How Military Innovations in the Civil War Helped the North
Military innovations created during the American Civil War have played a vital role in the efficiency and victory of the Union armies. Military innovations during the Civil War came in more than one form. New strategies, weapons, and tactics all contributed to the ultimate victory of the North over the South. Considered by some to be a whole new concept of warfare, the Civil War is seen as the origins of modern warfare. Accurate long-range guns combined with heavy artillery and the first appearance of modern reconnaissance, created a deadly and efficient army that the South had never anticipated. The South soon realized they would have more trouble defeating the Union armies than was at first expected. The Civil War was a revolution in and of itself for as we know today modern warfare was created during that war. Strategies and tactics had to change in order to compensate for the revolution in guns and artillery. With the creation of sleeker bullets and winding gun barrels to spin bullets came a revolution in tactics. However because of the Generals in the war and their conservative nature, the revolution in tactics came only after trial and error, costing vast amounts of casualties to both sides. The traditional tactic
The Industrial capability, supply movement and superior manpower were all just pieces that contributed to the main strategy of the North. The most popular weapon of the North was the Springfield musket (Sumrall 1). Sherman's advance through the south proved devastating, as it was an ingenious strategy (Jones 56). These ideas all fall under the Strategies of Grant and Sherman. By far the most significant contribution to modern warfare was the strategy employed by both sides during the war. One British manufacturer in Enfield, England sold over 400,000 guns to each of the two sides (Sumrall 1). The thought of both sides that victory would be one in a few maybe even one large battle was clearly proven wrong (Faust 2). With an equal opponent tactics and strategy must be utilized to the fullest to gain the advantage. The Union's strengths were the enemy's weaknesses. This deadly combination of factors the North held over the south, although struggled at first, proved to be too much to handle. The strategies and tactics of the war were the real reasons why the North would ultimately win. However even though neither capital in the Civil War was ever taken it wouldn't have had such a profound affect, such as the surrender of that side, if it was actually captured (Faust 2). The Union defeated the South by slowing war goods production, cutting crucial supply lines and communications lines (Hagerman 143). Ironically, the defensive advantage of the South proved to be its weakness, and the Offensive strategy of the Union, which at the time was considered to be a disadvantage, proved to be its greatest advantage. The slow communication speed of the Confederate army added to the unpreparedness of the troops and in turn added to the devastation of the attacks made on the Confederates (Jones 189).
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