T ECHNOLOGY OF THE C IVIL W AR

F IRST M ODERN W AR Huge armies that required vast quantities of supplies & equipment 1 st war to feature Industrialized weapons Artillery Rifles Communication devices Railroads Problem  Generals were educated in “Napoleonic War” March troops in tight columns & exchange volleys of musket fire Muskets= accurate only at close range

R ESULTS OF M ODERN W AR NEW WEAPONS + OLD TACTICS = HORRENDOUS CASUALTIES

T HE M INI É B ALL Invented by Frenchman Claude Mini é Cone-shaped bullet Allowed for easier reload of a rifle No ramrods needed Proved way more accurate than musket ball Much deadlier- accounted for 90% of battlefield casualties in war Forced infantries to change the way they fought Built trenches and other fortifications for protection

“R EPEATERS ” Repeating rifles  could fire multiple bullets before reloading Most famous: Spencer Carbine 7 shots in 30 seconds Available ONLY to the North Southern industry did not have the equipment or “know-how” to produce such guns Gave North tremendous advantage

N APOLEON F IELD G UN Most common artillery cannon used during the war Named after French Emperor Louis Napoleon who financed its development 1 st commissioned by US in 1857 “12 Pounder”  fired 12-pound projectiles (cannon balls) 1,440 feet per second Pro  Very accurate from close range Proved to be most safe and reliable of all artillery guns Con  had a shorter range than most artillery guns

I RONCLADS Steam propelled warships protected by iron or steel plates Developed for protection of ships from cannon shells CSS Virginia (Merrimac) vs. USS Monitor 1 st battle between ironclads in naval history No winner- they just kept ramming each other Battle of Hampton Roads (VA) Virginia sank 2 Union ships as it tried to break thru blockade Monitor prevented Virginia from breaking the blockade Proved that the wooden warships were out of date & no longer effective in naval warfare

T HE T ELEGRAPH Enabled near-instant communication between commanders at different locations Lincoln lead real-time strategy meetings and delivered direct orders to his Generals US Military Telegraph Corps is founded Strung 4,000 miles of wire by 1862 Enabled Union to send over a million messages during the war Confederacy did not have industrial capability to conduct such large scale communication

T HE R AILROAD Union= 22,000 miles of “standard-gauge” tracks Any train car could ride on its rails Easier/faster transportation of supplies and troops to areas in need Gov’t also controlled almost all track and locomotive factories Confederacy= 9,000 miles of non-standardized tracks People and goods frequently had to switch cars as they traveled Very expensive and inefficient Took much longer to re-supply armies

T HE G ATLING G UN Patented by Dr. Richard J. Gatling in 1862 Early predecessor of the machine gun Hand crank would rotate the multiple barrels and fire 200 rounds per minute Prone to jamming and overheating Marginally used by Union during the war