Kickstarting the US Civil War - The Sharps Carbine and John Brown
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- čas přidán 23. 01. 2024
- This is a companion video in collaboration with @AtunSheiFilms, this video being the prequel to John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry, which you can find here:
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The Sharps carbine was a very advanced firearm design for the 1850's, and it was for that reason that John Brown and the Abolitionists adopted it. In this video we discuss the history of the firearm, its design, how to use it, but also how and why it is so intertwined with the abolitionist cause in the years leading up to the US Civil War and the war itself.
Something I appreciate about Karl's content is that he fully understands the implications of civilian armament. Firearms aren't just tools for hunting or personal defense, they're a means to safeguard the autonomy and dignity of ordinary people in the face of unjust systems. That's the primary reason the second amendment exists.
The USA and the 2nd amendment I only just fully understood when I realized that the state gave up on the exclusive right to bear arms - making citizens roughly as powerful as the state itself.
Growing up and living in Kansas, John Brown is well talked about. Now that I am a history teacher in this fine state I make sure my students know about him and the national effects of Bleeding Kansas. Archaeologically I have found many Sharps bullets out here from all the models at sites occupied by Dragoons, free-staters, border ruffians, and post 1865 cavalry. Very informative video, always loved your channel!
I went to school in Lawrence, Kansas from Grade 5-7. Kansas had some awesome teachers who cared for the history of the state.
I shot an 1963 Shiloh Sharps Carbine in the N-SSA for a few years. Loved it. Make sure you clean out the forend every now and then. Mine had some unburnt BP flare up during a shoot. No injury or damage to the gun.
Another aspect of the Kansas troubles is that just before the southern supporter Quantrill raided Lawrence, the city of Lawrence had passed an ordinance disarming the citizens. Some really bad timing. Now I learned that when I lived there, but I can’t find any text of such a law now.
Like most old west gun laws it was selective enforced
Tangentially related but I’ve always thought that Bleeding Kansas would be a perfect setting for a tabletop RPG
Growing up 45 min. away from Harpers Ferry in Virginia, the history of the raid and John Brown was taught in school and common knoledge. I'm just starting to discover that it is not somehting that is taught throught the US which is frankly unacceptable.
John brown wasn't covered in my 90's era public school education. I only learned about him in the past few years. Turns out he and my middle child share a birthday, He turned 4 last year, I told him a bit about john brown and the history of slavery in the country. His response: "Why didn't the slaves just call the police?". Oh, my sweet, summer child.
I find that strange considering John Brown was a key figure in US History regarding the abolitionist movement, especially leading right up to the Civil War. Him and the "Bleeding Kansas Uprising "showed just how strongly both sides on the topic of slavery felt at the time, that it got violent even before secession happened. It all basically foreshadowed the US Civil War itself.
He didn't say that
@@sxb2andtheotherguys to his credit, he was four, but 100% what he said.
@@reeyuh526 agreed. I remember my father was surprised that they covered the trail of tears in highschool because they never heard about native American genocide in his early 70's education
There are other things, like the US actions in the Philippines, that I didn’t learn about in school.
Not surprising we don’t teach it, it’s… ugly.
Karl, just fyi the first of the two prints you show of the Sack of Lawrence actually portrays the second sack of Lawrence, which occurred in 1863 by Confederate raiders, rather than the first that you describe. The second was the result of Confederates targeting the town as a symbol due to Lawrence's notoriety as a center of abolition. Unlike the first sack which cost the life of only one person, the second sack ended with 150 civilians dead and is often referred to as a massacre.
These guys are American legends. No story taboo, no political word vomit. Just provable, first source fact based documenting.
I love your vignettes because you discuss things no one else is taking about.
Thank you, please consider supporting the channel if you can
Keep doing what you're doing Karl!
Thank you Karl for trying to be a voice of reason amidst so many half-witted content providers. I hope at least a few get your message.
