historicalfirearms:Historical Trivia: The 7th Illinois with Their Henry RiflesIn1865, the Henry Rifle played a pivotal role at the Battle of Allatoona Pass, Georgia when an outnumbered and surrounded Union force was able to beat back determinedConfederate attacks. During one of these attacks, one company of the 7thIllinois, just fifty-two men, armed with Henry Rifles cut an attacking Confederate battalion to shreds. The company suffered 80% casualties but were able to stop the Confederate attack dead. A Union officer, Major William Ludlow, present at Allatoona, recalled the effectiveness of the Henry Rifle: “What saved us that day was the fact that we had a number of Henry rifles. These were new guns in those days and the commander had held in reserve a company of an Illinois regiment (several Illinois regiments fought at the battle) that was armed with them until the final assault should be made. When the artillery reopened this company of 16 shooters (Henry Rifles) sprang to the parapet and poured out such a multiplied, rapid, and deadly fire that no man could stay in front of it, and no serious effort was thereafter made to take the fort by assault.”The 7th Illinois Volunteer Infantry had the largest number of Henry Rifles of any Union regiment. Five hundred rifles were privately purchased at a cost of $52.50 each. The photograph above shows the colour guard of the 7th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment posing with their flags and Henry repeating rifles.UnionArmy officially purchased 1,731 Henry Rifles (these were issued to cavalry) but over 9,000 more were privately purchased. The Henry, with its 16-round tube magazine, gained an awesome reputation for firepower, with the Confederates allegedly declaring it“that damn Yankee rifle you can load on Sunday and shoot all week.”At Allatoona the 7th Illinois reportedly fired over 31,000 rounds. Sources:Images: 1 2The Henry Repeating Rifle, www.rarewinchesters.com, (source)If you enjoy the content please consider supporting Historical Firearms through Patreon! -- source link
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