One place I forgot to mention in my previous post was the National Firearms Museum, which is certainly worth a visit any time you’re in the DC area. Located with the National Rifle Association headquarters at Fairfax, VA, the museum features thousands of firearms of all types from all periods, including the Civil War. Featured on their web site is the two-shot Lindsay rifle and a John Brown Sharps carbine.
The NRA was founded in 1871 by two former Union officers, William Conant Church and George Wood Wingate, who were unhappy with marksmanship standards and general ignorance of firearms during the Civil War. The organization was patterned after the British National Rifle Association and was originally intended to foster a higher standard of marksmanship in the civilian population. The first NRA president was former general Ambrose Burnside, who among other things had designed a successful carbine that bore his name.
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