Existing comment:
The Weapons of War:
Advances in technology dramatically increased the effectiveness of small arms during the Civil War. improved weaponry increased the rate, range, and deadliness of rifle fire. But basic infantry tactics and formations had changed only slightly since the eighteenth century. The new rifle muskets, with an effective range of 400-500 yards, played havoc with these antiquated battlefield formations.
Other weapons introduced in the Civil War era included the first practical breech-loading arms, some of which used self-contained metallic ammunition, and repeating firearms of several types. In all, some eighty-one different patterns of small arms and ammunition were issued to members of the Union army. For army quartermasters, this created nightmarish problems and supply and logistics. |