Weaponry of the Civil War

1. Weaponry of the Civil War BAMM! By: Anthony DiBiase Trevor LaRose David Sterling Tony Fosler

2. Basic Information • WHO- The North and the South in the civil war both had several types of weaponry in their arsenal. • WHAT- Both sides in the Civil War had an array of weapons including small arms, rifles, artillery, and edged weapons. • WHERE- Around the southern United States • WHEN-1861-1865 • WHY- To have an advantage over the other side

3. Small Arms • The basic weapon of an infantry soldier was the single-shot, muzzle-loading percussion musket. • Foremost among these was the Springfield, manufactured at the U.S. Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts, and at other locations. • All were generically referred to as "Springfields" by the troops. By the end of the war, total production approached 1.5 million weapons.

4. Even Smaller Arms... • The introduction of these rifled pieces compelled a radical change in infantry tactics, which had been based on the use of the less accurate, shorter range, smooth-bore musket until the Civil War. • Using smooth bore muskets firing lines even 100 yards apart could not inflict much damage upon each other. • For an attack to be successful, then, soldiers were forced to mass together and run directly into their enemies. • The Civil War rifles musket with its greater accuracy and longer range, was able to kill at a distance of over a half-mile, making a direct frontal assault a particularly deadly affair.

5. Minie ball • The development of the Minie Ball revolutionized warfare. • The Minie Ball is a half-inch lead rifle bullet. It was developed by captain Claude F. Minie. • It is a smaller hollow based bullet the can fire more quickly. It came spinning out of the barrel making it faster and also more accurate

6. Edged Weaponry • Edged weapons used by soldiers in the civil war included… • Bayonets Bowie Knives • Sabers Pikes • Swords Lances • Short Swords • Cutlasses

7. Cannons • Cannons were very effective for both sides in knocking down fortifications. • There were many different types of balls used for these cannons. Including the canister, chain shot, and a shell.

8. Cannon Balls • Shell cannon balls- Used against long range fixed targets. These include things such as, fences or fortifications. • Canister- It held small iron balls encased in a container. When fired, the container would disintegrate firing the shot in a spray. These could be used against the troops. • Chain shot- This was two iron balls connected by a chain. These were used primarily against masts and riggings of ships.

9. ADVANTAGES • The North had a major advantage over the South in weaponry, because the South had to rely on imported weapons while the North was able to manufacture their own weapons. • The south had an advantage of fighting on their own land. Making them fight a defensive war.

10. DISADVANTAGES • Both sides had the disadvantage of having inefficient amount of ammunition to fight the war. Which was the outcome of using faster reloading muskets. • The north had the disadvantage of having soldiers lacking proper training. • The South's economy also was reliant on the North’s manufacturing, so they had less money to spend on weapons.

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