Battle Field Technology of the Early 1800’s United States of America By Ben Bejune

How did the navy fight and what weapons did they use in the early 1800’s? In naval warfare ships shot at each other. They used different types of cannons to sink the enemy ship. Guns were classified by the weight of the cannon ball. There were 22 and 32 pound guns. Most ships carried 44 guns. Ships of this era were powered by wind power, they used sails. Most ships were made from wood. They cannons shot single cannon balls and they shot grape shot. Grape shot is a shell that holds a number of smaller cannon balls. Grape shot was used in chase guns. Chase guns were intended to take down the other ships sails

Famous Battle Ships of the early 1800’s The most famous battle ship in the 1800’s was the U.S.S Constitution. Its nicknamed Old Iron sides. It got that name because the British were fighting it and they claimed it was made of iron because cannon balls could not penetrate the hull. It’s hull was very strong because it had oak sides. Old Iron sides would carry over 50 guns at a time. It sits in the Boston harbor in Massachusetts. It is the oldest commissioned ship in the united states navy.

What fighting techniques were used to fight in the early 1800’s? Armies fought in rank’s so they could shoot and then re-load. They would shoot volleys of shots so that they could kill more people. A volley is many rifles fired at the same time at a 45 degree angle. Volleys were useful because a musket was a very inaccurate weapon.

How did armies train for battle in the early 1800’s? Most of the United States army did not go to train they either were veterans of other wars of they knew how to shoot and use a rifle or musket. The only training that was conducted was how to march in a formation.

Focus question 4 What technology was used by the military in the early 1800’s? The most advanced weapons of the 1800’s were artillery. Artillery included cannons Cannons were used as an offensive and defensive weapon. They could be used to defend a fort or to attack an on coming army.

Infantry Equipment of the 1800’s Most Army's used mini ball rifles. They use a capsule the has a hole in the back. The mini ball spins in the barrel so that it is more accurate. Most rifles used a mini ball. A mini ball is loaded from the muzzle of the gun. Most rifles had bayonets on them. The most famous bayonet is the 3 sided bayonet. When some one was stabbed it would leave a 3 sided hole that would cause the victim to bleed to death.

How did muskets work in the early 1800’s? A musket would be loaded in the following way: The soldier would take out a cartridge. The cartridge had a lead ball wrapped in a paper cartridge which also held the gunpowder. The bullet was separated from the powder charge by a twist in the paper. The soldier then bit off the top of the paper, with the bullet, and held the bullet in his teeth or mouth. The soldier then pulls the hammer back to half-cock, flips the frizzen up, and pours a small pinch of the powder from the cartridge into the priming pan. The butt of the musket is dropped to the ground and the soldier then pours the rest of the powder into the barrel. Finally, the butt is brought back up and the soldier will pull the cock back and the musket is ready to fire.

Resources I used the fallowing website’s and books to conduct my research… http://images.google.com/imgres? http://www.warof1812.ca/ucmilitiaarms.htm http://www.warof1812.ca/ yDcvSvwgDM:&tbnh=99&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcivil%2Bwar%2Bguns%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1 imgurl=http://www.kidport.com/reflib/UsaHistory/CivilWar/Images/Rifles.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.kidport.com/reflib/UsaHistory/CivilWar/Weapons.htm&usg=__Nxytti5pcBI9nwKehpcVih9jGFU=&h=320&w=400&sz=36&hl=en&start=12&um=1&tbnid=YhU- I used the book Civil War from DK books by John Stanchak I also used http://military.discovery.com/ to conduct some of my research.