Technology of the Civil War

The new wave of technology brought forth during the American Civil War has driven historians to call it the First Modern War. The first Photo Cameras, Repeating Rifles, Telegraphs, Telephones, and Railroads were created during the war. Here is a brief description on each:

The Camera
The Civil War was the first war ever to be accurately recorded with images. Before the invention of cameras, battles were often depicted from an artist's insight, and civilians couldn't really know what a battlefield looked like. Images of bodies and blood shocked the friends and families of American soldiers.

Cameramen would need "portable darkrooms," a glass plate, and a camera in order to take pictures. They would first pour a mixture of nitrocellulose and ether  onto the glass plate. This would create a film on the glass. Then, they would put it in the a bath full of chemicals to make it light sensitive. Then it would go into the camera. After the picture is taken, the plate would be rushed to the darkroom before the film dried. It would be placed in a developer liquid, which would begin to reveal the picture. Then the plate would be washed in a "fixer" to sharpen the image. It would now be on the glass for hundreds of years.

The Henry and Spencer Rifles
The Henry and Spencer rifles were the most effective combat system since the creation of gunpowder. They were the first rifles ever to be able to fire several rounds without reloading. Earlier attempts at repeating rifles had failed miserably. One idea (the rifle at the top) was to incorporate Samuel Colt's revolver mechanism onto a rifle. But the rifle's flawed design resulted in all the rounds leaving the cylinder at once, and flying straight into the sharpshooter's supporting hand.

The Henry and Spencer were very similar in that both rifles had a firing chamber and a chamber below the barrel to hold the rounds, not unlike modern pump-action shotguns. To fire the Spencer, the firer would first half-cock the hammer. Then he would pull the lever to load the next round into the firing chamber. Then he would return the lever, and fully cock the hammer. He is now ready to fire.

To fire the Henry rifle, the firer could pull the lever and fully-cock the gun it one swift motion. In addition to that, the Henry could chamber fifteen rounds as opposed to the Spencer's seven. A perk for the Spencer, was the superior accuracy and muzzle velocity, meaning a better effective range.

The Telegraph and Telephone
The Telegraph one of the most effective battle implements of the war. It finally allowed generals to transfer orders to their troops across long distances in record time. Telegraphs used a series of tapping sounds transfer Morse Code across telegraph lines. This was the most effective form of long-range communication since the idea of sending messengers.

Alexander Graham Bell further extended the ability to communicate over long distances with his Telephone design. He discovered that electrical currents could duplicate sound waves exactly, and began working on a way to transmit a voice over telegraph lines. At first, nobody bought the Telephone. Bell had offered to sell his patent to the big Telegraph corporations, but they didn't think it would sell. Bell started his own Telephone company, and soon the profits made him rich. When the corporations offered to buy his patent, he respectfully declined the offers.

The Railroad
The Railroad was another excellent battle tool. Soldiers could move from place to place in half the time they could before. Supplies could travel faster, and get to their destinations in better condition. Munitions could be supplied during longer battles, and in large supplies. The Union states had roughly 22,000 miles of railroad tracks during the war, and the Confederates had only about 9,000 miles.