Well done, Karl. These are, and always have been, my favorite projects of yours on this channel. I'm obsessed with the Sharps Carbine, and a YT channel CapandBall have a few on the Sharps he owns.
The Sharps carbine might be the coolest American gun ever. Such a cutting edge weapon in the 1850s all the way to an iconic western rifle in 1870s. John Brown and True Grit make me love this gun.
Forced to go to a evangelical school as a child and I distinctly remember my first readings about John Brown painting him as a lunatic while Robert E Lee was painted as a reluctant patriot fighting for Virginia. I really appreciate content like this.
It says something about a church when they choose to side with the oppressor rather than the christian abolitionist. But then again, even back then both sides used parts of the bible to reinforce their arguments.
@@lavrentivs9891John Brown wanted to incite mass slaughter of whites across the south, including women and children
Most evangelicals don't believe that. Most abolisionists were extremely Christian. However, John Brown absolutely was a cold blooded murderer.
This was an amazing collab. Thank you for the great historical and technical breakdown on this weapon. I have often wondered why breech-loaders weren't adopted faster than they were, and this video gave me several answers.
On one hand you could legitimately call John Brown a terrorist. But on the other hand if it wasn't for his acts of terrorism the world would be a substantial worst place.
Given everything that's going on in the world at the moment I genuinely don't know how to process this.
I mean it's fairly simple. Terrorist is always a political designation. Look at how the Houthis were redesignated terrorists without killing a single person just for costing powerful people lots of money in their bid to end, whether you see it as a genocide or not, a conflict with extremely high civilian casualties.
@@MollyGermekLol John Brown intended to incite the mass slaughter of whites, including women and children across the south
It would’ve been better to let slavery die out 3-4 decades naturally
@@MollyGermekthat they see it as a genocide is maybe all that matters when judging their actions.
If they could not have known better, and they are angry because of things that, if I believed them, I would come to the same conclusions, it is difficult to judge them harshly.
To the border ruffians who believed that the end of slavery would mean an end to their culture and their way of life, it’s easier to see why they did the things they did.
That they never stopped to ask themselves “are we the baddies?” is a cold reminder that before rushing off to war, we should always ask ourselves the same.
Being a terrorist is not an inherently immoral thing. It all depends, like with pretty much everything else in life, on what you stand for and what actions you do and don't take in furtherance of them.
John Brown, most certainly, is not above scrutiny. But to ignore the righteous cause for which he stood is to ignore the inhumanly horrific and wholly morally indefensible practice of slavery and the astronomically high levels of atrocity done under it. I would hope that we would justly judge the crimes of the slave owner with even more ferocity than some sections of the population who seek to demonize those brave humans who laid their lives down for freedom and an end to tyranny and oppression
One man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter
Karl and Andy's collaborations are some of the best content pieces on CZcams. I hope this channel relationship continues
Good work Karl. Informative and necessary.
My great great grandfather was Anson Burlingame. He gave a rousing speach denouncing Preston Brooks, the man who beat his fellow Masachusetts representative on the floor of Congress. (Things were so bad during that time that it was common for reps and senators to be armed in Congress)
Brooks, incensed by Burlingame's speech against him, calling him the "vilest of cowards" for his attack, sent a couple of 'seconds' to Anson, demanding satisfaction. Much to their surprise and consternation, he quickly stood, pounded his desk with his fist and shouted "Rifles!"
His being called out for a duel, it was his perogative to choose what weapons would be used.
On his way to the 'Navy Yards' in Canada, near Niagra falls (it being illegal to duel in the US at the time) the Burlingame party stopped at Coney Island in NY where Anson practiced a bit at a shooting gallery. The owner of the gallery is quoted by a newspaper at the time as saying that Anson was the best shot he'd ever seen.
Brooks had people following Anson, and probably upon hearing of this, proved to actually be a vile coward, as he failed to show up for the duel.
Plenty of interesting (at least to me :) ) stuff on the internet regarding this event, including newspaper reports, songs and poems abusing Preston Brooks.
