The Gatling Gun: Weapons Used During The Civil War
Throughout the countless years between the American Revolutionary War and the American Civil War, weapons have developed from the primitive muskets used. A few of these weapons include Colt Revolvers, Springfield Rifles, Spencer Repeating Rifles, Confederate Breechloaders, Billinghurst-Requa Battery Gun, and the Gatling Gun. Although not used often during the Civil War, when it was introduced, the Gatling Gun was the one of the more influential weapons created during the Revolutionary War-Civil War period. The Gatling Gun marked the beginning of the era of machine guns. Before the Gatling Gun was created, the Colt Revolvers and Springfield Rifles were the most preferred and most popular firearms used during the Civil War. Muskets were also
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Gatling. This man was in no way considered a novice inventor. He had started very young, which resulted in him becoming independently wealthy by 1861. As a boy, he had attempted to perfect the invention of a cotton seed planter and a machine for thinning young cotton plants. By the time he was twenty, he went into business for himself. His first ever solo invention was a propulsions screw for steam powered ships. Unfortunately an almost identical design had been patented just a few short months earlier. He would later go on to invent a wheat planting drill in 1839, a double-action hemp break in 1850, a steam tractor in 1857, a steam powered ram and a new gunmetal alloy during the war years, and a motorized tractor many years later. Also during the war years, he obviously invented the Gatling Gun. His inspiration for building this gun may seem a little backwards to most people. His large motivation was humanitarian concerns. Gatling had claimed that the Gatling Gun would help to end the war or too costly. Once again, reasoning may make no sense to you. He had felt the gruesome killing machine would deter people from entering war as well as making it less appealing. The Union, however, had decided to investigate, believing that he was a supporter of the Confederacy. This was true since he was part of the Order of American Knights, which was a secret group of Confederate sympathizers and saboteurs. He sympathies, however, during the Civil War were neatly divided. The investigation did not lead to
Gatling. This man was in no way considered a novice inventor. He had started very young, which resulted in him becoming independently wealthy by 1861. As a boy, he had attempted to perfect the invention of a cotton seed planter and a machine for thinning young cotton plants. By the time he was twenty, he went into business for himself. His first ever solo invention was a propulsions screw for steam powered ships. Unfortunately an almost identical design had been patented just a few short months earlier. He would later go on to invent a wheat planting drill in 1839, a double-action hemp break in 1850, a steam tractor in 1857, a steam powered ram and a new gunmetal alloy during the war years, and a motorized tractor many years later. Also during the war years, he obviously invented the Gatling Gun. His inspiration for building this gun may seem a little backwards to most people. His large motivation was humanitarian concerns. Gatling had claimed that the Gatling Gun would help to end the war or too costly. Once again, reasoning may make no sense to you. He had felt the gruesome killing machine would deter people from entering war as well as making it less appealing. The Union, however, had decided to investigate, believing that he was a supporter of the Confederacy. This was true since he was part of the Order of American Knights, which was a secret group of Confederate sympathizers and saboteurs. He sympathies, however, during the Civil War were neatly divided. The investigation did not lead to