What weapons were used by the South during the US Civil War?

Answer 1

The South used basically the same weapons as did the North with the exception of torpedoes and a submarine. These were war innovations the Confederacy used, although only one of their submarines was successful in sinking a Union ship.

With that said, the weapons both sides used were rifles, cannons, swords, handguns, and warships both ironclad and wooden. The types of rifles were too many to list. The basic difference was that the Union army had much more of the weapons then did the Confederacy.

Answer 2

When the Civil War began, the most common guns were flintlocks. Shortly after the start of the war percussion rifles were introduced in mass production by Eli Whitney (Inventor of the Cotton Gin) By the end of the Civil War, the favorite gun of choice was a rifle musket. Near the very end of the war the most elite soldiers actually had repeating rifles - breach loading guns that used bullets. This dramatic development of weapons over such a short time was responsible for many of the causalities. Just imagine men used to fighting an opponent with a muzzle loading gun - where he knew it would take the enemy a minute or so to reload, suddenly faced with an enemy that had a repeating rifle. Soldiers would wait for the enemy to fire, jump up to advance to the next tree or rock, and have that enemy fire again. Also tactics changed for other reasons. Flintlocks were rarely aimed. Soldiers simply lined up and fired. The army that could put the most lead in the air won. A marksman who could actually hit what he aimed at was very rare and valuable With the development of percussion ignition systems, better bullets (lead balls were replaced by the "Minnie" Ball - a bullet shaped piece of lead), and rifling inside the barrel of the gun that spun the bullet allowed soldiers to actually aim at something and hit it . The average soldier could be a marksman.

Guns are often referred to all types of weaponry based on gunpowder. This included light and heavy cannons.

Answer 3

Many weapons were used in the civil war. Some of them are:

1) Edged weapons;

2) Handguns;

3) Riffles;

4) Grenades;

5) Rapid fire weapons;

6) Also many types of cannons

7) Ironclad warships;

8) turreted cannons of Union monitors;

9) Confederate submarines; and

19) Torpedoes by the South.

More detailed explanation can be found in the link below.

Answer 4

During the US Civil War, there were a number of weapons that helped make that war a modern one. They were based on either new and/or improved types of weapons. For example, the Union made good use of ironclad warships, including the new type called the USS Monitor, with a revolving turret. In a limited fashion the Gatling Gun, a hand cranked machine gun was used. Additionally, the simple improvement of rifling musket barrels extended the range of the infantry soldier, altering the effectiveness of frontal assaults. Also breech loading cannon and rifles came into play. Lage cannons were developed that had the capability of crushing many types of fortification, these were used on both sides of the war. One of the most used cannons was the 12 pound so-called Napoleon cannon, also used by the North and the South. Revolvers made by Colt and Remington were favored by officers. The North also made use of the popular rifle called the Springfield Model 1861. Many handguns for the South were European models that entered past Union blockades. Both sides also used mortars fired from railroad cars.

Answer 5

Generally speaking, Southern armies used the same weapons as the Northern armies used with a few exceptions. One exception was the use of the submarine. This was new technology for armed forces world wide. Another weapon not used by the North but used by the South were torpedoes. In summary the South used:

1. Ironclads;

2. Rifles;

3. Cannons;

4. Muskets;

5. Submarine, (one did sink one ship but helped sink itself in the process)

6. Gunboats; and

7. Torpedoes.

Answer 6

they used hand guns but they used haversacks and canvas bags but the USA rocks