That blade was an AK tooth pick. A large double edged dagger. It could end a life in a hurry though not painlessly.
Nice timing! I got my second Pedersoli reproduction of an 1859 Sharps carbine two weeks ago (well, the first one I got technically is a repro of a S.C. Robinson carbine). They are such nice pieces of craftsmanship.
Thank you for providing so much historical background on this family of breech-loaders and the people that made them famous. John Brown may have had his share of flaws, but he certainly was a man of laudable conviction and great bravery, so much so that he meet his end because of it.
I am near certain that your shooting drill with the 1859 Infantry Rifle from two years ago is what made me wanna get a Sharps in the first place. No regrets in that department! I haven't taken the newest one to the range yet, but after this video I am all the more eager to finally give it a try!
There was a miniseries about John Brown a few years ago called The Good Lord Bird, with Ethan Hawke as Brown. It was kind of a surreal, darkly humorous take, but it included a bunch of real history and was really well acted and written. From a firearms perspective it was really mixed bag. They'd obviously done some research and featured period-appropriate prop guns like Sharps carbines, pepperbox revolvers and cap-and-ball Colts. But unfortunately, they didn't seem to have taken the time to demonstrate how they worked to the actors, so there were a bunch of fudged scenes where the characters would be shown 'reloading' Sharps carbines by fiddling randomly with the actions. Somehow the fact that they'd come so close to getting that side of it right before messing up at the last stage made it all the more annoying. It's still a really good show, though, especially for anyone interested in the moral questions and dilemmas surrounding America's most righteous terrorist.
Atun Shei might have covered it before, or was it Brandon F
@@teslashark I don't remember either of them covering it, but it definitely sounds possible. In the last video in this series Andy (Atun-Shei) mentions that he and Karl both watched it before they went on their joint road trip and they both spoke very positively about it.
Check out the book it was based on! It's great.
@@too.much.hustle I ought to! Got a stack of unread books a mile high, and a stack of recommendations much, much higher, but hopefully I'll get there before my time's up.
“Talk, is a national institution, but it does not help the slave.” - John Brown
That said, collabs between InRangeTV and Atun-Shei Films are rad! Thanks for doing this.
Well Done! Nearly twenty years ago myself and group of friends actually did a living history impression of John Brown's abolitionist Kansas militia at a historic timeline event in Maryland. You got your facts down pretty good here. Also glad you attempted to unravel the developmental history of the early Slant Breech Sharps and how it played into the era even as you had to use a later '59 to talk about the Sharps guns and operation. Should you ever get to Maryland in March there is an antique arms show in Timonium. One of the annual displays is a collection of Sharps slant breech guns ranging from the earliest Nippes production to the straight 59 model. Steve, the owner of the collection focuses his display on the various ways Sharps attempted to solve the gas breech leakage issue. If you happen to be there, please do drop by.
It feels like people aren't seeing the slave owners as violent (even though they started the fighting) or even worse, that slavery itself isn't violence even though it clearly is (you're holding innocent people as prisoners to do your work). You can't be innocent with blood all over your hands.
Love the historical content. Thanks for the work.
Awesome video Karl! Thank you very much for sharing Sir. History needs to be learned and learned from not covered up and forgotten.
Great - and timely - stuff, Karl.
Well done, never been interested in guns but you are right that they are intertwined in human history.
The sharps rifle was very impressive weapon for its time, considering that most military forces were still using muzzle-loaders years, or even decades, later.
I work as a Historian here in Germany since i left the Bundeswehr (Gebirgsjägerbrigade 23 with the 231st Gebirgsjägerattalion) and while i focus mainly on Contemporary Germany-related History (1849-Today basically) i'm of course also an avid Viewer of Gun-related Content, especially when it comes to History.
