During the war, the government paid between $20 and $25 for Springfield and Enfield pattern rifle muskets. These were the primary weapons of the infantry. The Sharps was a carbine and unsuitable for infantry due to it’s short range. Late in the war, infantrymen would buy the Henry repeating rifles and the Army would provide the ammunition. In 1864 a few regiments were re-equipped with Spencer 7 shot repeating rifles. When looking to keep 800,000 men armed, a few dollars price difference adds up quickly.
Sure, but if repeating rifles could give a regiment the fire-power of a brigade, a brigade the power of a division...?
Seems like somebody would want to do the math?
Somewhere I read that Lincoln himself was interested in better weapons, and that Jefferson Davis' personal security guards were armed with Sharp's rifles, and yet somehow the ideas never went much further...