So the percussion cap system of operation, coupled to rifled barrels with new conical bullets, increased the lethality of the standard infantryman and it was this warfighter that was to be featured in the war between the "North and South".
The Springfield Model 1855, with all its modern qualities in place, allowed the rifleman to shoot up to three rounds-per-minute, another improvement over flintlocks. The bullet exited the barrel at about 1,100 feet-per-second and held an effective range out to 250 to 300 yards. Maximum range was well beyond that, though at a loss of accuracy, with 1,000 yards being possible. The rifle was still limited to single-shot firing so the shooter had to reload between shots - a major failing of many of the long guns of the Civil War. Additionally, the muzzle-loading process exposed the shooter to all manner of battlefield dangers, often requiring him to be standing. An added bayonet under the barrel also increased the length of this already lengthy gun and made wielding it in close quarters difficult. Nevertheless, bayonets were still highly valued on the battlefields of the American conflict though there were few bayonet charges recorded.
Another of the key changes to the Model 1855 arrived with the "Maynard Tape Primer" system. This system utilized an automatically feeding tape mechanism which contained a sequence of percussion caps "ready-to-fire" (as opposed to the shooter having to affix an individual cap to the action each time he fired). The tape was moved through management of the hammer assembly though individual percussion caps could still be affixed to the nipple in the usual fashion.
In practice, this tape system did not live up to its billing and misfires were common so unreliability remained high and many of the guns were eventually operated with individually-affixed percussion caps during the war. Guns also had their Maynard Tape Primer systems completely removed and this, by default, sped up - and lowered the cost of - per-unit production commitments. The changes eventually produced a revised designation in the Springfield "Model 1861" detailed elsewhere on this site. The Model 1861 found better success in-the-field due to improvements in the line.
The Springfield Model 1855 series saw first-combat in 1858 against Native American forces in the West. It was available in number at the start of the American Civil War and, since the rifle was produced at the Harpers Ferry location, it also made up the inventory of the Confederacy as the location was captured in 1861 and the related gun-making machinery relocated to better protected Confederate hubs in other states to continue to churn out this useful rifle during the war.
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