Henry rifle

Henry rifle
Henry rifle
Type	Lever-action rifle
Place of origin	United States
Service history
Used by	United States, Confederate States, Native Americans, Mexico, Poland
Wars	American Civil War, Indian Wars, Second Franco-Mexican War, January Uprising
Production history
Designer	Benjamin Tyler Henry
Designed	1860
Manufacturer	New Haven Arms Company
Unit cost	$40 (equivalent to $1,356 in 2023)
Produced	1860–1866
No. built	~14,000
Specifications
Mass	9 lb 4 oz (4.2 kg)
Length	44.75 in (113.7 cm)
Barrel length	24 in (61 cm)
Caliber	.44 Henry rimfire
Action	Breech-loading lever action
Feed system	15-round tubular magazine

The Henry repeating rifle is a lever-action tubular magazine rifle. It is famous for having been used at the Battle of the Little Bighorn and having been the basis for the iconic Winchester rifle of the American Wild West.

Designed and introduced by Benjamin Tyler Henry in 1860, the original Henry was a sixteen-shot .44 caliber rimfire breech-loading lever-action rifle. It was produced from 1860 until 1866 in the United States by the New Haven Arms Company. The Henry was adopted in small quantities by the Union in the American Civil War, favored for its greater firepower than the standard-issue carbine. Many later found their way West, notably in the hands of a few of the Sioux and Cheyenne in their defeat of George Armstrong Custer's U.S. Cavalry troops in June 1876.