Weapons In The 19th Century

Weapons in the 19th Century
In the early 19th century war and conflict were common amongst different regions and groups of people. War and fighting was a dreaded event as it took long periods of time and caused injury and death on both sides of the fight. Technology was constantly increasing and new advancements in warfare were always surfacing; some meant to improve fighting tactics and others were intended to end conflict at a faster rate. In the 19th century Warfare was changed tremendously with the development of the musket, the rifle, and the machine-gun as they increased the effectiveness of previous weaponry, changed in design, and increased the death toll. To begin, a musket is muzzle-loaded smooth firearm that is fired from the shoulder. …show more content…
This new weapon helped introduce the cylindrical bullet. The rifle was similar to the musket in appearance but completely different in technique and make. The Baker rifle was developed in the 1700’s but not produced until the 1830’s. The Baker rifle was made in both London and in Birmingham but would sometimes differ depending on where it was made. In the Baker rifle, shallow grooves were cut inside the barrel so that when the bullet was shot out it would spin at a greater speed making the shot not only more accurate but enabled the bullet to travel across large distances. This technique is called rifling and is still used today in modern day weapons. There were three main models of the rifle; the bayonet fitted pattern, the Newland lock fitted pattern, and the pattern with a pistol grip trigger guard. After the development of rifles the foundation of warfare was completely changed as now soldiers were able to kill the enemy from between 150 to 200 yards away. The Bakers rifle was able to fire twice in one minute compared to previous issue of muskets that could barely shoot a bullet passed 75 yards. The performance and power of the rifle would sometimes change depending on the weight and shape of the bullet and its velocity (Development and Description). Due to the accuracy and dependability of the rifle under battlefield conditions, during the Napoleonic wars the Baker rifle was used in warfare and was effective at long distances. Although the accuracy of the rifle was better than the musket there was still a 1 in 3 chance of hitting the original target. Despite the advantages of the Bakers rifle it still failed to replace the British musket for many years as it took longer to reload than the musket but eventually after further development it succeeded the musket all together. During the use of this weapon the death rates in America only decreased by a