The civil war weapons were basically brought into operation when the Union and the Confederate troops went to the first ever modern war in history. Civil War weapons exemplified a revolutionary change from earlier nineteenth century forms of artillery. The civil war weapons may be distinguished into artillery, small arms, Minnie ball and edged weapons. Mostly, the two types of cannons were used in the war, the first was the riled cannon and the second was the smooth bored cannon. The artillery used during the civil war showed classification on the basis of siege artillery and the tactical deployment.
Rifles and handguns were more frequently used in Civil War. The advancement in newly developed weapon technologies like rapid-fire guns and hand grenades give new form to war. Guns were becoming the most advanced weapons in the Civil War as earlier swords and other blades had been serving this purpose for centuries. However, due to advancement in weapons in the Civil War, these edged weapons were assigned to decoration for officers.
Along with small arms including revolvers and rifles cannons and other large artillery were the pick of the Civil War. These were used when the distance was farther than a hundred yards apart, because of the limited range of guns were not producing fruitful results during the war. In close range, the cannon could be used much like a shotgun. It was filled with a canister full of iron balls. The can split up as soon as the cannon were fired, spraying iron balls at a range of 250 yards or less. As large artillery, cannons were one of the most important weapons in the Civil War, inflicting heavy damage on both sides. Over 600,000 men were killed in the fighting.
