Living History — Custer’s Ghost and the Trapdoor Springfield
A few season back, our friend Kevin Thomas acquired a bit of living history — a reproduction Model 1873 Trapdoor Springfield. Here is Kevin’s story of his new rifle and the legacy it carries.
Today marks the 143rd Anniversary of Lt.Col. George Armstrong Custer’s historic ride into the valley of the Little Big Horn, along with 200+ men of the U.S. Seventh Cavalry. June 25, 1876 did not go well, as Custer and his men became a well-known, sad footnote in U.S. history. [Editor: Well it was sad for Custer fans. Native Americans have a different perspective.]
For years now, I’ve wanted one of the rifles Custer and his men carried that day, a Model 1873 Trapdoor Springfield, chambered for the 45/70 cartridge. I finally acquired one, when I walked into a gunstore a while back and saw a handsome repro Trapdoor sitting peacefully on the shelf. It called to me.
Somewhere in the distance, I could hear the bugle calls, the Sioux and Cheyenne war cries and the thundering of cavalry across the plain. It simply had to go home with me, and so it did. It seemed an especially insistent demand with this being the 138th anniversary and all, so I took it along to our regular Wednesday night practice session. All I can say is, I’m glad we don’t have to do rapid-fire with one of these in our matches today, because they do have a mule-like kick to them!
The Trapdoors were a cost saving measure that the Armory came up with at the end of the Civil War, to convert muzzle-loading Springfield muskets into breech-loading cartridge arms. A quick look will give several dead giveaways that many of the parts on the “new” rifle were actually interchangeable with the old 1861 and 1863 Springfield muskets. The parts that were altered or newly fabricated were relatively minor changes.
Above, you can see where these rifles got their name. Loading was done by flipping a lever which opened up a trap door that provided access to the chamber. Flipping that same lever and opening the trap door then ejected the case after firing.
Here is the opposite side, trapdoor open. The ring and slide on the side of the stock was to facilitate an attachment point for a lanyard that the troopers wore over their shoulders. Remember, they often used these while at a full gallop, not an easy feat!
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Tags: 45/70, Black Powder, Custer, Dakota, George Armstrong Custer, Kevin Thomas, Lapua, Little Big Horn, Musket, Sitting Bull, Trapdoor Springfield
I have played with one of these and immediately understood why Custer’s men had trouble in a rapid fire situation with jams and stoppages. An awful interim solution to surplus arms.
When you compare this with the Martini Henry at Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift (Jan 1879), three years later, you can see the obvious differences in dealing with the rifles over-heating.
Isandlwana is a closer scenario with no fortifications, but evidence of sustained volley fire from squares did do damage to a numerically superior force with less evidence of stoppages.
Needless to say, both these scenarios should never have happened if the leadership was sane and sensible.
Trapdoor issues did NOT cause the massacre . I have owned over a dozen originals over the last forty years. A ratio of about forty to one indians VS US troops, in a hilly environment did. The soldiers dismounted, and formed small groups; with every fifth man detailed to hold the horses with most of the troopers load of ammunition on the saddles. The Lakota simply fired volleys of arrows at them, which stampeded the horses. Lakota accounts stated that they ran over the small four to six man groups as they ran low or out of ammunition. I worked on the crew that did the cataloging back in 1984 after the fire. 45-70 and 50-70 cases recovered did not show (most of them) the issue with tearing the case rim loose that would have tied up the rifles.
IMHO, Custer’s men would not have rapid fired at the indians, they did not have the ammunition OR the time to do so. They were simply too few and too scattered to have lasted very long. Especially against a force of skirmishers using the terrain and the clumps of trees in the ravines.
As far as a comparison to Isandlwana, Apples to Oranges. The native forces in Africa did not have horses. If they had, IMHO, that battle would have lasted about an hour, with the same result as here.
That said, Trapdoors are pretty cool, and I sometimes regret selling mine to collectors. I am making do, however, with my Sharps.
author is biased as his conclusion represent the view that the defeat of both armies depend in the leaders only.An opinion which is still debated and not prooved yet.
Umm. Islandwana – the battle proper lasted about an hour and resulted in a massacre for the British. Rorke’s Drift was a fortification and lasted over 12 hours.
At no point did I say anything about the case rim – I said jams and stoppages. Both rifles heat up fast regardless of the ammunition used. The big difference is speed of reloading with the Trapdoor being very fiddly when you are not under pressure, let alone when an angry man is coming at you.
And Lord Chelmsford and GEN Custer shared many of the same characteristics – Custer was on the very end of the spectrum however.