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Description
The Lorenz Rifle was developed by Austrian Lieutenant Joseph Lorenz and given to production in 1854. It was used in the Second Italian War of Independence (1859) and was later used in the Balkans. In addition to the Enfield Pattern 1853 , it was one of the most important weapons during the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865. The Confederate Government ordered over 100,000 of these muskets while the Union had over 300,000 Austrian weapons, most of them Lorenz Muskets. They were sturdy, durable, and extremely precise, but succumbed in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 to the technical novelty of J. N. v. Dreyse's Needle Gun and the equally novel infantry tactics of Field Marshal Moltke.

After 1866, many Lorenz muskets were converted into breechloading Wänzl Rifles by the Austrians. The Prussians did the same with their captured rifles and converted them to the Dreyse Zündnadelkarabiner M/57 carbines ( also known as the Zündnadelgewehr Ö/M).

Description
The Lorenz Rifle was developed by Austrian Lieutenant Joseph Lorenz and given to production in 1854. It was used in the Second Italian War of Independence (1859) and was later used in the Balkans. In addition to the Enfield Pattern 1853 , it was one of the most important weapons during the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865. The Confederate Government ordered over 100,000 of these muskets while the Union had over 300,000 Austrian weapons, most of them Lorenz Muskets. They were sturdy, durable, and extremely precise, but succumbed in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 to the technical novelty of J. N. v. Dreyse's Needle Gun and the equally novel infantry tactics of Field Marshal Moltke.

After 1866, many Lorenz muskets were converted into breechloading Wänzl Rifles by the Austrians. The Prussians did the same with their captured rifles and converted them to the Dreyse Zündnadelkarabiner M/57 carbines ( also known as the Zündnadelgewehr Ö/M).