Last Napoleonic War and the Entrance of Modern War

¶ … American Civil War the Last Napoleonic Conflict or the First Modern War

American civil war was the last Napoleonic or pre-modern war, and was also the first modern war, as it represents the first mass conflict of the Industrial Age.

The First Modern War

In warfare history, the storyline often goes that General A and General B met on the battlefield, General A won and General B retreated. The two would then meet again on a different battlefield later on. However, times changed, and power and might in war are determined by the person having the most distance covered in railroads and Telegraph lines, and the person having the most rolling mills and steel foundries. The United States (U.S.) Civil War was by all accounts the first modern war that was heavily dependent on fast transportation and heavy industry as well as telecommunications. The technological innovations that were used during the war included rapid fire weapons, railroads, steam and iron clad ships, submarines, aerial observation, photojournalism, and telecommunication. The first national draft was also introduced during the Civil War as the first of three Conscription Acts was passed by the Confederate Congress beginning April, 1862. The most notable of the introductions were the ironclad ships, the Minie Ball bullet, the railroad, the electric Telegraph, and the "Coffee Mill" gun.

Military history was forever changed by the ironclad ship. While prototypes had been in existence even before the Civil War, their usage in extensive combat came during the Civil War. It was not the standard ship, but a complete overhaul and revolution when it came to ship engineering and building. There were fresh introductions, like diesel or steam engines, rotating gun turrets, and fully articulated armor thereby making all the other ships used in war obsolete. The difference between the two eras in technology can be best illustrated by the Battle of Hampton Roads.[footnoteRef:2] [2:

Krause, Chris. The first Modern War. 2015. http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/westtech/x1stmodw.htm (accessed September 14, 2015).]

Introducing rifling in producing Muskets having .58 caliber Mine Ball round saw the extension of the effective range by huge margins, to five hundred yards. The nominal range of the antebellum smoothbore was just 100 yards and it could not seriously increase the offensive power of the newcomer. The huge increase in the range of weapons brought clear revolutions in warfare, just as had been seen in ancient times when the bow and arrow replaced slingshots. The Napoleonic tactic that encouraged mass linear frontal attack with the support of fast cavalry attacks was rendered obsolete, as the opponent was now able to inflict great damage on the enemy even before contact was made. What resulted, given the new circumstances, was the reluctance to stage offensive combat in favor of digging in -- a strategy that would put to death the Napoleonic tactics.

Instead of the soldiers lining up on open fields to face off, as was the case in conflicts before this time, engagements during the Civil War were characterized by soldiers trying to surprise the enemy. Towards the end of the Civil War, the tactics in use had gone through considerable evolution, and they bore some considerable resemblance to the ones in use in modern times.

A Mythic Struggle