alternatehistory.com

Suppose the hidebound Ordnance, Infantry and Cavalry officers saw things differently at the close of the U.S. Civil War and decided to adopt, limited to Cavalry units stationed on the western frontier, the Model 1866 Winchester lever action carbine, and later the M1873. How would things be different. Would this affect the Indian Wars? Would the U.S. Army Infantry be forced to adopt a breech loading multi-shot rifle before 1892? Would there ever be a .45 Colt? Might the lightweight fast-firing lever action carbine see general use similar to the .30 Caliber M1 Carbine, but generations earlier.
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