Technology of the Civil War

Technology of the Civil War

The First Modern War

Communicating Information

Photography

Allowed the public to be more aware of what was going on in the war

• Portrayed an accurate representation of the war

• People were not dependent on an artists interpretation

The Telegraph

before, communication to generals and the president was limited to delivering a letter.

made communication between the two much more efficient and fast

Balloons

Used to search and gather information

"It was through the midnight observations with one of my war-balloons that I was enabled to discover that the fortifications at Yorktown were being evacuated"

Transportation

Railroads

cheap

fast

Railroads offered a sneak path for armies to approach their opponents and get transported quickly

carried supplies and troops

The railroads were very fast and reached speeds up to 60 mph, commanders also used them to transfer new, important information to other troops

In Battle

Ironclads

"She is entirely ironclad with a proboscis of iron, and a Cannon of 120 lbs ball, to fire when she strikes"

steam-propelled warship fitted with plates of iron armor

Submarines

Weapons

Minie Ball

The development of this half-inch lead rifle bullet revolutionized warfare and was greatly responsible for the overwhelming number of battlefield deaths.

bullets could travel a half-mile or more

Since the bullet was made from soft lead, when it entered the body and struck a bone, it would flatten out and shatter the bone thus inflicting more damage

the .5 8 caliber Springfield musket and the .69 caliber Harpers Ferry Rifle were two of the guns that used the revolutionary minie ball

Cannons

smoothbore or rifled cannon

Rifles

NEW

MORE ACCURATE

The most used rifled guns were the smoothbore and 10-pdr Parrott rifles

"Here we have 1,195 guns of large caliber. These guns furnished the batteries of the Confederate forts from Norfolk to New Orleans. They were to be found on all the rivers of the South; and without them it is difficult to see how the Confederates could have armed either their forts or ships."

-W. H. Peters to the governor of Virginia

New weapons made the biggest impact on the soldiers

In the first year soldiers had old, slow muskets

By 1863 both sides had new, faster, and more deadly rifles

VS.

1842 U.S. Precussion Smoothbore Musket. <http://stores.brigadesutler.com/catalog/125Musket.jpg>.

"Balloons in the American Civil War." American Civil War - Home. 14 Nov. 2009 <http://www.civilwar.com/weapons/balloons-in-the-american-civil-war.html>.

Bealeton, Va. Group of military telegraph operators, headquarters, Army of the Potomac. Selected Civil War photographs, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 11 Nov. 2009 <http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cwar:1:./temp/~ammem_WKn5:>.

"Birth of Ironclads." Ed. Dick Weeks. 14 Nov. 2009 <http://www.civilwarhome.com/merrimacbirth.htm>.

Cedar Mountain, Va. Federal battery fording a tributary of the Rappahannock on the day of battle. Aug. 1862. Selected Civil War photographs, Library of Congress, Washington D.C. <http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cwar:2:./temp/~ammem_SM5F:>.

"Civil War Era Firearms." 12 Nov. 2009 <http://www.edsmart.com/jz/guns.htm#g>.

"Civil War Submarines." American Civil War History Timelines Battle Map Pictures. 12 Nov. 2009 <http://americancivilwar.com/tcwn/civil_war/naval_submarine.html>.

Fair Oaks, Va. Prof. Thaddeus S. Lowe observing the battle from his balloon "Intrepid" 31 May 1862. Selected Civil War photographs, 1861-1865, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. <http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cwar:2:./temp/~ammem_WQ2B:>.

Harper's Ferry, W. Va. View of the town and railroad bridge. Fall 1862. Selected Civil War photographs, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 11 Nov. 2009 <http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cwar:12:./temp/~ammem_qrnh:>.

"Lovett Artillery - Parrott 10 Pounder (American Civil War)." Lovett Artillery Collection Main. 12 Nov. 2009 <http://www.lovettartillery.com/Parrott_10_Pounder_American_Civil_War.html>.

Luckett, L. Letter to Alexander H.H. St. 2 Sept. 1861. The Valley of the Shadow. 11 Nov. 2009 <http://valley.lib.virginia.edu/papers/A8019>.

"Our New Iron-clad Navy." Harper's Weekly 13 Sept. 1862: 384-85. Sonsofthesouth.net. 14 Nov. 2009 <http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1862/september/civil-war-iron-clads.htm>.

Professor Lowe inflating Balloon Intrepid to reconnoiter Battle of Fair Oaks. Civil War Stereographs, New-York Historical Society. <http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cwnyhs:2:./temp/~ammem_XPNg:>.

Richmond, Va., vicinity. 20-pdr. v Parrott rifled guns of the 1st New York Battery. Selected Civil War photographs, 1861-1865, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. <http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?cwar:6:./temp/~ammem_vyEr:>.

"Weapons of the Civil War." Teaching the Civil War with Technology. 20 Feb. 2007. <http://www.littlestregular.com/blog/labels/weapons.html>.

Yorktown, Va. Confederate water Battery Magruder, with Rodman smooth-bore siege guns. June 1862. Selected Civl War photographs, Library of Congress, Wahington, D.C. <http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query>.

"Civil War Technology." Civil War Academy.com. 12 Nov. 2009 <http://www.civilwaracademy.com/civil-war-technology.html>.

-Professor T. S. C. Lowe

The Hunley

The Alligator

- L. Luckett

Bibliography

The First Modern War

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