I would have never heard about John Brown if not for American Gun Channels like yours, Forgotten Weapons etc. So i started to become more interested in US History, which is more interesting than most of us Europeans think. Now i started to research Personalities originating from Germany who made an Impact in the USA, which i have realised were quite a lot!
So thanks for steering me that way
Prost & Cheers from Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps
I live in Kansas. My Family is Swiss and German, my mom is originally from Germany, my grandfather was a pilot in the Luftwaffe. Most of my family has been in the state since the 1800s. There were more German immigrants to Kansas in the 1800s than any other group. Bleeding Kansas is a very interesting time, unfortunately it usually gets simplisticly broken down to Jayhawkers and Bushwackers. There were other groups like the Red Legs, with some famous members like Wild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill. They were abolitionists, but mainly went around robbing everyone. The original unratified Kansas free state constitution drafts are interesting too. There is no slavery, but they forbid blacks from the state.
Interesting if you say you're from Germany you know I don't know you know about this American offered by the name of Eric Flint the ring of fire he wrote a story about a fictitious town called grantsville that was troubled back in time to Germany during the 30 war they have the cool thing is they had this fictitious rifle made one of the factions that the posed to the main characters made a rifle a carbon copy rifle based off of the sharp they call it the colonel rifle very similar to the in the 1600s in this alternate timeline is a pretty cool story I wish the pandemic didn't happen in Mr Flint was still around they can make a live-action version of the Ring of fire in Germany as a series of let's say kind of based a little bit off of Stargate SG-1 and some and the funny thing in Germany you have a lot of German historians who know a lot about the 30 years war and especially having Germans and some American actors playing in this movie would be so much fun it's a fun story if you ever checkedand one thing there's too much the history's too saturated with stories with world war II and the Nazis and stuff like that there's more to German history than that era that actually the 1632 or the 30-years war era is actually kind of cool what
Interesting if you say you're from Germany you know I don't know you know about this American offered by the name of Eric Flint the ring of fire he wrote a story about a fictitious town called grantsville that was troubled back in time to Germany during the 30 war they have the cool thing is they had this fictitious rifle made one of the factions that the posed to the main characters made a rifle a carbon copy rifle based off of the sharp they call it the colonel rifle very similar to the in the 1600s in this alternate timeline is a pretty cool story I wish the pandemic didn't happen in Mr Flint was still around they can make a live-action version of the Ring of fire in Germany as a series of let's say kind of based a little bit off of Stargate SG-1 and some and the funny thing in Germany you have a lot of German historians who know a lot about the 30 years war and especially having Germans and some American actors playing in this movie would be so much fun it's a fun story if you ever checkedand one thing there's too much the history's too saturated with stories with world war II and the Nazis and stuff like that there's more to German history than that era that actually the 1632 or the 30-years war era is actually kind of cool what
Interesting if you say you're from Germany you know I don't know you know about this American offered by the name of Eric Flint the ring of fire he wrote a story about a fictitious town called grantsville that was troubled back in time to Germany during the 30 war they have the cool thing is they had this fictitious rifle made one of the factions that the posed to the main characters made a rifle a carbon copy rifle based off of the sharp they call it the colonel rifle very similar to the in the 1600s in this alternate timeline is a pretty cool story I wish the pandemic didn't happen in Mr Flint was still around they can make a live-action version of the Ring of fire in Germany as a series of let's say kind of based a little bit off of Stargate SG-1 and some and the funny thing in Germany you have a lot of German historians who know a lot about the 30 years war and especially having Germans and some American actors playing in this movie would be so much fun it's a fun story if you ever checkedand one thing there's too much the history's too saturated with stories with world war II and the Nazis and stuff like that there's more to German history than that era that actually the 1632 or the 30-years war era is actually kind of cool what
In neighboring France, you can legally buy a Sharps carbine as long as you are an adult, no further restrictions. I am German, but I live in France (and did live in the US for a while as well, thus, perhaps, my interest for Civil War and pre-Civil War U.S. history) and I am the quite proud owner of two Sharps carbines (one of which is same model and from the same manufacturer as the reproduction featured in the video).
