Lecture 8 - Civil War (1861-1862) Battlefield Technology, Rising Casualties, Strategy & Tactics

Question 1

What is future lag?

Answer 1

Future Lag- means technology that- as a thing that kills lives faster than medicinal technlogy ( such as a muzzle loading single shot rifle) - as a culprit of so many deaths

Question 2

How many loading stages were there before the war started?

Answer 2

About 24 different stages to load one round before, the war ( American Civil war)

Question 3

What is a matchlock?

Answer 3

• Smoking string that ignites gun-power
• Problems?
  o At night you are immediately seen
  o Fighting in the rain / wet weather difficult
  o Match lock is dangerous

Question 4

What is a wheel-lock?

Answer 4

• Smaller  first concealed weapon in Renaissance
• Expensive and fragile
• Need watchmaker to repair them

Question 5

What is a flintlock?

Answer 5

• Piece of flint screwed up to the hammer
• Pulling trigger hits the a metal sending sparks to ignite gun powder
• Will be used in Napoleonic wars, various revolutions
• Last of the pre-industrial weapons
• A good soldier can fire 2 shots a minute
• Average soldier takes 40 seconds

Question 6

What is a percussion lock?

Answer 6

• Small metal cap with merculary fermunite
• Cap goes on the ‘nipple’
• Cuts off 10 to 15 seconds of loading
• Large poach ammo, small poach is percussion caps

Question 7

What is a cartridge ammunition?

Answer 7

• Pre-packed catridges
• Before people would measure powder out and drop the ball separately
• Soldier now bites of end  soldiers now need teeth (to bite)
• Paper is greased with usually lard
  o Creates problem in India (Muslims do not eat pork, Hindu do not eat beef)
  o Britain got mutinies in India

Question 8

Average Hit Rate ( Ordinance US TESTS 1855)

Answer 8

The Range - was determined
Average Hit Rate [US Ordinance Tests 1855]

Range Smooth Bore Rifle
100 yards: 80% 100%
200 yards: 65% 80%
300 yards: 18% 40%

Question 9

What was one of the rifles between what is the difference between a musket and a rifle?

Answer 9

The rifle has too be rifiled, in which the many issues with rifled musslce loading percussion musket ( Springfield.58 Caliber Rifle)

Question 10

What is a close order formation? And created by who?

Answer 10

Mr. Winfield Scott in 1835v - and then William J Hardee Rifle and infantry tactics came up with ( moves or ways to do different infantry tactics) -

In which

Winfield Scott Infantry Tactics (1835)

pace = 28-inches
common time - 90 pace/min
quick time - 110 paces/min
double time - 140 paces/min

William J. Hardee Rifle & Infantry Tactics (1855)

double-quick time - 165 paces/min (up to 180)
pace = 33-inches

Question 11

What is the Claude Ettienne Minie?

Answer 11

He designed the modern ball, or the minie ball,in which caused so much destruction. In which he designed this ball around 1840.

Question 12

What was the bulllet so good?

Answer 12

Minié round in subsonic (travels under the speed of sound). Therefore, if you get hit by a Minié round you get shot and then hear a sound.

This new bullet technology was not matched by innovation in tactics. This led to tragic causalities with horrible wounds.

Question 13

Different types of formations?

Answer 13

For example, Indian Rushes, Sucicidal charges, artillery at point blank range, and majorty of causalities in point blank.

Question 14

The type of formation known as Indian Rushes?

Answer 14

The type of charges, known as the Indian rushes, in which was used in which one side , clear the field, they hide in the trenches, in which the ar of the posiition to defend, in having the enemy attack you on the ground.

Question 15

Suicidial charges

Answer 15

A type of use of artillery at point blank range, in which the majorty of casualities was killing a point blank range, due to this there was more causualites needing to update there tactics.

Question 16

Now why did William J Hardee introduce? The concept of his solution, in which becomes the idea of the military manuals, in which makes the case that ( running faster) or the idea of double quick time - was that of 165 paces/ minute and that would average about 180

Answer 16

The concept of this was introduced, due to the fact - that mnay causalities were occuring, in which with this new tight formations, in which was touch of elbow to elbow, would create tighter formations.

Question 17

The solutions for the instructions for solider to get in better shape?

Answer 17

• Instructs soldiers “should breath as much as possible through the nose than with mouth”  run faster and breath through the nose is the answer

Question 18

In the idea of ammunition and why the Claude Etienne bal was or the concept was interesting ?

Answer 18

Based on the factor , that in the idea that rifling, had occured ( in the manner that back then, you would have someone a shooter hammer the barrel ( or the solider have a servant ) just to hammer the ball - but as the bullet got tigghter and more tighter it would come out - this became the solution that was introduced by the Minie ball.

Question 19

The concept of Mushrooming?

