The Development Of Technology During The Civil War
The American Civil War provided many chances for improvements in technology, but some of the new technology that was developed was in military technology. Many of the new developments involved taking previous technology and developing it for the military. An example would be lights used in lighthouses. The lights were originally used to warn ships of the land and with technology developments they were used to spot soldiers from the fortresses. Although, the Union and Confederate Armies took previous technology and formed it to their needs, some new technologies were made. An example would be grenades and landmines. Throughout the Civil War, technology was either formed to the needs of the military, or created for the military. The technology
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The first to strengthen their ships were the Confederates. The Confederate Navy made their first ironclad ship by going to the Union Navy yard in Norfolk, and raising the Merrimack from the depths, and renaming it the CSS Virginia. Once they raised the ship, the Confederate Navy put two layers of steel, which was four inches thick, around the ship. Once the construction was complete, the Confederates began to use the CSS Virginia on the Union’s wooden ships, which posed no competition for the ironclads. After seeing the destructive forces of the CSS Virginia, President Lincoln asked John Ericsson, a Swedish-American engineer, to construct an ironclad (Dusek). The name of the ship made by John Ericsson was Monitor. The Monitor consisted of a rotating turret, which had two eleven inch guns. The two ironclad ships, the CSS Virginia and the Monitor, had a battle on Hampton road, this was the only battle between the two ironclads (Dusek). The reason for one battle between the two ships was because the ships were too valuable to each of the Navy’s. Also do to the valuability of the ships, the Confederate Navy sank the CSS Virginia, so that the Union could not gain control of the CSS Virginia. The Union’s Monitor was also sunk, but not on purpose. The Monitor was on its way to Charleston, South Carolina, but was in a major storm off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, where the Monitor sank (Dusek). Although the improvement of all the technology is good, there is another weapon that opened a whole new door in
The first to strengthen their ships were the Confederates. The Confederate Navy made their first ironclad ship by going to the Union Navy yard in Norfolk, and raising the Merrimack from the depths, and renaming it the CSS Virginia. Once they raised the ship, the Confederate Navy put two layers of steel, which was four inches thick, around the ship. Once the construction was complete, the Confederates began to use the CSS Virginia on the Union’s wooden ships, which posed no competition for the ironclads. After seeing the destructive forces of the CSS Virginia, President Lincoln asked John Ericsson, a Swedish-American engineer, to construct an ironclad (Dusek). The name of the ship made by John Ericsson was Monitor. The Monitor consisted of a rotating turret, which had two eleven inch guns. The two ironclad ships, the CSS Virginia and the Monitor, had a battle on Hampton road, this was the only battle between the two ironclads (Dusek). The reason for one battle between the two ships was because the ships were too valuable to each of the Navy’s. Also do to the valuability of the ships, the Confederate Navy sank the CSS Virginia, so that the Union could not gain control of the CSS Virginia. The Union’s Monitor was also sunk, but not on purpose. The Monitor was on its way to Charleston, South Carolina, but was in a major storm off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, where the Monitor sank (Dusek). Although the improvement of all the technology is good, there is another weapon that opened a whole new door in