Third Grade
Worksheets
Weapons of War
The Civil War saw the use of many new and different weapons that had never been widely used in battles. These weapons changed the ways that future wars would be fought. These new weapons were deadlier. Some leaders in the war were slow to change how they fought battles. This led to many more soldiers getting killed.
One of the new weapons was the minie ball. This was a new type of bullet that could be used in a rifle. Even though it was called a ball, it was really bullet shaped. The minie ball was developed in France and improved in the United States. It was a big improvement over traditional rifle ammunition because it could be loaded much more quickly. The minie ball also resulted in greater accuracy and longer range. This allowed for fighting enemies from longer distances.
Edged weapons were also used during the war. These were weapons like bayonets and swords. Edged weapons force men to get very close to each other to use those weapons. Men were at a high risk of being killed or injured during a fight using this type of weapon. Most of the wounds from this type of weapon didn't happen during battle. They happened during arguments between two men off the battlefield.
