What technologies helped the Civil War and hoe did they help?

Question

What technologies helped the Civil War and hoe did they help?

Answer 1

American Civil War Inventions and Advancements:

- The submarine
- The snorkel
- Mine fields
- Water mines
- Trench Warfare
- Wire entanglements
- Aerial reconnaissance (Balloons)
- Military telegraph
- Repeating rifles
- Scopes for rifles
- Military railroads
- Steel Ships
- Working machine gun
- Army ambulance corps
- Revolving gun turrets
- Hospital ships
- Railroad artillery
- U.S. Secret Service
- Conscription
- The Medal of Honor
- Battle photography
- Electrically exploded bombs
- Anesthesia
- Camouflage
- Hand grenades
- Smoke screen
- Double Barreled Cannon

Answer 2

Two developments were important for the future history of war, although they weren't seized upon during the Civil War. One was the invention of the Gatling Gun, the first machine gun. Why this wasn't taken up by the Union war department is something I can't figure out. The second was ironclad steam powered vessels - the Monitor and the Merrimack. Neither the South nor the Union chose to develop these prototypes further. Again, why?
Another puzzling piece of the technology picture is that both armies had revolvers. It would have been very simple to take a basic revolver, give it a longer barrel and a stock, and call it a repeating rifle. In the beginning of the war the Union war department felt that it had to make use of existing stocks, but after 1862 or so the failure to develop repeating rifles is a mystery.
The medical care was shameful. The Confederacy at least has the excuse that everything was in short supply, including very basic things like shoes for the soldiers. The South simply didn't have many factories. The Union was initially overwhelmed by the number of casualties. But opium was readily available, as was ether for anesthesia. Nevertheless both were in very short supply the whole war for wounded soldiers. There's no excuse for this.

Answer 3

Repeating rifles were a big help to the union infantry.Also the rifled cannon were devastating on the rebels.And most importantly in my opinon the railroad network of the union were very effective in moving troops and supplies.General Herman Haupt was a genius.

Answer 4

dude I hate to do your work for you, but Eli Whitney (the dude who invented the cotton gin) also invented making guns from interchangable parts. Talk about useful. This put guns in the hands of every soldier in the North.

Answer 5

"List of American Civil War topics : Technology" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_Civil_War_topics#Technology