Muzzleloaders dominated the battlefields of the Civil War, being used by both sides in hundreds of thousands. The bayonets attached to the guns were an importantforce multiplier during the war

There were a wide variety of weapons used during theAmerican Civil War, especially in the early days as both theUnion andConfederate armies struggled to arm their rapidly-expanding forces. Everything from antiqueflintlock firearms to early examples ofmachine guns andsniper rifles saw use to one extent or the other. However, the most common weapon to be used by Northern and Southern soldiers was therifled musket. Born from the development of thepercussion cap and theMinié ball, rifled muskets had much greater range thansmoothboremuskets while being easier to load than previousrifles.^[1]

Most firearms weremuzzleloaders which were armed by pouring thegunpowder andbullet down the muzzle. While they only fired once before needing to be reloaded, a trained soldier could achieve arate of fire of three rounds per minute. Newerbreechloaders were easier and quicker to reload, but perhaps the most revolutionary development wererepeating firearms, which could fire multiple times before reloading. However, for a number of reasons, repeating firearms did not see widespread use.^[2]

The diversity oflong guns in the war led to a classification system which categorized them by their quality and effectiveness. There were "first class" weapons likeSpringfield rifles, "second class" weapons like the olderM1841 Mississippi rifle, and "third class" weapons like theSpringfield Model 1842 musket. Efforts were made to ensure that troops had the best possible firearms available, including rearming with captured enemy weapons after a battle.^[3]

The most commonedged weapon carried by both sides was thebayonet given to infantry soldiers. Beyond its use as a weapon, the bayonet had utilitarian purposes, such as a makeshiftentrenching tool and even aspit. Infantry sergeants and officers were also equipped with asword.^[1]Sabers were the traditional weapon of the cavalry, although Union cavalry tended to place greater emphasis on their use in combat over the Confederates.^[4] Another traditional cavalry weapon, thelance, was very rare: the6th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment was one of the only units to carry them, and they eventually discarded their lances in May 1863.^[5]

One weapon which saw an unexpected revival during the Civil War was thepike. The Confederacy in particular suffered from a shortage of modern weapons, and by 1862 prominent military leaders likeRobert E. Lee andStonewall Jackson advocated the manufacture and distribution of pikes as a stopgap measure.Joseph E. Brown, governor of Georgia, was the strongest proponent of pikes and procured thousands of them for local state militia. Such weapons were primarily given tohome guard units until they could be rearmed with guns.^[6][7]

Many differentpistols andrevolvers were used in the Civil War, although the most common werecap and ball revolvers with five or sixchambers. The most popular revolvers were those produced byColt, with over 146,000 purchased by the US government. The bullet and gunpowder could be packaged together as apaper cartridges or loaded separately into each chamber. Some models also came with ashoulder stock.^[9]

Revolvers were the standard sidearm of infantry officers; many soldiers also brought with them handguns when they first volunteered, but these were often discarded. Nearly all cavalry soldiers carried at least one handgun but more frequently two.John Mosby's rangers were famous for carrying four revolvers, with the additional pair held in saddle holsters.^[9][10]

Carbines were the preferred long gun for cavalry as they were smaller, lighter and more robust than infantry rifles. While accuracy was comparable, their range was lower on account of their shorter barrels and lighter gunpower loads. Early models had been muzzleloaders, but because of the difficulty reloading them on horseback, the majority during the war were breechloaders employing linen cartridges. The largest number of these was theSharps carbine, which was also available as a rifle.^[2][14]

As the war progressed, increasing numbers of Federal cavalrymen were armed with repeating carbines. The most widespread of these was theSpencer carbine, which was adopted as the Union cavalry's official carbine in 1864.^[15] However, since the South was incapable of producing themetallic cartridges necessary for their function, Confederate troopers were severely limited in their use of repeating firearms.^[2][14] As late as 1863, the British officerArthur Lyon Fremantle observed Confederate cavalry in Texas armed with a wide variety of weapons: rifles, shotguns, carbines and revolvers.^[16]

