The weapons carried by the 26th Wisconsin was first the .58 calibre English-made Enfields
marked "Tower 1862."
They were provided to the men in Milwaukee and carried through Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Apparently because of the many complaints by the soldiers, an investigator was sent to the regiment to look at the muskets. He found that the firing pins were frequently defective and that they could not be sighted well. He recommended that they be rearmed with the "Springfield Rifled Musket."
It was assumed they were rearmed with this rifle as there were no more complaints in the regimental papers, but have really found no evidence one way or the other after the inspector's report was made.
(Information researched by Jim Pula, artwork by Civil War Clipart Gallery
