For those who want to know more about the Whitworth rifle, there is an interesting and informative article online
written by Civil War reenactor Bertil Haggman,a member of the Swedish Authors Association. The original text of this article appeared in issue #66 (September 2001) Crossfire, the magazine of the ACWRT (UK), as "Confederate Imports of Whitworth Sharpshooter Rifles from England 1861-1865."

In his research, Haggman found that "the Manchester-made weapon is said by some to be the most accurate rifles used in the Civil War." He also points out that "little is public about Confederate imports of Whitworth sharpshooter rifles from England during the War Between the States."

In his article, Haggman also gives a brief history of the Whitworth, information about its creator, Sir Joseph Whitworth, of England, the number of the weapons imported by the Confederacy, the weapons'lock markings and numbering, etc.

The website for Haggman's article follows:

http://www.americancivilwar.org.uk/articles/whitworth.htm

Joe Ashley (Colorado Springs, CO)