Grouping Of Confederate And Union Civil War Arms (2024)

FAQs

What were some key strengths and weaknesses of the Union and Confederacy as they matched up for war? ›

The Union outweighed the confederacy in almost every way; the number of states as well as the number of people. Despite the North's larger population, the South had an army almost equal in size, during the first year of the war. The North had a greater industrial advantage.

Answer and Explanation:

Both had volunteer regiments but relied heavily on the draft to conscript soldiers for their cause. Additionally, both relied on musket or rifle-wielding battalions of infantry as their primary tactical organization, since these soldiers were fairly easy to train and arm.

During the war, a variety of weapons were used on both sides. These weapons include edged weapons such as knives, swords, and bayonets, firearms such as rifled muskets, breech-loaders and repeating weapons, various artillery such as field guns and siege guns and new weapons such as the early grenade and landmine.

Produced in England, the 1853 Enfield Pattern Rifle Musket was the most-used shoulder weapon by Confederate soldiers. Approximately 900,000 Enfields were imported, mostly by the Confederacy, but many were captured or destroyed by the Federal blockade.

Confederate Advantages

The war would be fought primarily in the South, which gave the Confederates the advantages of the knowledge of the terrain and the support of the civilian population. Further, the vast coastline from Texas to Virginia offered ample opportunities to evade the Union blockade.

Weaknesses of the Confederacy included its lack of resources, its reliance on foreign powers, and its lack of a unified command structure. The Confederacy was unable to produce enough supplies for its troops and relied heavily on foreign powers for weapons and supplies.

Expert-Verified Answer. The strengths on the Confederate side of the Civil War were Military leadership; Defensive advantage and Motivation and ideology and weaknesses were Limited resource; Economic weakness and Slavery.

A common explanation is that the Civil War was fought over the moral issue of slavery. In fact, it was the economics of slavery and political control of that system that was central to the conflict. A key issue was states' rights.

The South's strategy was to outlast the North, while the North aimed to economically squeeze the South with the Anaconda Plan. The North had more resources, but the South had superior military leadership.

During and immediately after the war, US officials, Southern Unionists, and pro-Union writers often referred to Confederates as "Rebels".

How did weapons impact the Civil War? ›

Like many modern wars, a good deal of the carnage during the American Civil War came from the fact that weapon technology outpaced the opposing side's ability to cope with and defend against it. This lesson focuses on what happened when the deadly “minie” ball replaced round bullets in American soldiers' rifles.

Springfield Model 1861 Rifle

This was the most popular gun during the Civil War. The Springfield was a . 58 caliber with a 40-inch long barrel.

For total casualties it would have been the Springfield Model 1861, a . 58 caliber, muzzle loader designed to fire the “Minie' Ball” rifled slug. Since both Union and Confederate forces used this rifle it probably caused more deaths than any other weapon.

Arming the Confederacy

Southern arsenals had approximately 175,000 modern shoulder arms on hand at the beginning of the war. Of these, about 140,000 were smooth-bored, not including arms provided from private citizens. During the war, arms were supplied through manufacture, importation, and from the battlefield.

Soldiers carried a variety of personal items to help ease the hardships of war and the drudgery of camp life. Such items included plates and utensils for eating and cooking, a sewing kit (called a housewife), pencils and paper to write letters, as well as books, playing cards, and tobacco pipes to help pass the time.

The North controlled the seas, and its 21,000 miles of railroad track allowed troops and supplies to be transported wherever they were needed. The North's greatest weakness was its military leadership.

The Articles established a weak central government and placed most powers in the hands of the states. Under the Articles, the US economy faltered, since the central government lacked the power to enforce tax laws or regulate commerce.