Over 100 types of muskets, rifles, and rifled muskets were used in the Civil War, though the two most common were theSpringfield Model 1861 andPattern 1853 Enfield. Rifled muskets had a significantly longer range than the older smoothbore types, but their accuracy at these distances was limited: gunpowder created billowing clouds of obscuring smoke and the bullet's hightrajectory required accurately estimating the distance to the target, a difficult proposition for an untrained shooter.^[1][2]

Some soldiers preferred to stick with smoothbore muskets as it allowed them to firebuck and ball shots. The combination of a bullet with severalbuckshot was devastating at short distance, but rifled firearms could not use them as they damaged the spiral groves. Thus, even as rifled muskets became more available, someregiments kept their smoothbores; the12th New Jersey for example carried theirs for the duration of the war.^[19]

Although breechloading and repeating rifles were available as early as 1861, few were issued for reasons such as cost, technical complexity, and institutional resistance. This did not stop some individuals from purchasing these weapons themselves.^[1][2] One of the most famous examples of this was theLightning Brigade, whose wealthy commander, ColonelJohn T. Wilder, purchased Spencer repeating rifles for the entire formation.^[20]

Thousands ofhand grenades were used by belligerents on both sides, although shortcomings in the weapons of the time kept them from seeing widespread use; primarily they were reserved for sieges or trench warfare. One of the most common wereKetchum grenades, of which the Union government purchased 90,000 in total. Others included the Adams grenade and the Haynes "Excelsior" percussion grenade. Many artillery shells were also converted into makeshift grenades and either thrown or rolled down onto the enemy.^[1][21][22]

The American Civil War saw the use ofland mines,sea mines,booby traps andimprovised explosive devices, which were collectively referred to as "torpedoes." These weapons were primarily used by the Confederates, who established aTorpedo Bureau to oversee their production.Gabriel J. Rains, who ran the Torpedo Bureau, pioneered the use of explosive devices on land, whileMatthew Fontaine Maury was responsible for developing the first sea mines.^[23][22]

Although these explosive devices were effective, they were considered by officers on both sides to be cowardly, uncivilized weapons. Confederate generalJames Longstreet banned their used under his command, while Union generalWilliam T. Sherman hated them so much he reportedly ordered Confederate prisoners of war to march ahead of his troops to trigger any hidden explosives.^[23]

There weremachine guns available during the Civil War but their impact was minimal as very few were fielded by either side. One reason for this was opposition to their adoption by the military establishment, but also important were drawbacks in these early weapons' design. The use ofblack powder meant obscuring smoke quickly formed after just a few firings. The weapons themselves were too heavy to be carried except on acarriage, which limited where they could move. Their ammunition also was heavier, making it more difficult to carry enough rounds for adequate use.^[24]

Artillery during the Civil War was classified based on a variety of factors, such as weight,caliber, and mobility. The common types of artillery pieces wereguns, which fired at long ranges along a flattrajectory;howitzers which were lighter and shorter, and fired a larger round with a light charge; andmortars which were very short and heavy, and fired a large projectile on a higher trajectory. A recent development was thegun-howitzer which combined aspects of a gun and howitzer into one weapon.^[27][28]

Both smoothbore and rifled artillery pieces found widespread use during the war. Rifled guns had the distinct advantages of greater range and superior accuracy, while smoothbore pieces were more reliable and could achieve a greater rate of fire. This was due in part to smoothbore artillery usingfixed ammunition, with the projectile and charge bound together, while rifled pieces usedsemi-fixed rounds where these were loaded separately. Guns could firesolid shot,shell, spherical case (shrapnel), andcanister shot. Howitzers could fire all but solid shot, and mortars could only fire shell and spherical case.^[27][29][30]

Bronze (sometimes erroneously referred to asbrass) allowed for lightweight smoothbore artillery pieces. Some rifled artillery was also made of bronze but the rifling would erode too quickly. Instead, most rifled artillery was made ofwrought iron, orcast iron reinforced with wrought iron bands. Heavyweight smoothbores were almost all wrought iron as well. Althoughsteel was increasing in availability, it was still too expensive and too difficult to produce in large enough quantities to be used for artillery.^[27][28]

