Civil War Weapons

Spencer Carbine

Enfield Rifle used in the Civil War

During the Civil War the rifle was the main weapon used in combat. Although many types still only held one bullet, they provided a much more accurate shot. The rifle also allowed soldiers to shoot 4 times as far than they could have with a musket.

The Minie Ball, created by Claude Minie, completely changed armies’ style of fighting. The Minie Ball was a cone shaped bullet, much smaller in size than other bullets being used at the time. The smaller size allowed for a quicker reload time while in battle. The Minie Ball was also an extremely accurate shot due to the rotation of the bullet when leaving the barrel of the rifle. Before this invention, battles had been fought at close range due to inaccurate firearms. Now armies were forced to fight at a distance where they dug trenches and other types of protective barriers.

Another large advance was the creation of the repeating rifle. Before this invention, soldiers shot one bullet at a time and reloaded in the middle of battle. The Spencer Carbine was a repeating rifle that could shoot up to 7 shots in just 30 seconds. Only the Northern troops were privy to the repeating rifle as the South simply didn’t have the technology or knowledge to build such a weapon.

Officer's Sword from Civil War

Minie Ball

Some of the other popular weapons used in battle were different variations of cannons, rifles, and swords. The 6-pounder gun, M1857 12 Pounder Napoleon, and 12-Pounder Horowitz were all different types of cannons being used. The Springfield, Lorenz, and Colt revolving rifle were different variations of rifles. Swords were still being used in battle as the Model 1832 Foot Artillery sword and the Model 1832 Dragoon saber were popular models.

Activites

Weapons and military technology used during the Civil War are very different than those available today. Despite that, the Civil War era marked a time where new inventions were being produced and old ideas were being re-engineered.

The few wars leading up to the Civil War were typically fought with muskets. Muskets could only hold one bullet at a time and could shoot up 250 yards. Not only did the musket have a short range it was also extremely inaccurate. The musket had an “effective” range of about 80 yards when a soldier with an accurate shot was shooting.