Lorenz rifle

The Lorenz rifle saw combat during the Second Italian War of Independence in 1859 and the Austro-Prussian War in 1866. It was also widely exported and became one of the foreign-made firearms used during the American Civil War, where examples were employed by both Union and Confederate forces. Its extensive wartime use and subsequent distribution made it one of the more significant European military rifles of the period.

• Name — Lorenz rifle • Origin — Austrian Empire • Type — Rifled musket • Is Ranged — yes • Service — 1855–1867 (primary Austrian service rifle) • Used By — Austrian Empire United States Confederate States of America Kingdom of Saxony • Wars — Second Italian War of Independence Austro-Prussian War American Civil War Franco-German War • Designer — Joseph Lorenz • Design Date — 1852–1854 • Caliber —.58 Wilkinson-type bullet • Action — Percussion lock • Feed — Muzzle-loaded

The Lorenz rifle was designed by Austrian lieutenant Joseph Lorenz. It was first approved for manufacture in 1854, and was Austria's first all-new infantry firearm since 1842. The demand for the rifles was much greater than what the Austrian state arsenals could produce, so much of the production was done by private manufacturers. Many of these manufacturers did not have the skill and precision required to make what was then a very modern and sophisticated rifle design, and as a result, the quality of Lorenz rifles was inconsistent. The bore diameters also varied quite a bit due to insufficient control of allowable tolerances. This often left too much of a gap between the bullet and the barrel, resulting in poor performance. Replacing the earlier Augustin musket, the Lorenz was first distributed to Austrian soldiers in 1855. Despite its superiority to the Augustin, the Lorenz suffered from slow delivery and was sometimes used ineffectively due to prevailing conservatism in tactics and training. By 1859, the year of the Austro-Sardinian War, not all Austrian units had received the new rifle.

The Lorenz rifle was a percussion-type muzzleloader, and as such was similar in design to the British Pattern 1853 Enfield and the American Springfield Model 1861 rifle-muskets. It had a 37.5 in barrel which was held into place by three barrel bands. The barrel was.5473 caliber, which was slightly smaller than the.577 used by the Enfield and the.58 standardized in later Springfields. The stock was made of beech or occasionally walnut. The Lorenz could have either block or leaf-sights. The Lorenz used a Tige breech, which was more susceptible to fouling and difficult to clean in comparison to the Minié and it required the soldier to stand up and hammer the bullet into the shape down the barrel, which was difficult to do under enemy fire and if the soldier neglected to do so, accuracy fell off quickly. Despite these drawbacks, it did prove to be effective against the French Minié rifles. According to tests conducted by the British School of Musketry, the Austrians used a high-quality powder that did not foul the breech as badly. The rifle was fitted with a socket bayonet with a distinctive quadrangular blade. • Illustration — The Lorenz M1854 Tercerola from the Swedish Army Museum.

The Lorenz rifle first saw action in the Second Italian War of Independence. During the conflict, the French Army used shock tactics to overcome the superior range of the Lorenz, quickly closing into Austrian lines with bayonet charges with 100-men battalions, six men deep, making use of loose line formations and taking advantage of the Lorenz curved trajectory to minimize casualties. Other problems included the fact that most of the Austrian infantry didn't receive training to take full advantage of the Lorenz and the language barrier between their German-speaking officers and non-German speaking soldiers. According to military historian Geoffrey Wawro, at the battle of Palestro some Austrian soldiers discarded their unfamiliar, brand new rifles to fight with their bare hands instead. The Lorenz was later used in the Balkans. The original Model 1854 Lorenz rifle was replaced in the Austrian army by an improved Model 1862 variant. This later variant was the main Austrian weapon during the Austro-Prussian War, where the Prussian Dreyse needle gun generally outclassed them. After the war, the Austro-Hungarian Empire converted some 70,000 Lorenz rifles into the Wänzl breechloader until they had enough M1867 Werndl-Holub rifles to arm the military. The Prussians, who had large numbers of captured Lorenz rifles, converted about 35,599 rifles into Zündnadel-Defensionsgewehr Ö/M (M1854/II System Lorenz) and issued them to Landwehr units in the Franco-Prussian War. Montenegro used the Krnka system to convert 7,200 Lorenz rifles to arm their military. In the late 19th century surplus Lorenz rifles were sold in Africa as trade guns.

The Lorenz rifle was the third most widely used rifle during the American Civil War. The Union purchased approximately 226,000 rifles, while the Confederates bought as many as 100,000. The Tyler Ordnance Works in Texas also produced hundreds of Lorenz copies for the Confederate Army between 1863 and 1865. In the western theater the Lorenz was the most used rifle by the Confederate Army of Tennessee, while in the east the Lorenz was used by both the Union Army of Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. The equipment was utilized by the 26th Pennsylvania, 5th New Jersey, and 104th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiments; furthermore, the cadets were present at New Market and were deployed as far west as Glorieta Pass, New Mexico. While the Lorenz was generally a reliable and sturdy weapon, their quality largely varied. According to Drury, in their rush to buy as many weapons from abroad as possible, American buyers neglected to thoroughly inspect their shipments and as result, some old, rusty, and virtually useless firearms were supplied to the troops, tarnishing the reputation of foreign rifles amongst the troops, with exception of the British and to some extent, the Austrian Lorenz. Some rifles were rebored to.58 caliber to fire standard Springfield rifle ammunition, but these conversions were not uniform and their true caliber varied from batch to batch.

During this conflict for final unification, the Saxony's infantry units were equipped with percussion-pattern Lorenz rifles.

The Lorenz rifle was produced in three different variants, designed for short, medium, and long range combat. The short range version, which was the most common, had less of a twist in the rifling and lacked long range sights. The medium range version had more of a twist in the rifling to increase long range accuracy and had movable long range sights. The long range version had an even greater twist in the rifling as well as a finer adjustable sight. This long-range version was intended only for use by elite fighting units. The rifle was also produced in two different patterns, the 1854 and the 1862. The Pattern 1862 had a different type of lock plate that more closely resembled that used on the Enfield. Pattern 1862 rifles were also more consistent in their manufacturing. A large number of Lorenz rifles purchased by the Union during the Civil War had their barrels bored to.58 caliber, while some of the early Confederate imports were rebored in Belgium to the.57 caliber allowing them to use the British Enfield ammunition. In both armies, the original.54 caliber was by far the most used. The finish on the rifles varied. Some were blued, some browned, and others were polished bright.

Pedersoli released their 1854 Lorenz Infantry Rifle reproduction in 2018, priced between $1,550 and $1,700 before tax, replicating the original design for collectors, reenactors, and muzzleloader enthusiasts. Exclusive of taxes and the optional bayonet.

• Austrian Empire • Bolivia • Confederate States of America • France • Redshirts (Italy) • Second Mexican Empire • Principality of Montenegro • Peru • Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian Commonwealth (January Uprising) • Kingdom of Saxony • United States

• Second Italian War of Independence 1859 • American Civil War 1861–1865 • January Uprising 1863–1864 • Austro-Prussian War 1866 • Third Italian War of Independence 1866 • Franco-Prussian War 1870–1871