Field artillery were cannons and howitzers light enough to be mounted ongun carriages and maneuvered around on the battlefield. Each piece was hooked up to alimber allowing it to be pulled by a team of six horses driven by three drivers. An accompanyingcaisson carried additional ammunition and was also pulled by a similar six-horse team. The cannoneers who operated each piece marched alongside the artillery when it was on the move but could ride on the limber and caisson if necessary.Horse artillery, also known as 'flying artillery,' differed in that every man was mounted on a horse.^[29]

In 1841, the US Army had selected a field artillery system based on bronze smoothbore muzzleloaders: theM1841 6-pounder field gun, theM1841 12-pounder howitzer and 12-pounder gun, theM1841 mountain howitzer, theM1841 24-pounder howitzer and the M1844 32-pounder howitzer. The introduction of theM1857 12-pounder Napoleon represented a significant development as the gun-howitzer could replace several of the outdated pieces at once. The Napoleon, along with the10-pounder Parrott rifle, the20-pounder Parrott rifle, and the3-inch ordnance rifle, came to constitute the vast majority of Union field artillery during the Civil War. The Confederates meanwhile had to make do with a wider variety of field artillery and went so far as to melt down outdated pieces so they could be recast as newer models.^[27][28]

Heavy artillery during the Civil War consisted ofsiege artillery, garrison artillery, andcoastal artillery. Siege and garrison artillery were larger versions of field artillery, mounted on heavyweight carriages which allowed them very limited mobility: the M1839 24-pounder smoothbore was the largest one which could still be moved by road. Siege artillery fired the same ammunition as field artillery with the addition ofgrapeshot, which by 1861 had been abandoned by field pieces. Coastal artillery was meant to be used from fixed positions and, as weight was not an issue, included some of the largest pieces of the war. Coastal artillery could also fireheated shot.^[31][32]

While smoothbore siege artillery had been common previously, the superiority of rifled guns in destroying fortifications saw them dominate during the Civil War. Early examples of siege artillery include the4.5-inch siege rifle andJames rifles. These were joined by larger versions ofParrott rifles andBlakely rifles. Coastal artillery included massivecolumbiads like theRodman gun.^[31][32]

Siege and coastal mortars ranged from 8-inch models which could accompany an army'ssiege train to massive 13-inch monsters which had to be disassembled and carried by rail or ship to travel any distance. TheCoehorn mortar however was a type of small mortar light enough to be carried by four men. This made it very useful fortrench warfare and even during mobile battles like atCold Harbor.^[33]

TheDahlgren gun was the standard weapon of theUnited States Navy. These smoothbore guns were also referred to as "shellguns" as they were designed to fire massive exploding shells. Rifled artillery also found use on Navy ships, some of which were just identical versions of Army models while others were designed especially for naval use. TheConfederate Navy was heavily reliant on British imports for their naval artillery, although they managed to manufacture some domestic models, which were used both at sea and on land.^[34]

Althoughnaval artillery was primarily mounted on and intended to destroy ships, it could play a role in land battles of the Civil War, including being brought ashore as occurred during theSiege of Vicksburg.^[35] The12-pounder Dahlgren in fact was designed to be used mounted on the bow of a small boat, then be transferred to a field carriage in a matter of minutes.

