How Did Military Advances Affect The Civil War

Early bullets were designed to be placed in this new loading system. The classic way of having the powder and pellets separate was too slow and messy. This early design of the bullet is very similar to the simple modern one. It had a metal casing with powder placed behind the pellets or in some cases one large pellet (Hogg 54). With these being loaded from the side on the new rifles they were capable of firing a shot much faster then the gun of a hundred years earlier. Even though the gun had become more powerful the Civil War was still a political war.

Few weapons were used only in the Union, as many were used by both or both tried their hand at them. One popular Union weapon was the Hale patent rocket launcher. The hale patent rocket launcher was a large metal tube

The Union army, unlike the Confederates, had multiple companies that provided simple, yet devastating weapons. One of these weapons was the .52 caliber breech-loading Billinghurst-Requa battery; it was produced only 50 times. This weapon consisted of 25 rifled barrels side by side that, when primed, were set off by a lanyard to inflict massive damage over a small range of territory.7

The most important technological advance was the change from the highly used musket ball to the Minie ball. The Minie ball was a cone shaped bullet looking ammunition. Made by Claude Minie in 1846 made the Minie Ball and changed the ammunition that soldiers used in war. The original musket ball was very inaccurate and usually bounced around inside the

The Union soldiers were more likely to carry the U.S. Model 1861 Springfield Rifle-Musket than any other weapon. These guns were not the easiest or most convenient weapons even if they were the most common. The Model 1861 was a .58 caliber gun, was 58.5 inches long, and weighed in at a heavy 9.25 pounds. This rifle was nicknamed "The Widow Maker." This nickname was made with great thanks to the minie` bullet which was an integral part of this rifle-musket. The combination of the rifle-musket and the minie` bullet forever changed the face of warfare; thus because for the first time ever, men could aim at a distant target, and have a decent chance of hitting it. This luxury allowed the gun-bearers to hide in a safe place, yet still be able to knock down their target. Colonel George Hanger, an American Revolution officer, wrote in 1814:

The Civil War was the bloodiest war in American history. America was split into two sides that had strengths and weaknesses against each other. It seemed they were the complete opposite. The North had more factories and railroads, while the South had more farms. Politics had a strong part to play too. The North had a better government, while the South struggled to form one. Finally, the North had a larger army throughout the war.

The lack of emphasis on manufacturing and commercial interest, stemming from the Southern desire to preserve their traditional agricultural society, disadvantaging themselves to the North and their ability to function independently. It was neither Northern troops nor generals that won the Civil War, rather Northern guns and industry. Northern states produced 97% of firearms in the US which allowed war materials to be much more accessible and productive to produce as the North already had these large factory’s, which is

The Mine’ bullets were bullets that both the North and the South had carried with them. The bullets were cone shaped like the bullets we have today. In the South, they had the best trained officers since there were seven of the eight military colleges at the time. This also allowed them to have the best trained military and officer. Since the war for the South was a defensive effort, the North did not know what they were getting into. The South only had to do so much damage to the North and because of this they lost their moral to fight the war. The military of the South was vicious. The South had more and better leaders. While having a broader base of recruits. They did not have as many people than the North. And the South’s technology was no match for the North’s (“Strengths

One of the main differences of the economy were the railroads. The North had more railroads than the South because they used the railroads to transport medicines,soldiers,clothes,utilities,weapons, and foods during the war. In Document 1, the top map shows how the north had railroads going from different states and extending more. While, the South had a few railroads. In Document 2, the North’s railroad mileage was better since they did rely mostly on public transportation than the south did. Another difference was that the North was based on industrialization while the South was based on agriculture. In Document 1, the map on the bottom shows that the south’s main production was cotton. In Document 2, the graphs show that the North had 73% more population than the South who only had 27% of the population. The south had 88% more of slaves while the North had only had 12% of slaves. The North 1,300,000 industrial workers while the south only had 110.00 industrial workers. The North’s value of manufacturing goods yearly was over the south’s yearly value. The south instead relied on produce such as cotton while the north did not. Both used corn but the north produced it more than the south. These events caused the civil war to start because both had different economic

