As for argument, you wouldn't be arguing with me.

You would be arguing with the fellows who did the writing 145 years ago.

Makes no never-mind to me how good a weapon was one way or the other. On the other hand, primary source authority is about as important as it gets for our purposes. I suppose if counter-sources do exist regarding war-time Wesson Rifle obsolescence and lack of accuracy, someone else on the board will provide them. One thing we ought not do, however, is to look at a weapon 145 years after the fact and extrapolate its plug-ugliness, or ergonomics as you put it, to mean that it lacked the characteristics a front-line combat soldier sought in a weapon.

But all of this is beside the point. Bottom line? Both the Smith Rifle and the Wesson Rifle fit the "effective and desireable" bill in regard to your query that started this thread. Other than that, right now all we have are guesses. And it is my guess that the answer as to what weapon your troopers in the 5th MSM Cavalry carried exists in dozens of primary source documents gathering dust in archival repositories scattered across the country.

Anyway, thanks for your input George, and good luck in your hunt.