CIVIL WAR WEAPONS

The Civil War is considered one of the first “modern” wars because of advances made in <a onClick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/article_exit_link');" href="http://www.civilwarcommand.com/civil-war-weapons/”>Civil War weapons</a>. These developments included more sophisticated rifles, and the use of entirely new weapons, including the Gatling gun, an early machine gun. Colt and Remington revolvers were used on both sides, and these pistols were said to be highly liked by troops. Large quantities of both types of revolver were used as Civil War weapons, although they were typically owned by officers or mounted soldiers. In fact, over 150,000 Colt Revolvers were delivered to Union soldiers during the war.

Many Civil War soldiers also used rifles. The Springfield Model 1861 was the most widely used rifle, favored for its range, accuracy, and reliability. This rifle included several advances in gun technology, including the use of percussion caps rather than flintlocks. The Enfield 1853 musket was the second most widely used rifle in the war, on both the Confederate and Union sides. In fact, it is estimated that nearly one million Enfields were used as Civil War weapons, and they were used in every major battle of the war.

To load the typical <a onClick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/article_exit_link');" href="http://www.civilwarcommand.com/”>Civil War musket</a>, the soldier would pour in the black powder, drop in the round lead ball, pack it down using a ramrod, and then fire the weapon. Although time consuming, these Civil War weapons were actually quite advanced for their day. These Civil War weapons differed from their predecessors because they were able to fire more rapidly, and were more accurate from a distance.

The casualty rate during the<a onClick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/article_exit_link');" href="http://www.civilwarcommand.com/civil-war-swords/”>Civil War Swords</a>  was very high, in large part due to advances in Civil War weapons making them much more deadly than in previous wars. Besides these very popular guns, there were many other types produced in smaller quantities, as weapon manufacturers popped up in both the North and the South. Some of the advancements made during the Civil War include rifled muskets, repeating rifles, machine guns, and cartridge rounds.