Ordnance.
Yeah, I know. Picky, picky, picky!
“The Union army didn’t issue lever action rifles during the Civil War because an idiot general in charge of ordinance thought it would be a waste on ammunition.”
It was Congress, not a general, that decided to ban multi-fire guns from Army procurement. The thinking was that the soldiers would just fire lots of un-aimed rounds. If you read the book “On Killing; the psychological cost of learning to kill in combat and society” which examines Civil War battles in detail, you’ll see that Congress was right. Also, the lever action guns cost about $26 while the muzzle loaders cost from $4-8.
The way multi-fire rifles worked their way into combat was: a rich man would raise a regiment, equip them with his own money, declare himself a colonel and they’d all join together. Also, individual soldiers often brought their own uniforms and equipment.
Incidentally, the WWII Japanese never fielded a machine gun like the Tommy gun because the old generals running the show said no, they wanted every shot aimed.
One of the mistakes leading to the Little Bighorn massacre was the fact that the brass didn’t want the soldiers wasting ammo with repeaters.
“The Union army didn’t issue lever action rifles during the Civil War because an idiot general in charge of ordinance thought it would be a waste on ammunition.”
That was carried on after the Civil War. Custer’s troopers at the Little Big Horn were issued trapdoor Springfield’s in which the shells sometimes jammed, and had to be dug out.
He also left his gatling guns behind because the slowed them down, having to be pulled by horses.
****because an idiot general in charge of ordinance****
“That old fogey, Ripley!” as the newspapers of the time called him.
The South would have procured lever action also. It would have been an escalation.