087 - Modernizing War: Science And Technology In The American Civil War

2025-06-26

About this episode: GPS, drones, laser-guidance—all modern marvels that have served mankind in both peace and war. Nothing new, for there were creations and adaptations for a conflict contested in the 1860s; enough so that that confrontation has been called, by many, the first “modern war.” This is the story of enterprising inventors and engineers and their ideas and machines—their taking theory and making it practical. The ongoing marriage between innovation and war, this is the story of Science and Technology in the American Civil War.

About this episode:

GPS, drones, laser-guidance—all modern marvels that have served mankind in both peace and war. Nothing new, for there were creations and adaptations for a conflict contested in the 1860s; enough so that that confrontation has been called, by many, the first “modern war.” This is the story of enterprising inventors and engineers and their ideas and machines—their taking theory and making it practical. The ongoing marriage between innovation and war, this is the story of Science and Technology in the American Civil War.

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Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:

Joseph Bailey

Henry Pleasants

Richard Gatling

Samuel Morse

Horace Lawson Hunley

For Further Reading:

Trial by Fire: Science, Technology and the Civil War by Charles D. Ross

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Thank you to our sponsor, The Badge Maker - proudly carrying affordable Civil War Corps Badges and other hand-made historical reproductions for reenactors, living history interpreters, and lovers of history.

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Thank you to our sponsor Bob Graesser, Raleigh Civil War Round Table's editor of The Knapsack newsletter and the Round Table's webmaster at http://www.raleighcwrt.org

Thank you to our sponsor John Bailey.

Producer: Dan Irving

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