When war broke out children from both sides of the battle said goodbye to their families, as their fathers, uncles, and cousins left for battle. Some children tended to their family’s farms and other businesses while their parents were away, while other young boys and girls joined the military themselves, serving as drummers, fifers, nurses, and even soldiers. The minimum recruiting age for Union soldiers was 18, but many people willingly overlooked the law, while the Confederacy never bothered to set an age minimum.
These young children had to endure the horrors of war and were often killed in battle or suffered physical and mental wounds that they would carry for the rest of their lives. One famous example was Edward Black (1853–1872), a Union drummer boy, who is considered to be the youngest wounded soldier of the war. At only twelve years old, he was severely injured after his hand and arm were shattered by an exploding shell.
The Lord of War
Admiral John Adolphus Bernard Dahlgren, also known as the 'father of American naval ordnance,' was a United States Navy officer who led the Union Navy's ordnance department during the Civil War. He designed several different kinds of arms and cannons that were credited as part of the reason for the Union's victory.
Dahlgren designed a smoothbore howitzer that was capable of adapting to many sizes of craft and shore installations. He later introduced a cast-iron muzzle-loading cannon with increased range and accuracy, which became known as the Dahlgren gun. It eventually became the Navy's standard armament.
"Whipped Peter"
"Whipped Peter," or Gordon, was a slave from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The scars are a result of a whipping by an overseer, Artayou Carrier, who was fired by the "master" after the incident, as it took two months for Peter to recover from the horrific beating.
The photograph was taken sometime in 1863 and was widely distributed in the North during the war as proof of the brutality of slavery. Peter later enlisted in the Union Army and gained his freedom.
The Legendary Steam Gun on Wheels
This steam-powered centrifugal gun, also called the Winans Steam Gun, was invented by William Joslin and Charles S Dickinson but oddly became associated with Ross Winans, a pioneering locomotive builder and the inventor of the Winans Cigar ships. The steam gun used centrifugal forces rather than gunpowder to propel projectiles, and it was first used during the Civil War.
Newspaper readers across the U.S. learned of this strange and powerful steam-powered weapon brought forth to fend off Union troops trying to pass through the town by rail to Washington.
Cavalry Soldiers
Cavalry forces fought on horseback, armed with pistols, carbines, and their iconic sabers. During the first half of the war, the Confederate soldiers enjoyed the advantage in cavalry, as southern men and boys were more accustomed to the riding and shooting life. However, Confederate cavalry generals tended to mount spectacular stunts that failed in actuality to achieve strategic objectives.
By the second half of the war, the Union Army had gained greater cavalry capabilities. Although cavalry units proved to be very expensive to maintain, and unscrupulous agents would often exploit shortages by supplying defective animals at insane prices for that time.