Why Are Guns Used In The Civil War

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The Civil War was a time of death in which in the North and South fought against each other. Through the years more weapons were brought to action. The origins of the weapons varied and were used by either the Union Army or Confederate Army. Depending of the effectiveness of the weapons their role differed. The types of guns used had a major impact on the outcome of the war. Many of the guns used in the Civil War were more of a new addition to the military world. The origins of the various guns used, whether the guns were used by the Union Army or the Confederate Army, and their effectiveness on the battlefield demonstrated the role that guns had in the Civil War. Some of the guns in the Civil War were a new addition to history by not being used before. The different alterations and developments of guns, greatly impacted the war. They were used to keep a longer distance from the enemy. There were several kinds of guns used by both sides of the war. The severity of damage would differ depending …show more content…

Not only was introduced during the war, it was also the beginning of the era of the machine guns. This automatic machine gun was first designed in 1861 and tested on July 1862. Its creator was Richard Gatling. This machine gun had to be operated by two men. One would move the pulley so the machine can open fire and the other would hold the barrel that goes on the top. Each one consisted of 6 to 10 rotating gun barrels, turned by a hand crank. This new product got the attention of General Horatio Wright. When seeing it he said “I have examined…the invention known as the ‘Gatling gun’ and it seems to me to possess much merit.” . During the war, the machine gun itself was not approved up to 1866 but General Benjamin F. Butler purchased twelve guns at one thousand dollars. Two of these were used at Petersburg in 1864 to defend against the attacks from the