New Weapons In The Civil War

Throughout the Civil War there were various types of weaponry used in battle. The weapons ranged from knives and swords, to a variety of firearms which included, rifles, revolvers, and muskets, all the way to cannons firing a 500 pound projectile.The weaponry used in the Civil War was incredibly distinct and improved compared to previous warfare. The Civil War was able to observe a new technological revolution in weapons (Bilby, J.G. 2011). Firearms were both foreign and domestically made and were pressed into service during the 1860’s American Civil War. The different types of changeovers in weaponry and the new weapons invented were big driving force behind new warfare. The weapons in the civil war changed the way the war was fought, revolutionized

Among these is the Springfield Model 1861 Rifle (Mizokami, K. 2013). The Springfield 1861 was wielded by both the Union and the Confederacy. This .58 caliber rifle with a 40 inch barrel was relatively low maintenance single-fire percussion cap weapon. A majority of infantrymen used this as their primary weapon so it recorded a lion’s share of the kills in the Civil War. Another weapon that was extremely lethal in the Civil War was the Henry Repeating Rifle. The Henry was able to unload its entire magazine contents of 16 shots in under a minute. This compared to the 2-4 shots per minute on a musket. The repeating rifle is now referred to as the assault rifle of its time, unloading the firepower of an entire squad on its enemies. This was mad possible because this weapon used cartridges filled with gun powder and a bullet, as opposed to a musket where you had to physically put your own powder and bullet into the weapon. Another very lethal weapon in the Civil War was the LeMat pistol. This revolver was unique in the fact the it could carry nine bullets which was 50% more than the average revolver. Also, the LeMat had a separate firing mode in which you could fire shotgun shells out of a separate barrel on the weapon. This made the gun rather hard to carry because of the extra weight, but also made it much more devastating

Both the Union and the Confederacy had a large arsenal of weaponry at their disposal. This showed throughout the Civil War with the hundreds of thousands of casualties on either side. Many new weapon technologies were introduced leading up to and during the Civil War. From rifling to revolvers, the technology of weaponry in the Civil War was a great jump from the weapons used in the previous war, allowing the soldiers to rely more on their skills in warfare and their accuracy with their weapon instead of on chance. The Civil War was a time of great revolution and change in the United States, and the weapons used are a prime example of