The Rifle Musket in Civil War Combat: Reality and Myth (Modern War Studies)

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Description

The Civil War’s single-shot, muzzle-loading musket revolutionized warfare-or so we have been told for years. Noted historian Earl J. Hess forcefully challenges that claim, offering a new, clear-eyed, and convincing assessment of the rifle musket’s actual performance on the battlefield and its affect on the course of the Civil War.

Many contemporaries were impressed with the new weapon’s increased range of 500 yards, in comparison to the smoothbore musket’s range of 100 yards, and assumed that the rifle was once a significant factor in prolonging the Civil War. Historians have also assumed that the weapon dramatically increased casualty rates, made decisive victories rare, and relegated cavalry and artillery to far lesser roles than they played in smoothbore battles.

Hess presents an absolutely new assessment of the rifle musket, contending that its affect was once a lot more limited than prior to now supposed and was once confined primarily to marginal operations such as skirmishing and sniping. He argues further that its potential to alter battle line operations was once virtually nullified by inadequate training, soldiers’ preference for short-range firing, and the difficulty of seeing the enemy at a distance. He notes that bullets fired from the new musket followed a parabolic trajectory unlike those fired from smoothbores; at mid-range, those rifle balls flew well above the enemy, creating two killing zones between which troops could operate untouched. He also presents the most complete discussion thus far of the development of skirmishing and sniping in the Civil War.

Drawing upon the observations and reflections of the soldiers themselves, Hess offers the most compelling argument yet made regarding the real use of the rifle musket and its influence on Civil War combat. Engagingly written and meticulously researched, his book will be of special interest to Civil War scholars, buffs, re-enactors, and gun enthusiasts alike.

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