WI the Gatling Gun was used in the Civil War?

bard32

Banned
Custer was offered the use of two Gatling guns by General Terry but that's another post. What if the Gatling gun, (the first machine gun,) was used in the
Civil War? How would have affected the outcome of the war, if, for example, it
had been used at First Bull Run, Second Bull Run, Malvern Hill, and Gettysburg?
 
Custer was offered the use of two Gatling guns by General Terry but that's another post. What if the Gatling gun, (the first machine gun,) was used in the
Civil War? How would have affected the outcome of the war, if, for example, it
had been used at First Bull Run, Second Bull Run, Malvern Hill, and Gettysburg?

I'm pretty sure they were used in the ACW. As far as I can tell, they didn't really have that much of an impact on its outcome.

And dude, can
you stop posting like
this? It is really
annoying and makes your posts even
more
confusing to read.
 

CalBear

Moderator
Donor
Monthly Donor
Once again: Will you PLEASE do the slightest bit of research?

It was used in the Civil War.
 

bard32

Banned
Once again: Will you PLEASE do the slightest bit of research?

It was used in the Civil War.

Sparingly. It wasn't used in every battle because the Army thought it was
wasteful. That was the same excuse it used for the repeating rifle. If it was
used in the Civil War, I don't remember it being mentioned in Ken Burns' series The Civil War, or a small book that I have about the Civil War.
 

bard32

Banned
I'm pretty sure they were used in the ACW. As far as I can tell, they didn't really have that much of an impact on its outcome.

And dude, can
you stop posting like
this? It is really
annoying and makes your posts even
more
confusing to read.

The Gatling gun didn't have that much of an effect because the Union Army's
Quartermaster Corps thought it was wasteful of ammunition. It was the same
thing with the repeating rifle.
 
The Gatling gun didn't have that much of an effect because the Union Army's
Quartermaster Corps thought it was wasteful of ammunition. It was the same
thing with the repeating rifle.

Dude, you'v ebeen contradicting yourself-first you say it wasn't used, then you say it was, then tyou say it was only used sparingly.

And why do you keep
posting
like this? All you have to do is not
press ENTER
after every other word.
 
Sparingly. It wasn't used in every battle because the Army thought it was
wasteful. That was the same excuse it used for the repeating rifle. If it was
used in the Civil War, I don't remember it being mentioned in Ken Burns' series The Civil War, or a small book that I have about the Civil War.

Ok--so your question is actually more like 'WI it was used extensively?'

Define 'extensively'. One at every battle? Ten? A hundred? A thousand?

One more at Gettysburg ain't going to do squat except raise the number of dead soldiers by a few dozen or so before somebody manages to take it out. A thousand on just one side is a different story.

Edit: Here be linky http://www.civilwarhome.com/gatlinggun.htm
 
Last edited:

bard32

Banned
Dude, you'v ebeen contradicting yourself-first you say it wasn't used, then you say it was, then tyou say it was only used sparingly.

And why do you keep
posting
like this? All you have to do is not
press ENTER
after every other word.

The Gatling gun wasn't used on a large scale during the Civil War. It was used
sparingly, because, I said before, the Union Army's Quartermaster Corps said it wasted ammunition. The first time I read anything about it was when I read
about it in Custer, Fighter of The Plains. Custer, as I said before, was offered the use of two Gatling guns by General Terry. He refused them saying that they'd only slow him down, but that's another post.
 

CalBear

Moderator
Donor
Monthly Donor
Sparingly. It wasn't used in every battle because the Army thought it was
wasteful. That was the same excuse it used for the repeating rifle. If it was
used in the Civil War, I don't remember it being mentioned in Ken Burns' series The Civil War, or a small book that I have about the Civil War.


Well, obviously if it wasn't on a TV program, or in a small book, it wasn't used.

Ever occur to you to ACTUALLY LOOK SOMETHING UP?
 
There was a post regarding Custer and the Gatling Guns earlier - so it would help a lot if you bothered to learn how to search the archives. Given that the Gatlings and their ammunition cart would have slowed the 7th Cavalry down it bit it would also be instructive to keep in mind the relation between rate of fire and jamming. In a battle situation if the guns jam they are pretty worthless until fixed.

Frankly, I'm not sure that even two would have helped Custer. The guns are as difficult as cannons when positioning. Also I'm not sure how they would have done with the terrain.

The Indians had both numbers and repeating rifles in their favor.
 
The Gatling gun wasn't even conceived of until after Shiloh, so there's no way it could have been at First or Second Manassas. And it wasn't available to the Union Army until very late in the war, when it saw limited use at Petersburg.

Do your homework. :eek:
 
I am afraid
it would lead
to debts unpaid.
Those in need

Would cry over
Their many dead
And curse the slaughter
That left trails of bloody red.

Disunited and shattered,
The Northern States
Would no longer be gathered
And would shun their former mates.

For cruelty is sour
And bitterness endures
When weeping over the fallen tower
You've lost all that was yours.

Don't you understand that BARD32 is a poet, goddammit!!!:eek:
 

bard32

Banned
Ok--so your question is actually more like 'WI it was used extensively?'

Define 'extensively'. One at every battle? Ten? A hundred? A thousand?

One more at Gettysburg ain't going to do squat except raise the number of dead soldiers by a few dozen or so before somebody manages to take it out. A thousand on just one side is a different story.

Edit: Here be linky http://www.civilwarhome.com/gatlinggun.htm

Yes, it is. Maybe I could have worded it a tad better than I did.
 

bard32

Banned
There was a post regarding Custer and the Gatling Guns earlier - so it would help a lot if you bothered to learn how to search the archives. Given that the Gatlings and their ammunition cart would have slowed the 7th Cavalry down it bit it would also be instructive to keep in mind the relation between rate of fire and jamming. In a battle situation if the guns jam they are pretty worthless until fixed.

Frankly, I'm not sure that even two would have helped Custer. The guns are as difficult as cannons when positioning. Also I'm not sure how they would have done with the terrain.

The Indians had both numbers and repeating rifles in their favor.

Surprise, surprise, that was mine too.
 
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