The Cilvil War "Modern War"

     The Civil War "First Modern War"

By: Ryne Wiederer

      There were many wars but The Civil War was considered to be the most modern war of our time. There are many reasons why this war was considered the most and First Modern War of our time. The Civil War was the first war to use new weapons, railroads, the telegraph, different styles of fighting, and other advances in technology. Due to the Industrial Revolution technology had reached new levels. All these new powerful advancements and lack of experience using the new technology, resulted in high casualties.

     Many new weapons are being designed to be more powerful and more accurate than ever. Bayonets were becoming outdated. Some new advancements in weapons was rifling and the minè ball. The rifling invention helped with accuracy and distance which was a big improvement because the old bayonets were not very accurate. The new type of bullet know as the minè ball was also a big improvement because it was a hollowed bullet that would injure the enemy more than a regular pellet. The North had more advancement in weaponry than the South because they were much more advanced in factories and had the money to afford the production of the new types of weapons. But then the South had smarter and intelligent soldiers, when the North just gave a man a gun and gave him very little tactics. Both sides had their advantages and disadvantages. This war was extremely bloody and the number of casualties were tremendous because of the new weaponry used. 

     Transportation was also another big factor during the Civil War. Without the advancement in transportation I think it would be very difficult to move troops, supplies, and trade. Some of the new transportation inventions were the ironclad, balloons, railroads, and submarines. The ironclads and submarines were the top two advancements for the navy. The ironclads were iron plated ships. The iron plates helped deflect fire from the enemy and made it more durable. The submarines was also a big invention because the submarine could not be detected by the enemy and it was able to go to deep depths and hold big torpedoes. Railroads helped for transportation of supplies and troops, but there was a good chance that it could get intercepted by enemies. The last major invention was the balloons this made it faster to transport supplies and troops, but it also created a new fighting style. This new style of fighting is now call air warfare. All these new transportation advancements helped change the war and how it was fought. 

     Inventions in technology such as the telegraph and photography. The telegraph was introduced during Abraham Lincoln's presidency. Lincoln used the telegraph to communicate to men on the battlefield. This is exactly what they use the telegraph for, it helps communicate new strategies and what the enemies strategies were. The use of the photography also helped them take picture of their strategies and take picture of the enemies strategies to study from to have an upper hand. These new electronic devices help start the inventions of new and more advanced electronics. 

    The Civil War was considered to be the most modern war of our time. There are many reasons that I have explained why this war was considered the most and First Modern War of our time. The Civil War was the first war to use new weapons, railroads, the telegraph, different styles of fighting, and other advances in technology. Due to the Industrial Revolution technology had reached new levels. All these new powerful advancements have changed the way wars are being fought til this day.