During the American Civil War, which lasted from 1861-1865, over 620,000 accounted soldiers were killed. Known as the "the first modern war", historians generally agree that the reason for this was because this was a time of transition for the military. Armies and Navies were still using tactics where they would gather large forces of firepower to bear on the enemy. At the same time, weapons were being developed which were accurate and lethal well beyond any arms of the earlier conflicts. As a result of these two conditions many more casualties were sustained. Add to that the lack of medical knowledge of disease and infection and the numbers truly began to grow. This paper is an overview of the types of weaponry that was used during this time. Artillery generally falls into three basic categories; guns, howitzers and mortars. The main difference between them being the trajectory of the round fire. A gun has a high muzzle velocity and a very flat trajectory. Normally a gun is used in a direct fire mode where the target can be seen and penetration is desirable. Good targets for a gun would be things like brick or earth forts, ships, buildings, and targets in tree lines. Howitzers have a somewhat lo

My conclusion is that I would not want to be shot by any of these guns. Many of these were guns manufactured and sold to the U. They used very heavy ammunition that devastated what ever it hit. Grape shot, like canister, would spread out with a shotgun effect once leaving the muzzle of the gun, though with a much greater range than canister. In 1948, Christian Sharps invented a rifle that loaded from the breech, or back end, of the barrel. It was replaced, however, by the Spencer carbine rifle, which held seven metallic cartridges. I give these men lots of credit for going out there and fighting like they did. Not only are you trying to kill your opponent, you are trying to kill a fellow American which must of been tougher. They have a relatively low muzzle velocity and are unsuitable for direct fire. Solid shot was a kinetic energy round. During one test an 8 inch Brooke rifle with 16 pounds of powder fired a 140 pound ball 260 yards and penetrated eight inches of iron backed by 18 inches of solid wood. The Confederates used captured Sharps and made 5,000 copies themselves in Richmond. A paper or linen cartridge with powder and bullet was placed into the receiver. That gun was very mobile because it could be moved around by the horses because it was on wheels. " The name of the inventor is not known, but many believe it was Edward Nugent or William Palmer.