Minié rifle
| Minié rifle | |
|---|---|
The Pattern 1853 Enfield and the Springfield Model 1861. Two prominent Minié rifles of the 19th century. | |
| Type | Service rifle |
| Place of origin | France |
| Service history | |
| Used by | France, Prussia, Austria, United Kingdom, United States, Confederate States, Japan, Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Empire of Brazil, United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia |
| Wars | |
| Production history | |
| Unit cost | $20 (1861) |
| Specifications | |
| Rate of fire | 2 – 4 rounds per minute |
| Muzzle velocity | 900 ft/s (270 m/s) – 1,250 ft/s (380 m/s) |
| Feed system | Muzzle-loading |
The Minié rifle was a rifled musket used by the infantry of a number of countries in the mid-19th century. A version was adopted in 1849 following the invention of the Minié ball in 1847 by the French Army captain Claude-Étienne Minié of the Chasseurs d'Orléans and Henri-Gustave Delvigne. The bullet was designed to allow rapid muzzle loading of rifles and was an innovation that brought about the widespread use of the rifle as the main battlefield weapon for individual soldiers. The French adopted it following difficulties encountered by the French army in North Africa, where their muskets were overtaken in range by long-barreled weapons which were handcrafted by their Algerian opponents.