Rifle Used During the Battle of Williamsburg

This weapon, a three-band Enfield rifled musket, was taken on the battlefield during or after the Battle of Williamsburg, which took place on May 5, 1862. Both Confederate and Union soldiers used this type of rifle, an imported 1853 British model, though it was more commonly used by the Confederates. The rifle weighed about nine and one-half pounds, was fifty-five inches long, and used paper cartridges. It is not known who retrieved this rifle, which is part of the collections at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.