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Civil War Weaponry

In: Historical Events

Submitted By lemons550
Words 528
Pages 3
Annotated bibliography
There were numerous advances in military technology during the Civil war. A significant amount of them had to do with military technology. Some of these were the rifled musket, the ironclad ships and the military tactics called Total War.
The rifled musket was one of the most significant advancements during the Civil War because of its design and also the new ammo it used called “Minie ball Bullets.” These bullets were not actually balls. During the civil war this was the first time the ammo in guns had switched from a ball to the more commonly known cone shape. The cone shape bullets are more aerodynamic and they can also penetrate more easily. Since these bullets were more aerodynamic they had a range of 500yds compared to revolutionary muskets, which had a range of 100yds and revolution cannons that only had a range of 400yds. These new rifles were able to engage artillery positions before artillery engaged the infantry. I plan on using this source in my essay because it helps prove the point that some of the weapons and concepts in the civil war have been applied to weaponry that are still used today. And I feel that I could use this article to help prove the point that the Civil War had a huge impact on wars to come.
Moorehead, Richard D. “Technology and the American Civil War” Government Industry May-June2004.Sept.26,2009 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0PBZ/is_2004_May-June/ai_n6123966/
Some people argue that the machine gun of 1914 was the best weapon ever created. This was a rapid-fire defensive weapon made by the French at the outbreak of World War 1. Many people are unaware of the origins of the machine gun. The predecessor of the machine gun was actually created during the civil war. It was called the Gatling gun. This gun was rapid-fire gun with 8 separate barrels. This invention was first purchased by the union army in 1865, but was not very popular. I would use this source in my paper by proving the point that most military ideas were thought of during the civil war but perfected later on.
Duffy, Michael. “Machine Gun” Weapons of the War August 22, 2009. September 26, 2009. http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/machineguns.htm

Another major development during the civil war was the development of the ironclad ships. The original ironclad ships were pretty much old ships with steel plates on their sides. These ships were shot by canon balls but usually never took much damage; they only got a couple of dents from them. These ships were revolutionary. They were the first time steel ships were ever put into the ocean and nowadays those are the only kinds of ships in the ocean. I plan on using this source in my research paper because this idea led to the way that every ship was built from that point on. Every ship had a steel hull and was able to take more damage before being critically damaged.
“Civil War Ironclads.” Global Security. April 2005. Sept 26, 2009. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/civil-war.htm

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