Civil War Technology
The Civil War by Union and Confedarate soldiers took place during the years 1861–1865. During the war, a variety of weapons were used on both sides. These weapons include edged weapons such as knives and swords, firearms such as,rifled-muskets, breech loaders and repeating weapons, various field guns such as artillery, and new weapons such as the early grenade and machine gun.
Melee weapons
There were may weapons used in the civil war most commonly used were knives, axes, swords, Bayonets, and pikes. This was the last formal war that the united states has been in were an army used close combat, melee weaponry.
Ranged Weapons
There were many ranged weaponsused during the civil war with the most common being the musket. During the civil war the musket was the most common weapon seen in the war zone. Most rifles were muzzle loaded rifle's, whick used musket balls or minnie ball. Many muskets were switched during the war to smooth bare rifles which loaded faster than the once common musket.
Artillery
One of the key success' to the civil war was artillery. Artillery was used in the form of cannons and mortars. The artillery used could effectively take out large groups of soldiers in one blast. Cannons typically shot out cannonballs laced with explosives for a large explosion. The mortar was even more dangerous in the fact that it was very close ranged, and could kill over 100 soldiers in one blast, also killing its own side in its explosion with the shrapnel.
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