Military Inventions During The Civil War

The American Civil War started in 1861 and ended in 1865. The two sides of the war are the Union (North) and Confederacy (South). The South wanted to keep slavery to maintain their economy and they worried that the North would end slavery. The South then seceded, starting the conflict. Around 620,000 people died in the war. Both sides of the war had advantages and disadvantages in the Civil War. Population in the South was small because it was based around farming communities, putting them at a disadvantage because they had fewer people to make up their army. On the other hand, they had great generals and a lot of morale. Meanwhile, the North’s large

The civil war was known as the bloodiest war in the history of the United States and it was fought over 10,000 places. And more than two percent of the population died during the war, and more people died during the civil war than in all wars put together. Twice as many soldiers died during the war than in combat and it was marked improvement compared to the Mexican war that was from 1846 to 1848 where there were 7 to 10 deaths from diseases for every death in the battle and it wasn’t until World War II that weapons killed more Americans than diseases. And this was because a lot of soldiers died from either injuries from the battlefield or

The Civil War was not “Civil”, it was one if the worst wars in history. The United States of America suffered so many deaths. The Civil War happened from April of 1861 to April of 1865, about 620,000 people died during the Civil War. With the growth of the Industrial revolution, also came new technology, this new technology increased transportation, communication, and weaponry, which eventually helped the Union win the war.

A Rifle could shoot a bullet up to 1,000 yards–and were more accurate. However, until the 1850s it was nearly impossible to use these guns in battle because, since a rifle’s bullet had roughly the same diameter as its barrel, they took too long to load. (Soldiers sometimes had to pound the bullet into the barrel with a mallet.)

The Civil War was an important event not only in America's history but also for the World. At the time, America was the foremost runner in the industrialization and one of the biggest providers for raw resources such as cotton from the South; who provided 1/4 of the world's' cotton at the time. Even though the Civil War is the bloodiest war in America's history with 750,000 casualties; it was also a huge catalyst that pushed technology faster and further than ever before. The Civil War gave birth to inventions such as the Ironclad ships, submarines and repeating rifles, that changed military tactics and strategies. But it also gave way to technology like the telegraph and photography, which later on help connect people together in a way like

The civil war developed many inventions. Telegraphs, weapons and ships, the gatling gun, and the ambulance corps. The gatling gun itself killed thousands of men while these bullets shot more than 600 rounds per minute, this gun was a killer. Without The civil war america would be technologically behind other countries.

Calcium floodlights were mainly used by the Union soldiers as made it easy to see and they soldiers were able to blind Confederate soldiers (8 Unusual Civil War Weapons"). One of the more creative weapons was a blanket used by Confederate soldiers (8 Unusual Civil War Weapons"). As strange as this sounds, the Confederate soldiers used the blanket to catch explosives and throw it back in the enemy's direction. My personal favorite weapon used was a hot air balloon. It was shocking when it say that hot air balloons were used to give a large view of the battlefield. (Appendix A) This was more commonly a Union weapon as the Confederacy lacked good, quality materials to build a durable balloon (“8 Unusual Civil War Weapons"). Like the machine guns and swords, rockets were actually used in the Civil War (“8 Unusual Civil War Weapons"). Although there were very few appearances from rockets, they still did help play a part by doing their job! The Confederacy used Congreve rockets as well (“Weapons”). They were around three feet and two inches long and filled with gunpowder. Although they could be powerful, they missed quite often and were pretty useless (“Weapons”). Used by both the Confederacy and the Union, underwater mines were useful to blow up the opponent's ship. Although the Union tried the underwater mines, the Confederacy had more success as they blew up dozens of the Union’s ships while the Union blew up only six Confederate ships (“8 Unusual Civil War

The civil war had many new technologies arise that made it unique compared to the wars of the past. One of these technological improvements was the introduction of the Ironclad warship. This technology was introduced during the showdown between the Monitor and the Merrimac . These two Ironclad warships fought to a stalemate , but this struggle forever changed how ships would be designed. Another technology that had not existed in previous wars in american history was the reconnaissance balloon it allowed the union to gather information and send it through telegraph to the various commanders. The civil war brought the first submarine, The CSS Hunley. The Hunley successfully sank the Union ship Housatonic, but unfortunately the Hunley itself was damaged. The submarine would eventually prove to be important for all armies in the wars to come.

Technology has not only significantly improved daily life, but it has also changed warfare. In the 1860’s, controversies of the practice of slavery, westward expansion, and political authorities caused high tensions between the Northern Union and the Southern Confederacy. As the tensions built up, the Civil War began on April 12th, 1861 after the secession of the Southern states. Determining the independence of the Confederacy and the fate of the Union, the Civil War was a period of major technological transformation. In 1865, the Union officially won the Civil War with advantages such as industrialization, a larger population, and most importantly, technological innovations. Advancement in technology, such as the telegraph, railroads, and rifles, effectively changed the Northern military strategies by establishing a rapid network of communication, providing an efficient and safe system of transportation, and improving the performance of the weapons.

Following the Civil War, a second industrial revolution in America brought many changes to the nation’s agriculture sector. The new technologies that were created transformed how farmers worked and the way in which the sector functioned. Agriculture expanded and became more industrial. Meanwhile government policies, or lack of them for a while, and hard economic conditions put difficult strains on farmers and their occupation. These changes in technology, economic conditions, and government policy from 1865 to 1900 transformed and improved agriculture while leaving farmers in hardship.

The Civil War, also called The War Between the States, was one of the bloodiest wars in American history. What made the Civil War such a massacre? The Civil War was such a bloodbath because the technological advances were so far superior to the tactics of the infantry, that the weapons virtually obliterated the soldiers. Soldiers would form lines known as a battalions. In these battalions, soldiers would basically march to their deaths. In addition to weapons doing so much damage, fortification on the battlefield was far more advanced than had ever been before. The Cheveau-de-frise was the main focus of armored fortification in the Civil War. This fortification consisted of 10 to 12 foot

Railroads are a form of transportation which isn’t used as much anymore, but in the Civil War, it was a very important way of transportation. The transcontinental railroad was invented around the Civil War and was a faster way to transport goods, troops, and people. The Civil War was also the first war in US history to use railroads because they were important in moving troops and goods faster. “The Civil War was the first war to use railroads, encouraged by President Lincoln — himself a former railroad lawyer — who understood how vital they were for moving men and supplies” (http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/civil-war-innovations/). The North also had an advantage as far as trains came with 20,000 miles of track compared to the south’s 9,000. The north also had their own locomotive

Amongst the most lasting of factors stemming from the Civil War are the weapons that were developed. Before the Civil War, the weapons used were highly unreliable, and were not advanced enough to provide the needed defense for a young nation such as our own. Innovative minds created many interesting ways to demolish their enemies without ever having to fire a shot or go into full combat through different types of bombs that were in disguise. Among the advancements in the Civil War were the torpedo, the carbine rifle, the minie` ball, several models of rifle-muskets, rocket launchers, rocket bombs, "Greek Fire," and a wide array of other secret weapons.

The Civil War was a very gruesome war. The war had become the Union (North) and the Confederacy (South). During the war the union and confederacy had many weaknesses and strengths. Some of them are technology, army/military and government.

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.