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General Random thoughts and ideas. "General" does not mean random drivel, nonsense or inane silliness. |
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A question about the Civil war/Revolutionary war
Why didn't they use shotguns? Since they fought in long lines in open fields, wouldn't a shotgun hit more people at once?
Circumcision? HIS body, HIS decision. A person should have the right to their own body. "Sometimes you're right but you're always an asshole." - Anonymous neg rep |
#3
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Did they even have those back then?
And they weren't fighting the most brilliant way in the first place. |
#4
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They used grape shot from cannons I believe in the Civil War. It was kind of like a giant shotgun.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapeshot Hand of fate is moving and the finger points to you ...Iron Maiden - The Wicker Man TUTORIAL FOR RE-BASING FIGURES 3hrs 43mins 32secs = 1242nd of 8808 overall - 1988 Honolulu Marathon |
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#6
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Circumcision? HIS body, HIS decision. A person should have the right to their own body. "Sometimes you're right but you're always an asshole." - Anonymous neg rep |
#7
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Circumcision? HIS body, HIS decision. A person should have the right to their own body. "Sometimes you're right but you're always an asshole." - Anonymous neg rep |
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#10
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Just to elaborate a bit. The technology between Revolutionary and Civil Wars was quite different. After all there was about 90yrs separating the two wars. A musket, while only firing one ball, is practically like firing a shotgun at range. The musket balls had a much lower velocity than current bullets, and were very very difficult to aim. So standing in a big line was really the best way to defeat an enemy, especially a melee enemy. Concentration of fire was the way it was done. I've read that the on field kill rate of REV. War battle was about 2% from gunfire.
The Civil War introduced the rifle. Grooving inside the barrel rotated the bullet causing it to be much more accurate. So now soldiers had a much more accurate weapon at long range. And if you can defeat your enemy at long range, your going to. No reason to get the enemy close enough to use a shotgun. Shotgun style weapons were used, but not as prevalently, and definitely not at long range. So thats my mini history lesson for the day. Shotguns are glamorous but there is a reason soldiers still carry rifles today. mmmmm victory burrito.... know why its good phil? cause your dead! |
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"It'll hurt if i do" |
#12
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...and just because it is a favorite adage of mine, let us remember that war is most emphatically NOT about killing the enemy - it is about destroying his will and ability to fight. Killing the enemy is an admittedly effective way of accomplishing this at times, but in the Civil War a great deal of the attrition on the armies was from people running away, getting scattered, getting lost, etc. Though better rifles in the North were a big advantage, the ability to out-manufacture, out-manoeuver and better supply their armies were what truly won the day.
~Aldin, who grew up playing games like A House Divided and Chickamauga He either fears his fate too much or his desserts are small That dares not put it to the touch to gain or lose it all ~James Graham |
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