Posted on 01/17/2020 8:29:18 AM PST by w1n1
Death of black powder by Hodgdon 777
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.
As many or more died by disease/bad water/bad sanitation as were killed by bullets.
“...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.
Yep, that’s definitely white smoke in this demonstration.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aSEkfCSAEw
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...
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.
Black powder pistols are not bad. They’re accurate, a little heavy and have little recoil. Reloading them takes FOREVER.
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??).
As the historian Shelby Foote said, “The reason the casualty numbers were so horrific is because the weapons were way ahead of the tactics.”
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.
“...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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Those muskets in the photograph - were they all dropped by dying soldiers?
Outlaw Josie Wales?
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