Firstly, the North had won the civil war because the North had the advantage of better resources. These resources would allow the Union to make money that could be used to better everything they needed in the war. This seriously impacted

During the Civil War, great advancements in technology and weaponry were happening. Both the Union and Confederate side of the war used what were considered typical weapons. For example, they both used knives, swords, pistols, rifles, and muskets. Artillery such as cannons were also very popular. Though all these weapons were used in wars before the Civil war, such as the Mexican War, advancements were made to better the pre-existing weapons. Better bullets were made for rifles. Rifle barrels were advanced to make them more precise and shoot farther distances. Advancements were also made in the naval department. Before the Civil war, battleships were made out of wood, but around the civil war, iron started to be added to battleships. This newly

     Riffles were another major contribution to the war, as far as weapons were concerned. The union forces had One of the most popular riffles was the Model 1861 Springfield Musket. The Springfield Musket weighed 9.25 pounds, had a twenty-one inch socket bayonet, and fired a .58 caliber mine ball traveling 950 feet per second. Riffled Muskets, which were also known as Enfields, were the second most popular riffles in the war. These Enfields, had a bore diameter of .557 inches, and weighed nine pounds three ounces. They were accurate at 800 yards, and could travel up to 1,100 yards without any difficulty. During the course of the war, 400,000 Enfields were sold to the Union troops, whereas a mere 20,000 were purchased by the confederate army. Although this weapons wasn’t as popular as the Springfield, the Enfield still packed a powerful punch at 1,100 yards (Ripley 43).

Around noon, Union and Confederate cavalry troops battled three miles east of Gettysburg but Stuart was eventually repulsed by cannon fire led in part by Gen. George Custer and the Union Cavalry. The diversion attempt failed. Back at the main battle site, just after 1 p.m. about 170 Confederate cannons opened fire on the Union position on Cemetery Ridge to pave the way for the Rebel Charge. This was the heaviest artillery barrage of the war. The Federals returned heavy cannon fire and soon the battlefield was covered in smoke and dust. Around 2:30 p.m. the Federals slowed their rate of fire, then stopped firing, to conserve ammunition and to fool the Rebels into thinking the cannons were knocked out-and that's exactly what the Rebels thought too. But as the Rebels got within range, Federal cannons opened fire using grapeshot which is a shell containing iron balls that flew apart when fired, and they also used deadly waves of rifle fire. Soon the Rebel army was torn apart but they still moved forward. Pickett’s charge was almost more after the once majestic army of 13,000 had its numbers of troops dwindle.. The Rebels still move forward, shooting then charging with bayonets. The battle lasted for about an hour mostly of hand-to-hand combat. Finally what was left of Pickett’s charge (5,500) retreated. Lee admitted this was his mistake and the tide of war now turned in the North’s favor. The Union lost (either dead, wounded, or missing) about 23,000, and the Confederates lost about

After the first battle of the Civil War the Upper states in the South also seceded. Abraham Lincoln was able to persuade Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri to stay in the Union. By doing this Lincoln gained access to the river systems in Kentucky and Missouri that led into the heart of the South. This control effected the 1862 invasions of the south, which provided the North with most of its early military successes. The Civil War was total trench warfare. Technology was the main event that influenced total trench warfare. Technology led to ideas such as strategy, weapons, and transportation. It wasn't until 1865 the Civil War ended with the surrender of the South's army. The Civil War was an event that impacted the United States greatly economically, politically and socially. This impact called for great reconstruction after the Civil War.

In the Civil War the North had many advantages over the South. The South was outnumbered, out supplied, and pushed into a corner using military tactics. Many things changed because of the Civil War. The military tactics used by the North changed how war was fought from then on. Many changes were made politically; some were only temporary, while others were permanent. After the war was over, the country was reunited and the image of the soul and duty of our country redefined.