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.

Modern replicas are produced by A. Uberti and Henry Repeating Arms in .44-40 Winchester and .45 Colt.

The original Henry rifle was a sixteen-shot .44 caliber rimfire breech-loading lever-action rifle, patented by Benjamin Tyler Henry in 1860 after three years of design work. The Henry was an improved version of the earlier Volition, and later Volcanic. The Henry used copper (later brass) rimfire cartridges with a 216 grain (14.0 gram, 0.490 ounce) bullet over 25 grains (1.6 g, 0.056 oz.) of black powder.

900 rifles were manufactured between summer and October 1862. At Vicksburg, Edward Downs of the 20th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment and a noted sharpshooter, bought a Henry rifle from his own funds for $65 (equivalent to $1,700 in 2024) from a steamboat captain just prior to the Vicksburg battle. Production peaked at 290 per month by 1864, bringing the total to 8,000. By the time the run ended in 1866, approximately 14,000 units had been manufactured.

For an American Civil War soldier, owning a Henry rifle was a point of pride. Just 1,731 of the standard rifles were purchased by the government during the war. The Commonwealth of Kentucky purchased a further 50. Over 10,000 of the rifles saw service in the war; a great number were purchased privately by soldiers. The relative fragility of Henrys compared to Spencers hampered their official acceptance. Another weak point for the Henry was that it could not be equipped with a bayonet. Many infantry soldiers purchased Henrys with their reenlistment bounties of 1864. Most of these units were associated with Sherman's Western troops.

When used correctly, the brass-receiver rifles had an exceptionally high rate of fire compared to any other weapon on the battlefield. Soldiers who saved their pay to buy one believed it would help save their lives. Since tactics had not been developed to take advantage of their firepower, Henrys were frequently used by scouts, skirmishers, flank guards, and raiding parties rather than in regular infantry formations. Confederate Colonel John Mosby, who became infamous for his sudden raids against advanced Union positions, when first encountering the Henry in battle called it "that damned Yankee rifle that can be loaded on Sunday and fired all week." Since then that phrase became associated with the Henry rifle.

Those few Confederate troops who came into possession of captured Henry rifles had little way to resupply the ammunition it used, making its widespread use by Confederate forces impractical. The rifle was, however, known to have been used at least in part by some Confederate units in Louisiana, Texas, and Virginia, as well as the personal bodyguards of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. According to firearms historian Herbert G. Houze, one man armed with a Henry rifle was the equivalent of 14 or 15 men equipped with single-shot guns.