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New Technology In The American Civil War

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The American civil war was one of the biggest wars of its time and the bloodiest in the history of the country. The American civil war is also considered by many to be the first modern war. Modern warfare as combines many aspects that in the past weren’t used at all or were scarcely used. Some of the aspects of modern war are use of new technologies, the civilians who affected the war, the people who were affected by the war and the use of factories to mass produce weapons. There were many new technologies that were used to gain advantages in the war. Not all of these were weapons that directly killed the enemy combatants but all would affect the outcome of the war. The rail road’s had recently been constructed and were ready to transport …show more content…

Another technological innovation that would change the war was the use of iron ships rather than wooden ones. This would change naval warfare forever. Iron ships were a lot stronger and a lot more durable. The naval aspect of the war would really come into play later when the union was able to keep naval control off the coast of confederacy. The blockade set up would limit the confederacy’s ability to trade with foreign countries. Trade was essential to the confederacy as they had less factories and less people to work in those factories making them less effective. The telegraph was another new invention that would help war efforts. Communication between the frontlines and home bases would be vital in commanding armies. Commanders could report everything from the …show more content…

There was a “…a vast propaganda effort to mobilize public opinion” (give me liberty by Eric Foner page 506). Civilians at their homes tried to help rally the troops to fight the enemy and tried to help make a reason for people to fight. Civilians also played a significant role in the psychological war. General Sherman led an army to Virginia to fight General Lee. As they made their way through the southern lands General Sherman told his troops to burn plantations, kill livestock, pillage houses, rape women, and kill civilians. He told them to do this in an effort to intimidate the enemy. In this instance general Sherman was practicing early forms of psychological warfare (week five lecture video). While at war the men could not finance themselves and they could not farm the food necessary to keep the war drive. The troops would need the mass support from the people who didn’t go to war. The involvement of civilians in war would become one of the defining features of modern

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Some of the technological inventions that impacted the civil war were things such as the repeating rifle a.k.a the Spencer repeating rifle, the ironclad, and the Gatling gun. The Spencer repeating rifle was used during the American civil war but didn’t replace the standard muzzle-loading rifled muskets in use at that time. However, these weapons could fire more than one bullet before needing to reload. That made these guns were more efficient and dangerous. Like many other Civil War technologies, these weapons were available to Northern troops but not Southern ones because southern factories had neither the equipment nor the know-how to produce them which shows just how vital these technological advances were in winning the war.

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As soon as the Civil War started, injuries increased and diseases spread at a rapid pace. Sickness spread to millions. In fact, disease caused 65% of deaths, while war injuries caused up to 100% (“Disease”). Abundant amounts of medical issues caused medical procedures to evolve at a rapid speed. The medical advancements during the Civil War led to future medical technologies and procedures.

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1094 Words | 5 Pages

Advancements in Weaponry Throughout America’s history of war, weaponry has played a major factor in conflict. Weapons were improved for the benefit of the American soldiers. Since American war instruments have been improved in technology, the U.S was able to exceed over their opponents in war from the Colonial Era to the Antebellum Era. The usage of improved weaponry was a major advantage for the United States.

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Many military strategies of the Civil War Many military strategies of the Civil War which made it the deadliest of all American wars. During the Civil War many strategies were used by the South and North, to fight hard but the hardest will win. There are many battles, many weapons were used, along with spies and navies. There were many battles, navies were important, spies were used in the war, very much, along with many weapons, and the South won the war. There were many major battles of the Civil War, the first one was Fort Sumter, others were the First Battle of Bull Run, Shiloh, Seven days battle, Fredericksburg, Vicksburg, and Gettysburg ("Civil War Battles”).

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In 1861, the country of the United States was in a war with their own country. The war was about blacks being slaves and how they should be treated equally as whites are. The civil war had killed more people than any other war in the history of our world. If you add up the fatalities from the last 4 wars the United states had been apart of, the fatalities were still not as bad as they were in the civil war and that was for one reason. The war had introduced many new types of technology such as, the war submarine, the repeating rifle, the refrigerated train car and many others.

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571 Words | 3 Pages

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

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972 Words | 4 Pages

Source #7: (McNamara) Source #8 (Hochfelder). How Technology Changed the Civil War William VanderLoop During the Civil War, thousands of miles of railroad tracks were laid out, and millions of messages were sent by telegraph. Throughout the Civil War, many different weapons and tactics were used.

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As a result, the economy overall became stronger, and they made a large profit. Railroads were the very first pieces of technology to have a major impact on the American economy ("Railroads in the Civil War" 42). Rails transported an unheard of amount of troops and supplies while also introducing the first ironclad railcars, which could carry lots of artillery and massive weapons. As a result, even current militaries in the United States use these types of railcars. If it weren't for the Secretary of War Stanton and his idea of railroads, the Union would have had a slimmer chance of succeeding in their final victory.

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The Civil War was known as the “modern war” because of the many technological advancements that were made during that time. Most of us are aware of the weapon improvements that were made like the rifle. It allowed for long-range fire and was much more accurate than the muskets that were used before. This was because of the new bullet design, minie ball, that caused it to exit spinning at a high velocity while carrying bacteria that would cause infection inside a solider when shot. Torpedo’s or landmines were also another innovative weapon produced during the Civil War.

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Cotton could not be picked and made into clothing, crops could not be grown or collected for meals, and the general income of slaveholders would disappear. The North, however, would manage these duties without slaves and in fact, they became more technologically advanced than the South. The South had very little railroads and banks. The North utilized farmers and offered jobs to others to complete the work that slaves used to do. The advance that the North had mechanically would be a great advantage to them as the war began because they were more equipped with weapons, easy transportation services, and general machinery.

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1415 Words | 6 Pages

Taken as a percentage of today's population, the death toll would have be equal to six-million ("Civil War Casualties"). The Civil War is known as “The First Modern War” being the first war fought after the Industrial Revolution. The war saw newer, faster weapons including the rifle, minie ball, and other such improvements.

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The Civil War changed the way that many of the people in this country view race. The war also vastly affected the government and the unity of the United States. This would ultimately be the largest and most expensive, monetary wise and mortality wise, war that the United States had ever seen. The United States would be changed forever because of this new war of age old issues.

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Although the American Civil War is normally seen as something that threatened to tear our great country apart, their are many great inventions and innovations that resulted from this time. Some of these advancements include railroads, the telegraph, long-range weapons, and the ancestor of all machine guns, the gatling gun. Many of these inventions went on to play a huge role in how the civil war played out. While others, such as the cotton gin, had minimal effect on the war, but a direct effect on both the men in service, and the people back home. Early war technology was seen as very dull, and ineffective.

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1078 Words | 5 Pages

The Civil War is one of the most well-known wars in American history, and there has been some controversy among historians regarding certain aspects as well, including whether the Civil War was a total war. When looking at how all of the events played out in the Civil War, it was not a total war but looked as though it was because it represented a shift toward more modern war tactics and weapons for the United States. The more modern weapons led to more destruction in America, while the fighting led to more modern war tactics being implemented. Additionally, there were never proper moves toward totality on the American government’s side. One reason the Civil War seemed to be a total war was the use of more modern weapons.

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The American Civil War produced a unique period of opportunity for Northern businessmen during the war. The length of the struggle and the 2 million men that the North put into the field created a huge demand for small arms during the war. During this time businessmen scrambled to obtain arms from Europe, acquire domestic supplies of weapons, create factories to produce weapons and develop new small arms. The ability of the federal government to provide these weapons is one of the most important events of the war. Without these weapons the war may have lasted longer ended in Confederate victory.

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