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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > Civil War Talk > Weapons of the Civil War > Gatling Gun Description |
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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > Civil War Talk > Weapons of the Civil War > Gatling Gun Description |
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| Gatling Gun Description | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Wed Nov 16th, 2011 01:51 pm |
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1st Post |
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Mark Member
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I found this the other day. I know that the gatling guns really never made any kind of tactical impact, but I thought this passage was interesting. Its from PVT Oliver Wilcox in the 83rd PA. The letter is dated June 10, 1862 from the Peninsula. "We have a cannon drawn by one horse that one man can fire two hundred times a minute by merely turning a crank. Every revolution fires one ball. It is a curious Yankee contrivance. The cartridges are put in a hopper, carried one by one round in a cylinder and shoved into the barrel and fired. It makes a noise like the dogs of war let loose. The balls are only a size larger than our musket balls, a regular "Minie ball." Don't you think one of those coffee mills could "weed out" a secesh regiment about as quickly as any tools they have? I understand that every Pennsylvania regiment in the service is to have them. All the Pennsylvania regiments near here have them." Mark
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| Posted: Wed Nov 16th, 2011 03:34 pm |
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2nd Post |
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Texas Defender Member 
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Mark- While Dr. Gatling's invention was in existence in 1862, I don't think that it was in the field until 1864. The Gatling Gun In The Civil War The reference to the gun in 1862 might have been to the Agar gun. Agar gun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Posted: Wed Nov 16th, 2011 03:41 pm |
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3rd Post |
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Mark Member
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Ah. My mistake. Thanks for the clarification. Mark
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| Posted: Thu Nov 17th, 2011 06:02 am |
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4th Post |
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Hellcat Person 
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The guns were condemned by the Ordnance Department for using too much ammunition to ever be practical, and the guns saw little use on the battlefield. Why does that sound familar.
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