Also known as: Gatling.
| Type | Hand-cranked multi-barrel rapid-fire gun |
|---|---|
| Inventor | Richard J. Gatling |
| Patented | 1862 |
| Civil War use | Limited |
Turning the crank
The Gatling gun, patented by Richard J. Gatling in 1862, mounted several barrels around a central axis. As a hand crank turned, each barrel in succession was loaded, fired, and cleared, giving a rapid and sustained fire far beyond that of a single gun.
Only a small number were used in the Civil War, and not as standard equipment, but the Gatling proved the idea of mechanical rapid fire and led toward the machine guns of later decades.
On this site
Sources & further reading
- CivilWarArtillery.com research archive: cannon identification pages, manuals, and reports.