The interesting legal distinction is that in France, black powder guns that are not fed with self-contained, metallic cartridges, such as the early Sharps models, fall into the least restricted firearms category (D2), which also includes pepper spray for instance.
Oddly enough that means, that in France you don't need a license or permits to buy a Remington New Army revolver, which features a fairly quickly exchangeable cylinder and thus is a faster reloading gun than a Colt 1873, but for the latter you do need rather costly and annoying to obtain permits, solely because it uses metallic cartridges. The actual firepower of the guns is irrelevant for their legal status.
Sorry for the wall of text, but I find this a rather curious legality and I nearly never have an opportunity to bring it up! :D
Thanks for not mincing words about the cause of the US Civil War.
Slavery was the symptom, but the root cause was simple greed. Enslaving your fellow man just happened to make your land way more productive and way more profitable. The dissolution of slavery would mean a reduction in those profits since you would now have to hire and pay laborers to manage your fields, so they opposed attempts to end slavery and used violence to try and force people to reject abolitionism.
We've seen the process repeated time and again. Union busting, the Red Scare and McCarthyism, "supply side economics", and on and on and on. It isn't a coincidence that people like MLK, Fred Hampton, and many others were explicitly against capitalism. They understood the root cause of slavery and oppression. Our fight isn't done, though hopefully we can win this fight with votes rather than violence.
He captured Harpers Ferry with his mighty men so true
He frightened Old Dominion till she trembled through and through
They hanged him as a traitor, they themselves the traitors true
But his soul is marching on!
*Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!*
Glory, glory hallelujah!
He was a murderer
Glory! Glory, hallelujah! His soul is marching on!
@@lardomcfarty9866so you're okay with humans owning other human beings?
Karl doing gigachad work again. This collaboration is so good.
Amen
Hear, hear
Very well done. Puts that part of our history in a very sharp, concise and condensed view.
Thanks Karl. This is top tier content, as always, from you two.
Karl, you're the real deal. Thank you for the invaluable knowledge I gained by watching this. We need more like you.
Brilliant as usual. Thank you for your no BS assessment of history.
Very well done video, you really captured the spirit of John Brown and what the carbine was in that time.
Always good information from you. Thank you
Fantastic video, Karl. Thanks for always doing such great content
Incredible way how you presented the history, and demonstrated the rifle. Great video, Karl.
Excellent work tying both topics so eloquently.
Great commentary!
Much food for thought.
Thank you for the video! Very interesting.
His soul goes marching on!
I love these videos. Educational, honest, and without an agenda. Fantastic job as always!
Thank you. Always looking forward for more.
Conflict in all forms has been intertwined with and defined human history since before recorded history, it seems a "baked in" consequence of individualism and our differing opinions as a society.
Thank you for creating such a well researched and presented video on the subject despite the fact that it may not receive as much interest as your regular content.
As a Canadian I just want to say thanks for history lessons on the Abolitionist movement.
Great series and informative, keep up the great work.
Thanks for your research and presentation.
I do appreciate thoughtful videos like this Karl. Thank you.
Thank you!
Karl, I genuinely appreciate you sharing your interests & motivations with us here on CZcams. Whether it's lever actions or vignettes, mud tests or range time with Russ and Ian, you keep my life way more interesting than I can make it. You're such a good damn youtuber it kind of blows my mind how humble you are sometimes. Have a good day buddy
I love the history videos! A great collaboration with two of my favorite channels.
super video! im so glad to find a gun youtuber with good politics!
I wish there were more channels like this
One of my fave videos so far
Great work Karl .
such an informational video i learned a lot about the history of the area i live in thank you!
This is really good. Thanks. Contemporizes the events and underscore the seriousness of the vote, etc. Enduring American values don't endure (and adapt) without a fight.
Great video!
Thank you! Now motivated to see Harper's Ferry again, after almost 35 years.
