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Photographer: Craig Swain
Caption: Whitworth Rifle
Additional Description: Located on Oak Hill are two examples of the Whitworth Breechloading Rifles as used by Hurt's Battery. The piece is a 2.75-inch Breechloading Whitworth Rifle. An oddity on the field, as most Civil War cannons were loaded from the muzzle. The breech mechanism used a cross brace to open and reseal the powder chamber after loading. Another oddity, the rifling was in the form of a hexagon. The Whitworth had a range of 10,000 yards, in this field configuration, easily double that of most other guns on the field. It is no mistake that these guns were eventually placed at one of the highest points on the battlefield.
Submitted: September 27, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.
Database Locator Identification Number: p59580
File Size: 1.301 Megabytes

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