Type Rifled musket | Place of origin United Kingdom Designed 1861 | |
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The Pattern 1861 Enfield was an alteration to the Pattern 1853 Enfield. The alteration gave the Pattern 1861 a faster twist (1:48), which gave it more accuracy than the longer infantry rifle. In comparison to the Pattern 1861 Enfield, it also had more grooves (five groove rifling). But what set it apart was its shortened barrel length of 610mm making loading faster and carrying easier.
Maneuverability
In the British Army, it was issued to artillery units, who required a weapon for personal defense and these were easily wielded from horseback. They were also imported by the Confederacy and issued to artillery and cavalry units.
They were much liked for its maneuverability. And being designed for use with the newer Minié ball bullets they could have a killing range of up to 1,000 yards and had devastating consequences against bayonet charging troops.
This weapon is often referred to as a musketoon but due to it having a rifled barrel is more accurately a short rifle. This mistake is prevalent in the popular literature probably due to the misnomer being applied to a Parker Hale reproduction.