The Role Of Weapons In The Civil War

The Civil war was fought with weapons. But not many people actually think about the weapons. They think about the people. They don’t think about the fact that the weapons were really the determining factor. The advancements of weaponry greatly affected the outcome of the Civil War.
Cannons are just oversized guns operated by a team of men. There were several kinds of cannons used in the Civil War (“Field Artillery”). One kind is the Howitzer. There are three classes of Howitzers (“Field Artillery”). There is the twelve pounder, the mountain, and the twenty-four pounder. Contrary to what it sounds like, twelve pounder and twenty-four pounder is not how much they weigh, but how much the ammo weighs. The twelve pounder is very powerful, but its short range its weakness. The mountain Howitzer is much smaller and lighter, and able to be disassembled for transportation (“Field Artillery”). It was commonly used in the mountains, as its name suggests. The twenty-four pounder Howitzer is much heavier than the other Howitzers, making it harder to move them. They are very powerful and are mainly used for defense (“Field Artillery”). Another kind of cannon is the Whitworth, a very large and powerful iron cannon with a very long range. There are a few downsides, though. The cannon is very expensive and jams easily, which is probably why it was very rarely used in the Civil War (“Field Artillery”). Another uncommonly used cannon is the James cannon. This cannons flaw is that the bronze barrel wears down easily when shot. Most cannons are made of a mixture of bronze and iron, but the fact that this one is made of only bronze makes it weak (“Field Artillery”). Other cannons used in the Civil War each have a
The main types of edged weapons used in the Civil War are: bayonets, swords, and knives.
Bayonets are sharp attachments put on the end of guns (“Field Artillery”). They were not used very often, more for intimidation. The most famous use of the bayonet was in the second day of the battle of Gettysburg (“Field Artillery”). The Union was low on ammo, so Colonel Joshua Chamberlain told them to charge down the hill with their bayonets, and they scared the Confederates away. Joshua got a medal of honor for this (“Field Artillery”). Another edged weapon in the Civil War is the Bowie knife. The Bowie knife has a blade that is 8-12 inches long and 1.5-2 inches wide. This knife was made by for Jim Bowie by James Black. Bowie used the knife in a battle known as the Sandbar Fight (“Field Artillery”). Swords were rarely used in the war, and soon were replaced with handguns. The main purpose of swords was for ceremonies and to show