The Bloody Crucible of Courage Quotes

“The same year, both the Russian and the French governments adopted a plan
to rifle all of their old smoothbore muskets. And of course, during Jefferson Davis's tenure as secretary of war (1853-57) the Americans produced what today might be termed an unauthorized knockoff in the form of the Springfield rifle.”
― Brent Nosworthy, The Bloody Crucible of Courage: Fighting Methods and Combat Experience of the Civil War

“When the charge exploded, gases filled the hollow cone and pushed the soft walls of the cup towards the walls of the barrel. Pressed against the barrel, the bullet filled the grooves, and there was no windage.”
― Brent Nosworthy, The Bloody Crucible of Courage: Fighting Methods and Combat Experience of the Civil War

“Returning to the old-style rifled barrel without a stem or a chamber, Minie instead altered the bullet to be fired. Hollowing out the base of the cylindrical-conical
bullet, Minie inserted a thin iron cup. The bullet slid to its resting place on top of the powder with a gentle push of the ramrod, without the need to forcibly ram it down.”
― Brent Nosworthy, The Bloody Crucible of Courage: Fighting Methods and Combat Experience of the Civil War

“Both the Delvigne and Thouvenin rifles relied upon a human physical action to force the projectile into the rifled grooves. Capt. Claude Etienne Minie was intrigued with the problem and was determined to find a way to expand the base of the projectile mechanically to achieve a consistent and predictable trajectory.”
― Brent Nosworthy, The Bloody Crucible of Courage: Fighting Methods and Combat Experience of the Civil War

“Probably the greatest impact of the Algerian Wars, however, was the effect it had on shoulder arms. The American Springfield rifle musket and its British cousin, the Enfield, were by far the most common small arms carried by the Civil War infantry. The development of the original version of these weapons in France between 1830 and 1846 is thus the story of not only the origin of both Enfield and Springfield rifles but also that of the military philosophy and doctrine that surrounded these weapons.”
― Brent Nosworthy, The Bloody Crucible of Courage: Fighting Methods and Combat Experience of the Civil War

“Today, when a U.S. Marine recruit at Parris Island is forced to climb rope walls and scamper over obstacles, he is following a training regimen first devised for the fierce Algerian fighters.”
― Brent Nosworthy, The Bloody Crucible of Courage: Fighting Methods and Combat Experience of the Civil War

“There are several reasons why a study of the French military experience in Algeria in this present work is necessary. The entire doctrinal system contained within Casey's Infantry Tactics and Hardee's Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics originated with the French infantry's experiences in North Africa, and these were but translations of a work utilized by French chasseurs and Zouaves.”
― Brent Nosworthy, The Bloody Crucible of Courage: Fighting Methods and Combat Experience of the Civil War