At the end of 1853, the Enfield rifle was approved by the War Department of the British Empire. It was in production from 1853 to 1867 and approximately 1,500,000 units were manufactured; It was widely used in the Crimean War (1853-1856) and in the American Civil War (1861-1865). It was widely used among the Confederate troops, who imported more Enfield rifles than any other small arm during the war, buying them from private contractors and arms dealers.