1898-1901 American Rifles
Following the American Civil War (1861-1865), the US expanded across North America at the expense of Mexico and many Native American nations. North American expansionism would soon extend overseas.
The Spanish-American War and US back revolution (and eventually annexation) in the Hawaiian Kingdom, paved the way for US expansion into the Pacific.
US forces entered the Spanish-American and Filipino-American Wars equipped with two rifles.
Most US volunteer units in 1898 were equipped with the old Trapdoor Springfield Model 1873. It was a single shot, breech-loading rifle. Experienced riflemen could fire 15 rounds per minute. It used a .45 caliber round which increased its takedown/kill capacity. However, it used black powder which gave away the position of the shooter.
The trapdoor was replaced by the Springfield 1892-1999 rifle, designed after the Norwegian Krag-Jorgensen Rifle. The Krag was a bolt-action rifle with a unique side-loading gate mechanism that could load five rounds. Out was outperformed by the Spanish Mauser, which was loaded by a stripper clip. The side-loading mechanism was also time-consuming,
The Krag will later be replaced by the M1903 Springfield, which for the most part was a copy of the Mauser.
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