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Technological Advances In The Civil War

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There were technological advances that helped the North and South fight vigorously in the Civil War in the form of transportation, communication, and warfare. One technological advance was in transportation in the form of railroads. In 1860, the North had 22,000 miles of track and the South only had 9,000 miles. With the North having so many miles of track, President Lincoln decided to utilize them by shipping soldiers via these tentacles. He also used these tentacles to transport supplies and medicine. As a result, what used to be a two month travel to get to the battlefield by foot, now only takes seven days by train. This led to an increase in soldiers fighting and an increase in survival rates due to the mobile hospitals. Another technological advance …show more content…

These telegraphs played a big role in the Union because President Lincoln decided to take advantage of this useful weapon. They allowed Lincoln to communicate with the generals and soldiers on the front on how to fight. It also allowed for the front to give him live updates on how they are holding up down on the battlefield. Without this instant communication, the North would have to depend on horseback deliveries, like the South, which is not that reliable, because if the horseman dies, the information is never delivered. This gave the North the upper hand in the war because they were able to quickly change their battle strategies and adjust to the South’s plays as they deal them. In addition, another advancement was in warfare in the form of weapons. Before the Civil War, soldiers would have to fight with muskets that had a short range of 80 yards. But during the Civil War, the rifle was invented and it had a range of 400 yards. On top of having a longer range rifle, the minie ball was invented. This was a soft lead bullet that provided high accuracy, shorter reloading time, and gave deadly results if

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