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Black Powder in Ancient History
Bailey Weible
History 104
Dr. John Mohr
5 March 2020
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Firearms have been used around the world for thousands of years. With the creation of
gunpowder in China and European industrialization, guns have varied in many ways but singleshot weapons were a standard for many years after. However, this changed drastically in the late
19th century, when the first machine gun was invented: the Gatling gun.
The first mark of the Gatling gun occurred in 1862, when Dr. Richard Gatling of
Indianapolis patented a six-barrel repeating gun we now know as the Gatling gun.1 Dr. Gatling
wanted to create a rapid-fire weapon to quickly end wars. Gatling was inspired by the American
Civil War, which was happening at the time; however, the gun was used very little in this war.
Dr. Gatling worked on his prototypes for years; dealing with all of the gun’s flaws, including
jamming and other setbacks. He released the final design in 1866, which was the version that
was bought and used by the American Army; the Gatling gun prevailed as standard until the
early twentieth century when it was replaced.2
The Gatling gun at its beginning was capable of firing around two hundred rounds per
minute and was fabricated with only six barrels; Dr. Gatling’s final product fired over 1,200
rounds per minute and structured with ten barrels.3 These barrels were rotated by a handpowered crank, which both fired and helped load the gun. Gravity loaded ammunition into the
barrels as the crank turned; bullets went through a brass-cartridge container, which was located
at the top of the gun. “Each [of the ten] barrel[s] was loaded and fired during a half-rotation
around the central shaft, and the spent cases were ejected during the second half-rotation”.4 This
Parramore, Thomas C, “Gatling Gun,” NCPedia, Encyclopedia of North Carolina, 2006,
https://www.ncpedia.org/gatling-gun.
2
History.com Editors, “Gatling Gun,” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 4 March 2010,
https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/gatling-gun.
3
“Richard Gatling Patented the Gatling Gun,” NC DNCR, 4 November 2016,
https://www.ncdcr.gov/blog/2012/11/04/richard-gatling-patented-the-gatling-gun.
4
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Gatling Gun,” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.,
14 February 2017, https://www.britannica.com/technology/Gatling-gun.
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new method of gravitational loading paired with ten barrels firing simultaneously made the
Gatling gun dominate the weapon industry of its time.
The Gatling gun has been a key factor in both the American Civil War and the SpanishAmerican War. The ground-breaking gun was also influential to all the following wars to come.
The Gatling gun was first used by General Benjamin F. Butler of the Union army during the
siege of Petersburg, Virginia in 1864.5 However, it was never an official purchase by the United
States rather Butler and a few other military officers took it upon themselves to buy their own
Gatling guns to use in battle.6 The first official use of the Gatling gun by the United States was in
the 1870s when the U.S. fought with Native American tribes in the West.7 The famous weapon
quickly spread to Europe, where major powers like Great Britain and Russia began to
manufacture and operate them in their own militia.
The Gatling gun led us into a new era of machine guns. It dominated the weapon industry
with its rapid-fire capability and its new method of loading ammunition with the help of gravity.
Without this historical gun, wars in the 19th and 20th centuries may have played out differently,
changing history as we know it.
History.com Editors, “Gatling Gun.”
Matthew Moss, “The Story of the Gatling Gun,” Popular Mechanics, Popular Mechanics, 14 November 2017,
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a22451/history-gatling-gun/.
7
Moss, “The Story of the Gatling Gun.”
5
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Bibliography
History.com Editors. “Gatling Gun.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 4 March 2010.
https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/gatling-gun.
Moss, Matthew. “The Story of the Gatling Gun.” Popular Mechanics. Popular Mechanics, 14
November 2017. https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a22451/history-gatlinggun/.
Parramore, Thomas C. “Gatling Gun.” NCPedia. Encyclopedia of North Carolina, 2006.
https://www.ncpedia.org/gatling-gun.
“Richard Gatling Patented the Gatling Gun.” NC DNCR, 4 November 2016.
https://www.ncdcr.gov/blog/2012/11/04/richard-gatling-patented-the-gatling-gun.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Gatling Gun.” Encyclopædia Britannica.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 14 February 2017.
https://www.britannica.com/technology/Gatling-gun.