Answer 19

Mushrooming became the idea - that in fact - the grip of the barrel, was that it required a ball to become hammered into metal, in which Minie comes up with the bullet ( in which the hollowed out - as the slighter the smaller ( as the gas fills the hollow ( and it pushes the bullet( - tight when it come sout ( as when the hits, it hits something hard ( such as bone, flesh, stone wood etc, ( in which in comparison bullet flattens( this would create tremendous amount of physical damage

Question 20

What are the drastic effects of mushrooming?

Answer 20

Mushrooming caused - fucked up effects, as if you were shot in the shoulder, your whole arm would be cut off.

Question 21

What became about due to the mushrooming vs other bullets?

Answer 21

Mushrooming - empties the whole skkill - known as the keyhole, but bullets in general even at the top of your head just skims but with the Minie ball, your whole entire head gets blow off ( in which introduces new legislation

Question 22

Hague Convention Concerning Expanding Bullets of July 29 1899

Answer 22

• Will ban these weapons in 1899
  Link to Text
• Bans the use of bullets that expand in human body
• In war rounds have to be metal jacketed; no hollow point.
• Hollow-point used by cops
• US found loophole though; difficult to say which is more tolerable
• Ammunition used in civil war was intolerable today

Question 23

In the concept of Treating wounds -

Answer 23

• Chances of dropping dead in battle field from bullet (1 in 85)
• Chances of being wouded are 1 in 10
• 1 in every 4 wounded dies
• People are not so much dying from the battlefield but more so from the wounds
• No protocols of removing wounded, nobody thought of it; nobody could conceive that
• Wounded put under shade of tree; that’s it.

Question 24

What were field hospitals?

Answer 24

• Field hospitals; 1 tent with many people waiting under trees
• In this era still did not understand how infections occurred
• Thought infections travel from the wind Miasma  therefore upon window

Question 25

Field hospitals? In which, they would place people or the wounded under a tree, in which the era, didnt under stand the infections as they thought infections would give up and just go away by the wind.

Answer 25

o Smell comes from infection, but they though it was from the wind
o Fought infection from amputation; today you just boil stuff
- Get a heavy wound; you get leg cut
o A good doctor is one who can cut the fastest
o If you cut in 3 strokes you are a good surgeon in this time
o More likely to be killed by doctor than enemy
- Recycled bandages (no washes)
- The south is under-industrialized so no anesthetics, northern got some antiseptics

Question 26

What occured in the sense off having or why were people dying an an unprescendted rate?

Answer 26

• Recycled bandages (no washes)

Question 27

Who was Dr. Ignaz Philip Semmelweis?

Answer 27

• Working in a hospital; saw high rate of death in women giving birth in one ward; why these women in this ward are getting infections
• Semmelweis studies everything in ward
• Gynecological examination done by students in evening
  o Realized that they are dissecting infected corpses in the morning and in the evening (after not washing their hands) they touch women private parts with greasy dead people hands
  o Semmelweis was fired for insulting
  o Medicine is still back in medieval era

Question 28

Dr. Robert Koch Who was he?

Answer 28

Dr. Robert Kich - was the one that came up with the Koch Postulates in 1884 ( in which he established by re-creating the effects of having - different bacteria be reproduced in the sense of ( he could ID the disease by re-creating it, by 4 criterias, in which he would prepare it in different generations of culture and then identify the disease.

Question 29

How could you tell? That they very person that in fact - that you would be dying from diease or expect a solider from doing wrong things. A person that wouldnt survive from the countryside why would they not survive.

Answer 29

Dying from disease
- Most common
- 30% of disease reported by surgeons is due to diarrhea
o Pneumonia
o Etc. killed soldiers
o No vaccines at the time
- You can tell an army marched because of the diarrhea trial
- Urban slums and ghettos made Urban soldiers more immune to disease. Rural people often caught this from their allies
- Suicide, alcoholism, depression, dementia, etc. will definitely kill

Question 30

What is the Spencer Rifle ( known as the Spencer Repeating Carbine)

Answer 30

was the development of the repeating rifle that was at.58, in whihc it wouldnt be supplied to the army, but only high wealthy official had the gone and lincoln recieved as a gift by spencer himself.

Question 31

What occured with the guns? what problems did the spencer have ?

Answer 31

Some southerns and the Union – only had a little of them – in which a mechanism – breaking and busting ( springs are involved) – the shape of the modern rifle( this one loads throught he breach) – you begin to see the end of muzzle rounds

Question 32

What is known as destruction in detail?

Answer 32

in Obliqure order / Denied flank ( two sides of equal strength) blue will break 2/3 of force – into an oblique order ( in which to get the 1/3 pins the other enemy) – in which these the enemy is ineffective with a

Question 33

What is known about it though?

Answer 33

( known as destruction in detail) – as tactically and strgetically – known as the anaconda attack – in which relates back to the Mansas war around the side – in which they will run into stonewall Jackson.

Question 34

What occcured with the bayonet charges?

Answer 34

Bayonet Charges – in which wounds never occur – in which battles are – in which bayonet in which they charge ( they have a bayonet charge) of being bullets are clean with a run through ( but with a bayonet charge) as a psychological effect)