Battle Techniques Used During The Civil War

The Civil War is often referred to as the first modern war because of the new weapons, battle techniques and inventions.

Before the Civil War, infantry soldiers typically carried muskets that held just one bullet at a time. The range of these muskets was about 250 yards. However, a soldier trying to aim and shoot with any accuracy would have to stand much closer to his target, since the weapon’s “effective range” was only about 80 yards. Therefore, armies typically fought battles at a relatively close range.

During the Civil War, many inventors and military men devised new types of weapons, such as the repeating rifle and the submarine, which forever changed the way wars were fought. Even more important were the technologies that did not specifically have to do with the war, like the railroad and the telegraph. Innovations like these did not

This was inefficient and dangerous. By 1863, however, there was another option called repeating rifles, or weapons that could fire more than one bullet before needing a reload. The most famous of these guns, the Spencer carbine, could fire seven shots in 30 seconds.

It was not only the weapons that classified the Civil War as the first modern war. It was also the battle techniques. They marched their men out in tightly closed formations; often with soldiers were elbow-to-elbow in double-rank battle lines, usually in brigade or division strength. This large mass presented an easy target for defenders, who could easily fire several volleys before his enemy would be close enough for hand-to-hand combat. This idea was to close on the enemy's position with this mass of soldiers and charge them with the bayonet, convincing the enemy to leave their position or be killed.

Inventions such as the telegraph and the railroad are only two of the major inventions that help the Civil War classify as the first modern