Little Help - Quotes from soldiers that used the Spencer in combat

[PvtGreg]

Hi All,

I'm working on a talk about the Spencer in the Civil War and I can't find any direct quotes from actual soldiers that used the arm in combat.  Any quotes and sources you have would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

[Two Flints]

If I'm not mistaken, there are quotes in the Spencer Catalog offered by Union soldiers and officers . . . I believe it's the one available from Cornell Publications as a reprint.  Mine is packed away in another state and not available for me to check for you.

Also, check out the Marcot book, and Wilder's Brigade, books may cover what you are looking for . . . and this article may be of some value:

http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,13801.msg175768/topicseen.html#msg175768

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/23/the-unions-newfangled-gimcracks/

and don't forget Lincoln and his Shooting the Spencer at the White House.


Two Flints

[JimBob]

From Arming the Suckers-

Major:I have the honor to forward herewith requisitions for Spencer carbines and Blakely patent cartridge boxes...Third Illinois (Cavalry)...Please do what you can to have them furnished.It is this with this box as it is with the Spencer carbine,all (others) bad by comparison.
Correspondence of Major Gen. J.H.Wilson From the OR Series 1 Vol.49 Part 1 P.437

The third at the time was armed with the Hall carbine and an assortment of M1822-1840 single shot pistols.

[Sean Thornton]

This is from the the 1st Maine Cavalry use of Spencer carbines and Henry rifles

Chaplain Merrill wrote this description of the incident. "An incident is worth relating as an example of the coolness of the men.  Col. Cilley is a little near-sighted.  After forming the regiment on the Boydton plank road, the men opened a rapid fire with their Spencer and Henry rifles.  A moment later, seeing no enemy and thinking they were wasting their ammunition, the colonel rushed along the line, directing the men to cease fire.  Coming up to Corp. Gurney, of Co. B, he shouted: "You are acting like a fool with your ammunition, corporal."  "The rebs are right out there," the corporal replied.  "That may be so but wait till you can see them."  Knee down here, colonel; now look through there."  The colonel said no more of wasting ammunition, but remained on his knee and commenced firing with his revolver."

[Trailrider]

Don't forget the Beecher Island battle between Bvt. Lt. Col. George"Sandy" Forsyth's Scouts and Roman Nose's Cheyenne Dog Soldiers. Spencers save the command's bacon that day! The question is what kind of Spencers? Most, including Sgt. Reuben Waller, a member of Capt. Louis Carpenter's Co. H., 10th Cav., wrote that one of the Indians who participated in the battle described the Scouts as having "45 Spencer carbines".  Co. H, was armed with Spencer carbines. Most folks describe the Spencers with which Forsyth's Scouts were armed as "carbines". But consider this: Lt. Fred. Beecher, Forsyth's second-in-command, was the Acting Assistant Quarter Master of the 3rd Inafantry, at Ft. Hayes, KS, where the expedition originated. Now, it isn't generally known, but the 3rd Infantry was armed with "Spencer Repeating Rifles, cal. .56, with triangular bayonet", the ONLY infantry unit west of the Mississippi at that time! Also at Ft. Hayes were from time-to-time in 1867-68 were companies of the 7th Cavalry, which were armed variously with M1860 Spencer carbines in .56-56 and the later issue Spencer carbines in .56-50. Now Scout Eli Zigler mentions "carbines" in his later accounts. But would Beecher have had the authority to issue 7th Cav. carbines, when he undoubtedly had 3rd Inf. rifles available? Forsyth, himself mentions his men were armed with Spencer Repeating Rifles, and presumably he would know a rifle from a carbine. But to add to the confusion on nomenclature, the Ordnance Records list Spencer carbines under the column of "Carbines", but as Spencer Repeating Rifles, while the longer infantry models were shown under the column of "Rifles" as "Spencer Repeating Rifles with triangular bayonet"!!!     Unfortunately, the Ordnance Records are incomplete for the period immediately preceeding the organization of the expedition, so we may never know whether some of the scouts had the infantry Spencers or not.  (See "The Beecher Island Annual" & Fred Warner's book on teh subject.)

[Two Flints]

I dug out a second copy of that Cornell Publication and presented below are a few of the pages.  Might be best to just print the pages as they are small (at least for me to see with my damaged eye) and hard to read.

[PvtGreg]

Thanks all.

You guys are the best and as always I am humbly grateful your help and support.

Pvt Greg