The rapid
and deadly evolution of Civil War weaponry is represented
in the collection you see in this room. The belligerent armies
of both the North and South were completely unprepared for
the type and scope of War that would be fought in the four
years between 1861 and 1865. Modern weapons were in high
demand and short supply. Both sides were forced to send men
into the field with whatever weapons their state arsenals
had on hand. But the vast size of Civil War armies and never
ending pursuit of technological supremacy on the battlefield
would lead to the mass produced rifle/musket, the breechloader,
and repeating rifle. By the end of the War, the ancestors
of modern weapons were born.
