weapons essays

weapons essays 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...