In doing more research on the web I found this easy to read thesis by the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College from 2007. The title is "U.S. Army Rifle and Carbine Adoption Between 1865 and 1900". For those interested in reading about the years after the Civil War (including muzzleloaders and the Trapdoor)and up to the Krag-Jorgensen Rifle with modern view points, I recommend it. It was written for public release and unlimited distribution. Perhaps this has been brought up before. If not, here is the link.
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