Dean S. Thomas. 2002, Thomas Publications, Gettysburg. Hardcover, 528 pp.

This volume literally continues where Part One ended, and examines the ammunition for "Federal Breechloading Carbines & Rifles." The seven chapters with eighteen appendices detail the story of the twenty-seven or so different kinds of breechloaders actually purchased or ordered by the Ordnance Department during the Civil War. The book is conveniently divided by the type of priming -- internal or external -- and then alphabetically by maker or supplier. A wealth of new information and research has proven that these weapons either functioned properly or were inadequate relative to the design and ingenuity of the proprietary cartridges. In the end it can be safely stated that: You do not know your Civil War gun until you know and understand its ammunition.