Civil War Weapons

The American Civil War was marked by enourmous casualties on both sides. Over 620,000 Americans died in the war, with disease killing double the amount that were killed in battle.

50,000 survivors returned home maimed or amputees. The losses sustained during the Civil War currently exceed the total of all American casualties in all other wars in history.

Just the first major battle, The Battle at Shiloh, exceeded the number of losses for America in all other wars up to April 1862.

Historians generally agree that this was a direct result of the military being in a time of transition. Armies and Navies were still using tactics which dictated massing forces together in large formations in order to bring the greatest possible firepower to bear on an enemy.

At the same time, weapons were being developed which were much more accurate and lethal than the arms of earlier conflicts. As a result of these two conditions many more casualties were sustained. Factor in the lack of medical knowledge of disease and infection and the numbers began to grow exponentially.

Military developments during the American Civil War included: rifled muskets, breach loaders, cartridge rounds, repeating rifles, gatling guns, rifled cannon, ironclad ships, balloons, submarines, and more. The odds were certainly against the soldier during this conflict.

We list below some of the weapons of the Civil War:

ť Colt Army Model 1860

ť Starr Revolver

ť Savage .36 Caliber Pistol

ť Le Mat Revolver

ť Model 1861 Springfield Musket

ť Colt Repeating Rifle