The Revolutionary War and the Civil War may seem very different at  first
            
 glance due to their differences in time.  But actually they were very similar in
            
 many ways.  One way in which they were so similar is in the weapons they used. 
            
 Many of the weapons used in the Civil War were either the same or based off of
            
 the weapons from the American Revolution.   
            
 One very important similarity is the use of black gun powder.  Black gun
            
 powder was the primary source of  firing power in both the American Revolution
            
 and also the Civil war.  It was used to fire all of the artillery and all of  the calvery. 
            
 But a very big problem with black gun powder was that it fouled very fast.  This
            
 was a major issue because it ment  that they could not hold on to it for very long or
            
 it would go bad.  So they would have to be prepared for those long trips and
            
 battles.  Black gun powder was also very messy and would get all over the soldiers
            
 and there equipment.  This kept it very hard for them to stay clean and also
            
 sanitary which brought on a lot of disease.  Black gun powder played a major role
            
 in both wars.  The use of black gun powder made the weapons used very similar.
            
 Cannons and Howitzers (shorter- barreled cannons with a chamber) were
            
 very important weapons in both wars.  Cannons were very important to the armies
            
 because of there ability to shoot long distances.  This made it possible for the
            
 armies to have less hand to hand combat.  Cannons from both wars were also made
            
 from the same materials.  Iron and  bronze were the most common materials used. 
            
 Even though cannons were very important in the wars they were also very scarce. 
            
 The cannons were very heavy and took many horses to move them from battle to
            
 battle.  This would slow down the troops.  So they did not have many cannons if
            
 any at all.   Howitzers were used mainly by the navy because of there short barrels
            
 and chamber at the base of the gun.  Th...