was the Austrian x-tra corp ever approved?

[jaegerstutzen]

I keep a hoping. I know Bill Adams wrote a dug one was found but.

[Don Dixon]

It depends upon which Extra Corps weapon you're talking about:

Muster 1844 Extra Corps Weapons: This piece was originally developed by the Austrians as a device for converting arms which were not suitable for conversion to Muster 1842 tubelock muskets from flintlock. These Extra Corps weapons were manufactured as smoothbores in .693 caliber with a barrel 33 inches long. On 2 December 1861 Major P.V. Hagner, U.S. Army, New York Ordnance Office, wrote about the arms delivered by Boker and Company: "Mixed with the barrels of usual length are many short barrels, thirty-three inches long. Such guns are of little or no value, and ought not to be imported." Major Hagner was singularly clueless - even through he was the Chief of Ordnance after the Civil War - and apparently did not realize what the Austrian used these weapons for. In December 1861 500 Extra Corps weapons were issued to the 86th New York Infantry. In 1862 the State of New York returned 1,418 M1844 Austrian Extra Corps rifled muskets in .69 caliber to the Federal Ordnance Department. So, if you are talking about rifled Muster 1844 Extra Corps weapons, they should be approved by virtue of their demonstrated use in the Civil War. I think that you could also make a good case that the Muster 1844 smoothbore Extra Corps muskets should be approved for use in the smoothbore matches, since they were originally manufactured as smoothbore and it is not clear from the record that all of the Muster 1844 Extra Corps weapons received by Hagner were rifled.

Muster 1854 Extra Corps Weapons: Major Huse purchased eight batteries of Austrian artillery, which he repeatedly characterized as "complete." Included in the TO&E for each battery in Austrian service were 18 Extra Corps rifles which were used for guard duty. On the march, they were carried in one of the battery wagons. So, Huse's purchase should have included 144 Muster 1854 Extra Corps rifles. Having been purchased by the Confederacy, that should qualify them for use in N-SSA competition. Additionally, there are repeated references in original sources to "short" Austrian rifles. These reference do not appear to be compatible with Muster 1854 Jägerstutzen or Dornstutzen.

Muster 1862 Extra Corps Weapons: The Austro-Hungarian Army was selling Muster 1854 weapons to the Federals and Confederates to fund their rearmament with the Muster 1862 version of System Lorenz arms. It is unlikely under these circumstances that they would have sold any Muster 1862 arms to either side in the American Civil War. I know of only two Muster 1862 infantry rifles which were sold to the Federals, they were intended for foreign materiel exploitation, and they were expended - blown up - in testing.

Having said this, everything is subject to the opinion of John Holland and the Small Arms Committee. Hi John.

Regards,
Don Dixon
2881V

[jaegerstutzen]

Thank you Don for your reply. I meant the cal. .54.

[RaiderANV]

I'm glad you didn't specify....that was very interesting as I have one of the smoothbore versions

[Space Cowboy]

Don,

Everytime I read about the Austro-Hungarian rifles in the Civil War, the stronger my will gets to research these trade lines from the European side. Excellent info! Thanks fro sharing!

I think I will have to visit the Kriegsarchiv in Vienna in the near future.

Balázs/Space Cowboy

[Mike w/ 34th]

Space Cowboy,

If you do, and you happen to find any information that the 1857 Mauser was imported for the war, please let me know. :)

[Space Cowboy]

Space Cowboy,

If you do, and you happen to find any information that the 1857 Mauser was imported for the war, please let me know. :)

For that info we have to go to Germany. However Pierangelo Pedersoli has a book from the US that lists the 1857 Mauser among the reifle muskets of the Civil War. That book can be a good start for the research.

[Mike McDaniel]

Don,

Everytime I read about the Austro-Hungarian rifles in the Civil War, the stronger my will gets to research these trade lines from the European side. Excellent info! Thanks fro sharing!

I think I will have to visit the Kriegsarchiv in Vienna in the near future.

Balázs/Space Cowboy
Don has been working on a book on the use of Austro-Hungarian arms in the Civil War for several years. I'm looking forward to it. :D

[Don Dixon]

Balazs,

Please post a personal e-mail address to my account. I would like to "talk" with you off-line about the Austrian arms that were used in the Civil War. If you do visit the Kriegsarchiv, I may be able to provide you with some information which would be of mutual benefit.

Regards,
Don Dixon
2881V