• Rockets had fallen out of favor in the 18th century due to improvements in artillery, but the start of the Civil War inspired a reexamination of the technology.Congreve rockets, which had seen use in theWar of 1812 and theMexican-American War, saw a resurgence of use by the Confederates, while the Union made use of the improvedHale rockets. Special rocket artillery units were also formed, such as theNew York Rocket Battalion and theConfederate Rocket Battalion, but the poor performance of their weaponry saw such units disbanded and rearmed with traditional artillery.^[22][36]
• Chemical weapons were not actively employed during the Civil War, although individuals on both sides sent proposals for their use to their respective war departments. These ranged from using artillery shells, to hot-air balloons, to glass hand grenades as methods to deliver poisonous gas on the enemy, but these suggestions were not acted upon for the most part.Louis M. Goldsborough reportedly discovered a Confederate plot to steal theUSS Monitor by the crew of theCSS Virginia releasingchloroform gas before boarding her, but it never came to fruition. The closest that chemical weapons came to actual use was during theSiege of Petersburg: after theBattle of the Crater, Confederate engineer William W. Blackford dugcounter-tunnels and placed smoke cartridges which, when activated by a nearby sentry, would asphyxiate any Unionsappers. However, the Union attempted no further mining operations and so the system was never activated.^[37]
• Biological weapons, like chemical weapons, were not released by either side during the Civil War but proposals were made to do so. Many such ideas would have never worked however due to a misunderstanding in how these diseases were spread. A proposal to spreadyellow fever among Union troops, for example, relied on using contact with infected persons or materials when it was actually spread bymosquitoes. In his retreat from theSiege of Vicksburg and being chased byWilliam T. Sherman,Joseph E. Johnston ordered livestock driven into local water sources and shot so that their dead bodies would taint the water. However, Sherman's troops were in such close pursuit that the carcasses did not have time to fully decompose and so the water remained safe if unappealing to drink.^[37]
• TheWinans Steam Gun was a unique weapon which usedcentrifugal force rather than gunpower to launch projectiles at a supposed rate of fire of 200 a minute. First built by William Joslin and Charles S. Dickinson, a pair of Ohio inventors, it was seized by Union forces when Dickinson attempted to sell it to the Confederates. The weapon was never used in actual combat however and eventually scrapped.^[22]
• Calcium floodlights were employed during the siege ofFort Wagner, allowing Union forces to bombard the fortress both day and night under illumination. Such lights were also used to spotblockade runners.^[22]

• Horse
• Pack mule

• Horse drawn carriages
• Steam powered carriages

• BLW Armed train

• Ships of the Union Navy
• Ships of the Confederate Navy

• USSAlligator
• CSSHunley
• CSSPioneer
• CSSPioneer II (Also known as CSSAmerican diver)
• CSSBayou Saint John

• Union Army Balloon Corps^[22]
• Confederate Army Balloon Corps^[22]

• Andrews Aereon airship

• French weapons in the American Civil War

• Andrews, Evan (September 2018)."8 Unusual Civil War Weapons".History.
• Broadwater, Robert (2014).Civil War Special Forces: The Elite and Distinct Fighting Units of the Union and Confederate Armies. Bloomsbury Publishing USA.ISBN 1440830584.
• Coggins, Jack (1983).Arms & Equipment of the Civil War. The Fairfax Press.ISBN 0517402351.
• Gabel, Christopher R.,Staff ride handbook for the Vicksburg Campaign, December 1862-July 1863. Fort Leavenworth, Kan.: Combat Studies Institute Press, 2001.OCLC 47296103. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
• Myatt, Frederick (1994).The Illustrated Encyclopedia of 19th Century Firearms: An Illustrated History of the Development of the World's Military Firearms During the 19th Century. Crescent Books. p. 216.ISBN 0-517-27786-7.
• Ricketts, Howard (1964).Firearms. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. p. 115.
• Rutherford, Kenneth (2020).America's Buried History: Landmines in the Civil War. Savas Beatie.ISBN 1611214548.
• King, Curtis S., William G. Robertson, and Steven E. Clay.Staff Ride Handbook for the Overland Campaign, Virginia, 4 May to 15 June 1864: A Study on Operational-Level CommandArchived 3 May 2016 at theWayback Machine. ([1]Archived 2012-11-15 at theWayback Machine). Fort Leavenworth, Kan.: Combat Studies Institute Press, 2006.OCLC 62535944. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.

• Weapons of the Civil War at Smithsonian
• Small Arms of the Civil War
• Field Artillery of the Civil War
• Weapon: Burnside Carbine. Antietam on the web. Accessed 15 July 2008.
• List of contracts made with the approval or by the direction of the Secretary of War between April 12, 1861 and January 31, 1862

• American Civil War weapons
• American Civil War-related lists
• Military equipment of the American Civil War
• Victorian-era weapons
• Weapons by war

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