Civil War was the first Modern War, but why?

The American Civil War was the first conflict fought in the era of the Industrial Revolution. For the first time a war involved the entire populations of each combatant.  Two large armies motivated by ideology on a scale never seen before. The emergence of the modern concept of Nationalism that would infect the armies of the 20th Century.  The revolutionary development and use of the railroad (and communication lines) for troop movements and supplies. The Civil War revealed the importance of firepower and that infantry were destined to trench warfare. All of these things are astonishingly not mentioned in the following article:

Military historians and reenactors, Joe Allison and Hunter Cogle, all agree that the American Civil War (known to others as the War for Southron Independence or the War of Northern Aggression) was the first “modern war” in history.

“It’s like this: We went from smooth-bore muskets, used for the last two hundred years, to repeating rifles in less than four years,” said Hunter Cogle. He is the Adjutant and Chief of Staff for the Reenactors of the American Civil War’s Confederate Brigade.

“The War saw the end of wooden warships. After the battle between the CSS Virginia and the USS Monitor, the ironclads, naval warfare would never be the same again. And, you had the first successful submarine attack, when the CSS Hunley sunk the Federal warship, Housatonic.”

It was also the bloodiest conflict in American history — and still is, today.

“Over 617,000 or more died in the War,” observed Joe Allison, commander of the Union Brigade of reenactors. “Many of the veterans who survived, some 50,000, I believe, were amputees. The butcher’s bill was staggering.”

And, behind those deaths, were various types of weapons.

Federal troops were armed with the Model 1861 Springfield rifled musket. The Springfield fired a .58-caliber ball, with an average muzzle velocity of 950 feet per second. The weapon could also fitted with a socket bayonet. The Springfield was the most widely used weapon in the Union’s arsenal.

Use of bayonets figured decisively during the Battle of Gettysburg. While the Confederates assaulted the Union’s left flank, the 20th Maine were holding their position Little Round Top. Commanded by Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the 20th Maine ran out of ammunition. The 15th Alabama pressed their attack. Chamberlain had no choice but to give the order to fix bayonets and charge downhill. That heroic action led to routing the Confederate’s assault.

The Confederates made extensive use of the British-manufactured Whitworth rifle. The rifle had a hexagonal barrel and fired a six-sided bullet, which some called a “bolt.” During the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, which the Civil War reenactors will recreate starting May 19, Union General “Uncle John” Sedgwick was killed by .451 bolt, fired by an enemy sharpshooter — after telling some of his men that no Confederate could hit an elephant.

“The La Mat revolver is the first true precursor to the modern-day assault rifle,” said Cogle. “You have a nine-round pistol combined with a small, short-range shotgun.”

The Le Mat fired .40 balls and had an under-slung mounted barrel, capable of firing a charge of buckshot.

“Something like the Le Mat would ruin any Yannkee’s day” commented Cogle.

Confederates even fielded entire units, armed with shotguns. These units proved themselves especially deadly when it came to trench warfare.

While soldiers using muzzle-loading rifles could fire three rounds a minute, troops armed with repeaters such as the Henry could fire up to fourteen rounds a minute. However, the Union Army’s Ordinance Department initially dismissed the innovative weapons as wasteful. When the Army did accept the Henry, the weapon was issued to Cavalry units, not Infantry.

The Civil War saw the introduction of the first machinegun-type weapon. The Williams breech-loading rapid-fire gun saw action at the Battle of Seven Pines. A crank-operated artillery piece, the Williams fired a one-pound projectile at a range of 2,000 feet and could fire 65 rounds a minute. However, the gun had an overheating problem, with the breech jamming due to heat expansion.

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