"Trapdoor" Springfield, The

The Springfield trapdoor breech-loader began service as a cost-cutting conversion using the mountains of surplus rifle-muskets left over after the conversion using the mountains of surplus rifle-muskets left over after the American Civil War. Adopted in 1965, for the next quarter-century both rifles and carbines based on this concept incrementally improved over time. And served as standard arms for the US Army. This dependable, hard-hitting, all-weather, single-shot weapon was carried by the US infantry and cavalry on hundreds of frontier engagements from the Great Plains to the Mexican border and beyond. When the United States entered the world stage as an international power during the war with Spain in 1898, the tried-and-true veteran had its swansong. Written by a historian who has spent a half-century researching and writing about the post-Civil War US Army, this study weaves the narrative of the Springfield trapdoor’s development and impact into the larger story of westward expansion in the United States.