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In 1870, the army's Ordnance Department held field trials of various rifles and carbines to replace the mismash of Civil War relics that armed the troops. The army sought a weapon that was reliable and used a single-shot system rather than the newer repeaters due to manufacturing cost. The initial ninety entrys from such makers Elliott, Freeman, Mauser, Peabody and Spencer were narrowed down to four: The Remington rolling block; the sliding breech block Sharps; the trapdoor Springfield and the bolt-action Ward Burton. The final selection was made by the 1872 board presided by General Alfred Terry and including Major Marcus Reno as a member. The board's decision was announced on May 5,1873 by the secretary of war.

The Model 1873 Springfield Carbine in .45/55 caliber was the winner. It was a single-shot, breech-loading carbine that measured 41.3 inches in length and weighed 6.9 pounds. Its .45-caliber cartridge used a copper-case loaded with 55 grains of black powder and an effective range of 300 yards and a maximum range of 1,000 yards. A properly trained cavalryman could fire his carbine at 15 rounds per minute. The Seventh was issued the M1873 prior to the 1874 Black Hills Expedition. The Springfield would remain the basic weapon of the army until its replacement by the Krag-Jorgensen magazine rifle in 1892.

The troopers were also issued the Model P 1872 Colt single-action revolver which was chosen because of its simpler operation, stronger parts and reliability. This .45-caliber weapon had a 7.5-inch barrel, fired six metallic cartridges loaded with 28 grains of black powder and had an effective range of 60 yards.


At the Battle of the Little Big Horn, the troopers of the Seventh were issued 100 rounds of carbine ammunition, half carried in their saddle bags and half carried in issue ammo boxes holding 28 rounds or in the new "prairie belts" that held 50 rounds (the prairie belt was a leather belt with leather thimble loops sewed on). A disadvantage of the prairie belt was the interaction of the chemicals used in the tanning process interacting with the copper cases, resulting in deposits on the cartridge. The trooper was also issued 24 rounds for his revolver, six in the weapon and 18 carried in a small pouch on his belt.

Contrary to Hollywood/TV, the frontier trooper did not carry his issue saber into the field. The saber was a heavy, cumbersome and noisy weapon that was merely an ornament for the parade field. Only one officer, 1st Lt Charles DeRudio, who had served as a cavalryman in Europe, carried his saber into LBH.

In the years since 1876, there has been a stream of debates about the malfunctions of the Springfield carbine. The primary cause was the use of copper cases, combined with a defective extractor mechanism and simple dirt, could cause the base of the cartridge to be torn away when the block was opened. This would leave the body of the cartridge stuck inside the firing chamber, requiring the use of a pocket knife or horseshoe nail to pry the cylinder out prior to reloading and firing. While this is a known problem, just how bad was this defect at LBH?

The best source is the 1983-1986 archaelogical survey conducted by Dr. Richard A. Fox . A study of recovered .44/55-caliber cartridge casings confirmed that very few displayed evidence of pry or scratch marks. On the Custer portion of the battlefield only 3 of 88 casings showed any evidence of pry marks. On the Reno-Benteen Defense Site, out of 257 casings, only 7 showed evidence of prying. Based on this sample, it appears that malfunction caused by the carbines jamming was, at best, minimal and therefore cannot be considered to be a factor in the defeat.

There is another possibility in that the men simply ran out of carbine ammunition, Each trooper only carried 50 rounds in his cartridge belt. The additional 50 rounds in his saddle bags were lost when the Indians stampeded the horses. Fifty rounds fired in the heat of battle could be expended in a very short period of time. The Colt revolvers, with their 24 rounds of ammo, would not have lasted long.

Remember that Custer dispatched an urgent message to the pack train asking that the regimental ammo reserve be brought forward. There is a possibility that rather than jamming carbines, the real cause of Custer's defeat is that his men simply ran out of ammunition.

This would also explain why Custer's command was strung out along Battle Ridge instead of being formed into a compact defensive position. The companies to the south, may have been trying to hold open a corridor for the pack train and the ammunition reserve.