Why the bare metal finish on military muskets (in the white)?

[His lordship.]

Been looking at some of the US rifles/muskets from the early-mid 1800's replicas and they are all bare steel.  I know that the Brown Bess was like that, but the 1853 Enfield had a blued finish barrel and barrel rings, with casehardened lock.  The 1873 Springfield rifle had a protective finish, so they must have learned something.  Why did the US want a gun that would glint in the sun and rust so easy up through the civil war era?

Thanks.

[badpenny]

Probably cheaper to buy.

[badpenny]

Probably cheaper to buy in the white.I read of one colonel that had his men strip the blueing off of their 3 band enfields because he didn't like it.It must have been a pain to keep them clean in the field.

[coyotejoe]

The military has always had funny ideas on things. They wanted shiny steel to show what good soldiers they were to keep that steel bright. I guess it dates back to polished swords and shields glinting in the sun to impress the enemy. They weren't interested in making things easier for the soldier nor in stealth, it's pretty hard to be stealthy with an army of several hundred thousand marching in formation anyway.

[badpenny]

Yeah that cloud of dust would be seen for miles.

[bubba.50]

they also lined up in neat little rows about 50yds apart to shoot at each other. not much use for camoflage there.

[Swampman]

Enfields were polished to make them look more like Springfields.  The military likes uniformity.  I've seen a written order that said to avoid excessive polishing due to the fact that some barrels had ruptured.  Brick dust mixed with tallow was used as a polish.

[moconfed]

As I have heard- the finish used at the time was weak, and with regular use/cleaning (with a paste of ash from the firepit and water) they wore to bright steel.

[Rock Home Isle]

Been looking at some of the US rifles/muskets from the early-mid 1800's replicas and they are all bare steel.  I know that the Brown Bess was like that, but the 1853 Enfield had a blued finish barrel and barrel rings, with casehardened lock.  The 1873 Springfield rifle had a protective finish, so they must have learned something.  Why did the US want a gun that would glint in the sun and rust so easy up through the civil war era?

Thanks.

The glint an shine of a polished gun barrel looks good. The British army of the 1700's and 1800's was all spit and polish coupled with a visual impression. A man could be flogged if his uniform was not cleaned, his kit not maintained and his rifle not polished and well oiled. In the old line of battle formations, the officers wanted their men to look good.

By contrast, Robert Rogers of F&I fame drove many of the British officers nuts. Some what because of his social status, but also because he didn't care about looks...Rogers cared about outcome and performance. He was kinda the 1st performance based supervisor....well if you look at it from a certain perspective. 

[Dances with Geoducks]

Between in the white and perfected bluing was browning. Controlled rusting.
That was the standard for many years after in the white fell out of fashion.