During the civil war, weapons were not as powerful and widely used as today, but still made their name clear on the battlefield. At the time of the Civil War, (1861–1865) there was a large variety of weapons used on the battlefield. These weapon variations include the following: rifles, pistols, swords, cannons and even early forms of grenades. Considering that weapons were not quite evolved yet, they had a great number of problems and weaknesses. This effected their range, accuracy, performance, power, maneuverability, ext… Civil war weapons were also made on a large scale level and were handed out to everyone who fought. (According to an article on Ask.com) The weapons of the Civil War were responsible for the deaths of an estimated count of around 750,000 soldiers. During this essay, I will talk about the different type of weapons that I listed earlier.
The rifles of the Civil War came in a lot of variations. Rifles usually were used up close because their accuracy and range were not that great. The Springfield rifle was the infantry’s main weapon out on the battle field. Its long barrel and accuracy made it ideal for the front lines. The Colt revolving rifle was a popular gun because of its ability to shoot fast and pack a punch. Spencer repeating rifles shot a lot faster than manual loaded weapons from other soldiers, so that was a great advantage when facing an enemy. The Burnside carbine, the Tarpley carbine, the Smith carbine were also all great carbines that the front lines fought with. Also, the Civil War was the first war to have an automatic machine gun! The Gatling gun stopped the enemy straight in their path and dominated the battlefield.
Civil war weapons in Museum of Florida History. Tallahassee,FL. Photo by Jim Steinhart.
Civil war battles were almost always fought up close and personal. Soldiers had to have a close quarters combat weapon to use when things got close and their rifles would not do. Pistols were always soldiers back up weapon if their rifle malfunctioned or just ran out of ammunition. Civil war pistols were either a revolver style of pistol, or a flintlock (manually loaded) weapon. Colt revolvers were a very popular choice of pistol because it could shoot faster than most of the other weapons it was facing and also because of its maneuverability, small and compactness, and great stealth that all pistols have in common.
Throughout history, swords have been widely spread out from time to time. Before firearms, they were what wars were fought with....