Tallassee Carbine: The Confederacy’s Last-Ditch Effort

Cool Forgotten Weapons merch! In 1863, the Confederate military decided to design a new standard pattern of cavalry carbine. The designs was put together rather quickly at the Richmond Arsenal; a 25 inch barrel, brass furniture, and Enfield type lock. Before production could begin, however, Richmond was deemed too risky of a location. The CSA went looking for new Arsenal sites deeper within the Confederacy, and farther from the threat of Union raids. One site found was Tallassee Alabama - a large cotton mill complex on a river and only 6 miles from a significant railway. The CSA arranged to take over one of the old mill buildings, and there is set up the Tallassee Arsenal. It took a long time to get equipment moved to Tallassee, to get the building renovated for use in firearms production, and to source the materials n