Question. Were the Dreyse M41 needlefire rifles available in the US or was this the typical US/Europe being oblivious / Ignoring what was happening on the other sire of the Pond
No, they were not here.
@@InrangeTv Thanks
Well done, Karl. Well spoken.
Love this kind of content, the algorithm is burying it and that’s a shame.
I appreciate the questions you asked at the and of the video. Both sides of direct action. 👍
Appreciate the cozy campfire
Thankyou Karl! I did appreciate it!
Woot woot team up some of favorite channels!
Two thoughts come to mind during this video
(1) I always enjoy learning about the history tied to the objects used by folks, especially with complicated figures like Brown.
(2) I had the realization that one of the advantages of paper cartridges used in the mid-19th century are the same advantages touted by caseless ammunition concepts that existed in the 20th century and up to today: a clear chamber after firing, no ejection needed.
Great video, this is truly History Channel material. Well presented, unbiased, factual. Another great history video.
Another excellent video
Nice video Karl!
Next time I play a western game, I’ll definitely be looking at the Sharps differently from how I used to.
Well said, throughout. Thank you.
I do appreciate this video. While I enjoy the modern firearm content on InRangeTV, the Old West Vignettes and videos like this one are really something special.
I love all of your content, but i like the black powder stuff the most. Thanks for what you do
Awesome video.
Mucho appreciated sir.
THANK YOU!
First time on this channel. Well met sir. And thank you.
Welcome!
Good stuff, Karl.
Appreciated the history lesson.
Thank you Karl!
Fascinating. Thank you....
☝️😎
I go through Pottawatomie creek a lot driving my route.
Love the history you do. Kansas has some messy history leading up the civil war.
Great video 🇺🇸
Hadn’t realized until this series that there was an intermediate step, more or less, between the repeaters and the muzzle loaders since those are the long guns I associate with the Civil War.
Is this gun where we get the term Sharpshooter?
Great job on the John Brown collaboration with Atun-Shei, I really enjoyed it. But regarding the Sharps rifle as an implement of frontier survival, would it have been possible to load paper cartridges with small shot, perhaps between circular card wads, and use the Sharps as an ad hoc fowling piece? I'm thinking, that's .52 caliber and I brought home a bunches of birds, bunnies, and squirrels with my old Stevens .410 single shot as a kid. Some cursory Googling shows no real results. I wonder of that was ever a thing.
Probably not often, since the Sharps was a dedicated rifle, as opposed to a smooth bore. However, that's not to say that it never happened just as you suggested by someone who was in a pinch.
Wouldn’t surprise me if someone home made some
Fascinating angle.
...very much appreciated.
Much better take than some of the other guntubers.
Thank you
History turns into legend. Legend into myth. And things that aught not be forgotten is lost.
I dont know where I heard it but this video reminded me of the quote.
“And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for two and a half thousand years, the Ring passed out of all knowledge.” - Galadriel, _The Fellowship of the Ring_
"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose in the Mountains of Mist." - _Wheel of Time_ books.
I was coming to comment that I thought it funny you and ATun-Shei Films both did a John Brown episode but then I see it was a collab! Well don't I look silly!
Well said
Thank you Karl for your efforts to combat Ignorance.
Recently I looked up the bullshit towards Karl. I'm very appreciative that he's appeared to say "fuck 'em." Some of us know the history behind the tools.
I’m not sure if I’m the only person subscribed to both you and Atun Shei - but it was really weird seeing both of you do videos on this exact topic uploaded within 4 minutes of one another
Edit: okay! Not a coincidence. I thought I was losing it there for a second
It's a collaboration?
@@InrangeTv I made the comment upon seeing the notification - I had zero idea your channels were related
@@recklssabndon they run the channels separately, they just did this collaboration together today, and a couple times in the past.
@@recklssabndon they have more collabs on topics like the slave revolt of 1811 that you should also check out!
This is sick