Weapons In The Civil War Essay
One of the most important things the Civil War was known for was the advanced weaponry that was used during battles. The Union and Confederacy made many different types of weapons which helped them have an advantage against each other. A soldier from the South remembers, "I had shot one hundred and twenty times that day. My gun became so hot that frequently the powder would flash before I could ram home the ball, and I had frequently to exchange my gun for that of a dead comrade" ("Small Arms of the Civil"). Weapons played a major role in the battles of the Civil War. Due to more advanced weaponry, the Union won the Civil War. Industry played a large role in developing and distributing weapons to both the Confederacy and Union armies. Industry
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Cavalry is defined as "soldiers who fought on horseback" ("Dictionary"). Both armies looked for guns that would be easy to reload on horseback. The reason soldiers would not use infantry weapons is because it was awkward to use a long barrel, it was also difficult to reload bullets through the muzzle of the gun. Even though soldiers usually did not use infantry weapons, Confederate soldiers used sawed off shotguns and hunting rifles, which decreased the accuracy of each shot. A newer revolver known as the Lefauchaux was used by several Federal generals as well as Confederate generals. Many soldiers used a new percussion revolver that had 5-6 chambers for bullets. The revolvers used rotating cylinders to allow multiple shots without reloading. Though it was a great weapon for cavalry, it had very poor sights so soldiers could not hit people beyond "50 paces". Other than using percussion revolvers as well as regular revolvers, both armies used a single-shot barreled weapon called a carbine. The carbines that the Union and Confederacy used were several inches shorter than rifle muskets that infantry used. However due to the shorter barrel, it had a shorter range. Another Confederate revolver known as the LeMat had 9 pistol chambers and was considered to be easy to carry and load. However, it did not have as much power as similar guns, which made it less effective. Confederate
Cavalry is defined as "soldiers who fought on horseback" ("Dictionary"). Both armies looked for guns that would be easy to reload on horseback. The reason soldiers would not use infantry weapons is because it was awkward to use a long barrel, it was also difficult to reload bullets through the muzzle of the gun. Even though soldiers usually did not use infantry weapons, Confederate soldiers used sawed off shotguns and hunting rifles, which decreased the accuracy of each shot. A newer revolver known as the Lefauchaux was used by several Federal generals as well as Confederate generals. Many soldiers used a new percussion revolver that had 5-6 chambers for bullets. The revolvers used rotating cylinders to allow multiple shots without reloading. Though it was a great weapon for cavalry, it had very poor sights so soldiers could not hit people beyond "50 paces". Other than using percussion revolvers as well as regular revolvers, both armies used a single-shot barreled weapon called a carbine. The carbines that the Union and Confederacy used were several inches shorter than rifle muskets that infantry used. However due to the shorter barrel, it had a shorter range. Another Confederate revolver known as the LeMat had 9 pistol chambers and was considered to be easy to carry and load. However, it did not have as much power as similar guns, which made it less effective. Confederate