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Technological Innovation In The Civil War Essay

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Although, some of the technology failed in its ineffectiveness, other technological innovations such as weaponry and communicative devices not only caused bloodier wars, but such innovative advancements have also influenced the results of the Civil War.
In order to understand the significance of technological innovation, one must know the different kinds of advanced technology such as the tools the people used for combat, communication, transportation, and survival. The Union and the Confederates used weaponry such as guns, rockets, grenades, and mines for better accuracy and efficient shooting. They also used warships and floodlights for sinking and searching other ships. Not only did the Union and Confederates use weaponry, but they also …show more content…

These weapons were mostly used by the Union due to the fact that they created many of the weapons such as the repeaters. The repeaters, repeating rifles made to shoot consecutively before reloading, were an efficient way to shoot quickly and effectively before the Confederates have time to reload. Before the Civil War, soldiers used muskets, which took a long time to load and are close-ranged. However, in the 1850s, rifled weapons including the rifled cannons were created and they played a role in the Civil War. These weapons were used for accuracy and distance to easily destroy the other opponents and win the war. By firing bigger and heavier cannons with the use of rifled cannons, forts are easily damaged and destroyed. Although the Union used most of the gun weaponry, the Confederates also used at least some form of gun weaponry. They used machine guns such as the Gatling gun, the Williams gun, and the Billinghurst-Requa Battery gun. Unfortunately, these guns shoot slower and were less efficient than those the Union used; therefore, they were used as a defense instead of an offense. Another gun that failed to be used as an offense was the Winans Steam gun. Dickinson planned to sell the gun to the Confederates, but it was taken by the Union. Luckily for the Confederates, the gun wasn’t used in combat due to the fact that the Winans Steam Gun wasn’t as …show more content…

Not only did the Union have advantage over advanced weapons, but also railroads. Because they own the majority of the railroad tracks, they were standardized which meant that it was able to switch train cars efficiently. It was an efficient and safe system in moving troops and supplies. On the other hand, the Confederates' tracks were not standardized. Therefore they had the disadvantage for transporting people and goods. The innovation of railroads caused mass development of communications by stimulating communication with other nations. Another form of transportation both sides used was a hot air balloon. For the Union, these hot air balloons were used for scouting at battles and provide updates on the troops through a telegraph line. While for the Confederates, they were not very successful in using these military balloons due to the lack of resources to construct these balloons and the capture of their one

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