10 Innovations Used During the American Civil War (1861-1865)
1: Spy Balloons
These were used primarily by the North. Balloons holding up to 5 men spied on enemy formations during battles. Part of a battlefield commander’s strategy was keeping his reserves and counterattack elements hidden from enemy view either by using natural topographical features, such as hills or patches of woods, or placing them behind other units. The balloonists were often able to see them and signal their positions to their own forces. They also acted as forward observers to direct artillery fire. Hydrogen and natural gas were used as lifting agents. The USS George Washington Parke Custis was a coal barge the North converted into a balloon boat, effectively making it the world’s first ‘aircraft carrier.’
Air Balloons in the Civil War (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
George Washington Parke Custis (navy.mil)
2: Condensed Milk and Instant Coffee
Instant coffee is a lot older than most people realize. It was actually invented a few years before the Civil War began and the North provided it for its troops. The process to produce it involved boiling normal coffee down until it took on a sludge-like consistency that has been compared to axle grease, and then canned. Soldiers would then take a spoon of the sludge/grease and mix it with boiling water to make the ersatz coffee. Soldiers hated it and eventually it was pulled from use. At least this foul product was given an appropriate name: It was not called instant coffee at the time but ‘Essence of Coffee’ instead. At least that was honest!
The experiment with condensed milk proved far more successful. Since the milk was boiled into a paste-like consistency during the production process, it didn’t spoil. Unlike modern condensed milk, it was meant to be reconstituted with water and then could be added to other things such as Essence of Coffee.
https://www.civilwarfamily.us/2014/02/essence-of-coffee-in-the-civil-war.html
3: Trains Used in War
Very few people know that the first steam train operated in 1804, more than 200 years ago! The first inter-city train line opened in 1830. By the time of the Civil War, train lines ran all over the various states of the North and South. Starting early in the war, they were used to rail in reinforcements, evacuate the wounded and to move equipment and supplies around. The use of trains forced a change in strategy as armies were no longer limited to the speed of foot soldiers and cavalry.
4: Tapping Telegraph Lines
The telegraph was invented in 1837 and the first inter-city message was sent in 1844. When the Civil War began, the telegraph was a well-established means of communication. Naturally, both sides used it immediately to send orders and receive information, allowing commanders to keep up with events in real time. Equally naturally, bright sparks on both sides began tapping into the lines to ‘listen in’ on these orders and information. Even better, they sent out false orders and misinformation to confuse the enemy!
Deary, Terry. Horrible Histories: The USA. London, UK: Scholastic Children’s Books, 2001. (pp.101-102)
5: Flushing Toilet on a Warship
The Union ironclad ship USS Monitor had the first flushing toilet put on a warship. The way the ship was designed prevented the crew from taking care of its bodily needs the usual way: using a slop bucket or a hole in the side of the upper deck. That led to a below-deck flushing toilet being developed. It was a tricky device that could leave an unfortunate crewman covered in tainted sea water if he used the valves wrongly!
No. 1344: The Monitor’s Flush Toilet (uh.edu)
6: War Photographs
Photography was invented in the 1830s. By the 1860s, several wars had already been photographed by a new breed of documenter. However, during the Civil War many pictures of the aftermath of battles were staged or ‘enhanced’ to increase their dramatic effects. An early form of Photoshop had been invented.
Civil War Photography – CIVIL WAR SAGA
7: Naval Mines/Torpedoes
It is important to note that naval mines were called torpedoes at the time of the Civil War, and I will use that term here. Confederate General Gabriel James Rains innovated new types of torpedoes during the war. He filled beer barrels with gunpowder, put percussion primers on them, and then set them adrift to float up against enemy vessels and explode. Another type of torpedo that Rains developed was anchored to the harbor bottom and detonated by an electrical wire leading to shore when an enemy ship got close to it. His torpedoes sank 58 Union ships.
Rains, Gabriel James | NCpedia
8: Military Submarines
The H.L. Hunley was the world’s first effective combat submarine. It was a Confederate vessel that used a spar torpedo attached to the front of the sub. On 17 February 1864, it hit the USS Housatonic, the newest and strongest sloop-of-war in the Union Navy, sinking it in less than 5 minutes. Unfortunately, the spar holding the torpedo was only 16 feet (5 meters) long, so the shock wave from the explosion also fatally damaged the Hunley, sinking it as well. It would take 131 years to find her remains.
The Union built its own submarine, the USS Alligator. It never saw combat as it sank during a storm on 2 April 1863. It still has not been found.
The Search and Recovery – The Friends of The Hunley
USS Alligator (Submersible Boat) (navy.mil)
9: Machine Guns
Everyone has heard of the Gatling gun, a six-barrel beast capable of firing up to 350 rounds per minute. In an era where infantry could only fire a few rounds per minute, this was a potential game changer. However, the North never ordered many, so its enormous potential during the war went unrealized, much to the benefit of the South.
Interestingly, the North experimented with another version of mass firing weapons with the Billinghurst-Requa battery gun, a contraption made up of 25 rifle barrels arranged side by side. It was so unwieldy that use in regular combat proved impossible. It ended up being used in static roles guarding bridges and other strategic objects.
Billinghurst-Requa Battery Gun: The First Machine Gun (tactical-life.com)
8 Unusual Civil War Weapons – HISTORY
10: Calcium Floodlights
In 1863, during the siege of Fort Wagner, the Union forces used a device that lit up the fort so it could be bombarded accurately at night as well as during the day. They were calcium lights, also known as ‘limelights,’ because they used superheated balls of lime (calcium oxide) to create an incandescent glow. They had existed since the 1830s, being used in lighthouses and theaters, but it was during this battle that they were first used in combat. Later known as ‘Drummond lights,’ they were also used as searchlights to spot Confederate warships and blockade runners using the darkness of night to launch surprise raids or sneak past Union positions.
limelight | theatre lighting | Britannica8 Unusual Civil War Weapons – HISTORY
