Unionweapons

Weapons of The Civil War

By michaelsanderson

  • Edged weapons

    Edged weapons
    Artillerymen were issued the Model 1832 Foot artillery sword, based on the Roman gladius.
    Model 1832 Dragoon Sabre
    The Model 1840 Light artillery saber was issued to mounted artillery
    Model 1840 NCO swords were issued to infantry sergeants. The Marines had their own version
    Model 1840 Heavy cavalry saber
    Model 1860 Light cavalry saber

  • Handguns

    Handguns
    Colt revolvers- The most popular version in the Union was the Colt Army Model 1860, which was a .44 caliber six-shot revolver. Stocks were made that could be screwed onto the butt of the pistol allowing it to be held at the shoulder, increasing range and accuracy. Some had a second function such as a liquor flask or storage for cartridges.

  • Muskets

    Muskets
    The Enfield 1853 Rifled Musket was used by both the North and the South in the American Civil War, and was the second most widely used infantry weapon in the war, surpassed only by the Springfield Model 1861 Rifled Musket.

  • Buck and ball

    Buck and ball
    Buck and ball was issued in paper cartridges that combined the projectiles with the black powder charge to make rapid loading of the weapon possible.

  • Rifles

    Rifles
    The Springfield Model 1861 was the most widely used shoulder arm during the Civil War. It was favored for its range, accuracy, and reliability.

  • Rapid-fire weapons

    Rapid-fire weapons
    The Gatling Gun was a multi-barreled, .58 caliber rapid-fire repeating gun that was capable of firing 300 rounds per minute that was created by Dr. Richard Jordan Gatling.

  • Grenades

    Grenades
    The Civil War did have crude hand grenades equipped with a plunger that would detonate upon impact.

  • Colt Revolving Rifle

    Colt Revolving Rifle
    A few of these experimental guns were issued to Berdan's Sharpshooters but due to their unreliability were replaced with Sharps Rifles.

  • Field Artillery

    Field Artillery
    The twelve-pound cannon "Napoleon" was the most popular smoothbore cannon used during the war. It was widely admired because of its safety, reliability, and killing power, especially at close range

  • cannonballs

    cannonballs
    These were used for the field artillery

  • Submarines

    Submarines
    During the Civil War, the Union was the first to field a submarine. The French-designed Alligator was the first U.S. Navy sub and the first to feature compressed air, and an air filtration system. Initially hand-powered by oars.

  • Test Quetion #1

    Q. What was the importance of the Emancipation Proclamation?
    A. The proclamation freed only those blacks still enslaved by the Confederacy, not those enslaved in the Union border states.

  • Test Question #2

    Q. What effect did the Emancipation Proclamation have on the North?
    A.It ruined the South's work force

  • Test Question #3

    Q. Why were the border states so important to Lincoln?
    A. Maryland%u2019s and Delaware%u2019s decision to remain in the Union cut the South%u2019s industrial capabilities in half.