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The Civil War - Tactics and Fighting Machines

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The Civil War was the first significant battle fought with modern weapons of mass destruction and it greatly affected our future in terms of weaponry and military tactics. The Civil War brought the most significant modification of wartime weaponry in our history. The weapons manufactured in those days are still of use in our modern day cache of munitions, having been modified to present days warfare environment. The Rifling of guns or specifically the barrels of guns was one of the most important things in the Civil War. Rifling is when you cut spiral grooves in the barrel of a gun forcing the bullet to spin, allowing the gun to shoot much further. Now, soldiers can shoot from miles away and accurately hit an enemy on the battlefield. It also forced soldiers and generals to adapt to the increasing number of new sets of tactics used, not just running up and shooting one another. What made Rifles in the Civil War so devastating was the introduction of the Mini Ball. A longer bullet that expanded while firing to fit into the rifles spiral grooved barrel. The combination of the two would allow one to fire to up too 400 yards away (History.com Staff). Rifles and the Rifling of weapons heavily impacted modern day war. Soldiers and armies now look for opportunities to snipe someone from afar sneakily and safely rather than closing distance and exposing yourself just like many did in the Civil War. Additionally, after seeing the success of rifles and distanced warfare, rifling and rifles lead to further perfection and development of long-range firearms and set a standard for the future productions of weaponry. Many different and new tactics were also introduced in the Civil War. One that is the most famous is the Flank Attack which was led by Thomas Jonathan Jackson. Thomas was also referred to as Stonewall Jackson because he kept his men together in the face of Union attack. Robert E. Lee (Jacksons General and the commander of the Confederat

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