Technological Improvements After The Civil War

The Civil War was one of the most iconic and deadly wars in American history. With the advancement of technology championed from the Industrial Revolution that improved communications, transport, and the lethality of weapons, war took on a whole new dangerous territory that earned it the title as being the first modern war. It was the turning point between the limited combat strategies of the past and the full mobilization of the future, exercising full frontal strategies that would exacerbate the death toll. The Civil War made the science and strategy of killing rise to a whole new level. The Civil War placed a lot on the line, especially for the North. A loss for them meant the entire south – all 750,000 square miles of it – would be gone and the United …show more content…
Soldiers could kill farther, quicker, and easier with weaponry that improved firing range and increased damage. What really made these weapons so impactful was that they were so new. In modern wars, though weaponry has continued to improve since the Civil War, there are fewer deaths than the Civil War. The reason behind this is because most of the new weapons used in the Civil War were invented mere years before its start. Military commanders didn’t realize just how damaging the new technology would be and often failed to compensate for the improved range and accuracy of the weapons. Their lack of knowledge combined with their antiquated battle strategy made casualty counts soar. Instead of drawing back their distance, it was far more common to use huge frontal assaults made up of a large group of soldiers. Some battles could involve as many as 100,000 soldiers, a huge leap from previous encounters in wars like the Mexican-American War, were only around 15,000 soldiers were pitted against each other at one time. (Why the Civil War Was So Lethal, Digital