Photography In The Civil War Essay

The weapons and technologies of the civil war played a huge part on how the war was fought. Different types of bullets, guns, cannons, and new technologies like morse code definitely affected the war and changed the strategies different sides would use as time went on. Even small newfound inventions such as photography had an impact on the war, and especially helped us to better understand what the Civil War was really like.

One of the biggest types of weapons used in the civil war was the rifle musket. The rifle musket was better than the rifle, because the rifle (also a very common weapon) had a slower rate of fire and was less accurate than the rifle musket. “This very important piece of technology accounted to about 90% of all deaths in the Civil War” (civil war academy, p. 1). Soldiers preferred the rifle musket over just the plain rifle because they could get off more shots in a quicker time than the rifle. However, the Spencer Carbine was later brought into play many months into the war. This was a very special invention because “unlike any other rifles before it, the Spencer Carbine could
Without photography, we would have a very inaccurate view on the Civil War. Photography had been invented and even used in earlier conflicts, but it came into Prominence during the Civil War. The Civil War was considered “the first war to be extensively photographed” (Civil War Trust, p. 1) and photographers used photography to provide pictures to those (women and children) who probably wouldn't have experienced any of the battles or known what it was like. Being a photographer back in the Civil War was a lot less dangerous than it would be (and is) today. Since the soldier's’ main focus was killing each other, and winning the battle, photographers weren't in harm’s way and could come pretty close to the actual gunfights without being in danger. This allowed for more accurate photographs and