Civil War Weaponry

What military technology introduced aided the Union in winning the Civil War? The American Civil War was a war over the secession of the Confederacy. The Confederate States of America were formed after 11 slave states declared their secession due to the election of an Anti-Slavery republican as president. The remaining 25 states formed the Union. Weapons such as the Gatling Gun, repeating rifle, which gave soldier the ability to fire multiple rounds without reloading, railroads and telegraphs, which played large factors in means of transportation of information as well as supplies, and the “minie ball”, a new type of ammunition, which caused immense and mortal wounds on the battlefield, were being developed, all aided the Union in defeating the Confederacy in the Civil War. The Gatling Gun was the first machine gun truly used in battle. The repeating rifle, which gave soldier the ability to fire more than one shot before reloading, was a huge advancement in battlefield tactics. Submarines were not used very extensively by the Union, but much so by the Confederacy. Balloons were widely used by the Union in order to do reconnaissance. Railroads were probably the biggest advancement, used to transport soldiers, weapons and other supplies throughout the war. The telegraph was a very easy way to relay information from base to base, regiment to regiment. The minie balls made rifles more accurate and caused more damage in the war zone.

The Gatling Gun was a massive machine gun first sold in October of 1861. It consisted of 6 barrels which revolved around a central shaft and was operated by a crank. Cartridges were fed to the gun by gravity through a hopper mounted on the top of the gun. Six cam-operated bolts alternately wedged, fired and dropped the bullets, which were contained in steel chambers. Gatling used the six barrels to partially cool the gun during firing. Since the gun was capable of firing 600 rounds per minute, each barrel fired 100 rounds per minute