Death by Black Powder

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 1/17/20 | F Jardim

[w1n1]

From the beginning of hostilities on April 12, 1861 when the Confederates attacked the US Army garrison at Fort Sumter, S.C., the American Civil War lasted just over five years and resulted in a greater loss of American lives than any conflict before or since.
Total military casualties numbered 1,125,000, which represented 3.5 percent of the entire US population, in 1861. The total military deaths from all causes, numbered 654,000. Technically, more soldiers were killed in World War II, but the number of soldiers who lost their lives from disease during the Civil War puts that number ahead in overall loss of life. This is the human tragedy of war. The magnitude of this war deeply scarred the people who lived through it.

The Civil War is sometimes described as the last old fashioned, and the first modern, war. It was fought with the final generation of muzzle-loading percussion arms and artillery. These were at the apex of their development as well as other new technologies in the form of breech-loaders, repeating rifles (that used self-contained metallic cartridges) and, of course, the first Gatling guns. The armies fought using linear tactics of previous centuries, but generally with less finesse than the highly disciplined soldiers of Europe.

Rifled-muskets were eventually the standard infantry weapon for both the North and South. They possessed the speed-loading ability of a smoothbore musket and the accuracy of a rifle, thanks to the ingenious Minié bullet. Minié balls varied in detail, but the type commonly used during the Civil War had a hollow base that formed a thin skirt at the bottom, similar to a sewing thimble. It was cast smaller than the rifle bore so it could be easily loaded down the barrel. When fired, the expanding gas forced the Minié ball’s base outward and into full contact with the barrel’s rifling, stabilizing the spin. The result allowed the weapon to fire accurately against individual targets at ranges of 600 yards and against massed targets at 1,000. This increased the range 10-fold over smooth bore muskets.

It is still commonly believed by historians that the horrific casualties of war were the direct result of the range and accuracy of the rifled muskets versus the old fashioned linear tactics. These tactics involved maneuvering large bodies of men in close formations around the battlefield. Each group would line up in full view of each other and fire volley after volley, until one side wavered. At that point a bayonet charge would decide the winner.

On the surface, the combination of better weapons and outdated tactics seems like a good formula for slaughter but the reality is less clear. It seems unlikely that the full potential of the rifled musket was realized since commanders rarely took advantage of its range and accuracy. For one thing, the field artillery’s ubiquitous 12-pounder Napoleon combination guns/howitzers were deadly effective at ranges well beyond small arms. Some historians now believe that artillery fire may have accounted for 20 to 50 percent of all casualties. Statistics on the effectiveness of small arms vary. Some suggest about one casualty for every 240 rounds fired, which is hardly more than the old smoothbore musket days of Emperor Napoleon. Other estimates state that Union forces expended over 1,000 rounds per casualty. It is worthy of note that a declining ratio of rounds fired to casualties produced is consistent with results found in subsequent wars as weapons technology improved. Read the rest of death by black powder.

[Cold Heart]

Death of black powder by Hodgdon 777

[jonascord]

I’ve lost count of the “authors” who somehow derive black smoke from “black powder”. Anyone who has actually fired a .58 Springfield sees billows of white smoke, with a tinge of sulfur.

[ASOC]

As many or more died by disease/bad water/bad sanitation as were killed by bullets.

[lgjhn23]

“...Total military casualties numbered 1,125,000, which represented 3.5 percent of the entire US population, in 1861.....”

And they have the gall and audacity to seek “reparations”.
They can all go to hell. Reparations have been paid for in blood.

[rdl6989]

Yep, that’s definitely white smoke in this demonstration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aSEkfCSAEw

[jonascord]

Used to shoot in NSSA competitions. 100 muskets firing at once, reload frantically, and fire again, long rattling volleys, and you could see the bullets twitch through the smoke as they went downrange, the targets fading to shadows in the white haze, the smells of rotten eggs and wet, sweaty wool, good times...

[hanamizu]

One reason for high casualties during the Civil War (and WWI as well) is that it took time for generals to unlearn the lessons learned as young officers. Tactics which were effective against muskets turned out to be disastrous against rifled muskets.

[central_va]

Black powder pistols are not bad. They’re accurate, a little heavy and have little recoil. Reloading them takes FOREVER.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

One casualty for every 240 to 1,000 rounds fired.

I remember reading about casualties per round fired on the "Battle Road" the British took on their retreat from Concord and Lexington back to Boston in 1775. It was the first time I realized how many rounds had to be fired to kill or wound an enemy soldier.

The estimates of the amount of lead thrown on the Battle Road are truly astounding. I think I saw the data in Hackett's "Paul Revere's Ride" written in 1995 (wow, can it REALLY be 25 years ago??).

[sima_yi]

As the historian Shelby Foote said, “The reason the casualty numbers were so horrific is because the weapons were way ahead of the tactics.”

[The Great RJ]

I visited recently Gettysburg and standing on Little Round Top you can almost feel the carnage that happened there. It is hard to imagine what Civil War soldiers endured in those battles. Thought often of my great grandfather who fought with 181st Ohio.

[odawg]

“...that it took time for generals to unlearn the lessons learned as young officers.”

Or, the general (Kitchner) did not care much about the carnage, as in WWI, when 20,000 British soldiers were killed in one morning.

I saw an old, old WWI German machine gunner interviewed about the battle. He broke down sobbing and said he quit firing his machine gun because he got sick from killing so many British soldiers.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

I enjoyed the full article - thanks for posting it.

The sheer number of arms manufacturers, the widely varied types of rifles, muskets and carbines, the huge number of calibers, balls and cartridges — it is amazing that the logistics people were able to deliver any ammunition to the fast-moving front lines.

It is astonishing to think that all the design work, manufacturing, deliveries were all arranged and coordinated only slow and limited bandwidth telegraph communications. I imagine most of it was done by post.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

A .58 caliber Minié ball weighed 500 grains (1.14 ounces). So it took 17 to 70 POUNDS of lead fired to bring down one enemy soldier.

[Seruzawa]

Kitchener, Haig... Shoulda been hanged. That fool Haig still liked cavalry charges and thought them a viable tactic until the day he died. Which wasn’t soon enough.

[Inyo-Mono]

It is noteworthy that the very first metallic cartridge firearms where developed just before the war (Smith & Wesson .22 & 32 revolvers) which led to widespread development especially right after the war. The first big bore cartridge revolvers were conversion of cap and ball pistols using black powder of course.

[elcid1970]

There are several youtube vids on making paper cartridges for B/P revolvers.

Loading each chamber with loose powder, ball, cup grease, then capping it is a real motherbear.

In which Clint Eastwood movie did he carry Remington revolvers and spare loaded cylinders? Fast as it got before fixed ammo.

[elcid1970]

Those muskets in the photograph - were they all dropped by dying soldiers?

[GOP_Party_Animal]

Outlaw Josie Wales?