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| ALASKA | ARIZONA | COLORADO | HAWAII |
“FIRSTS” OF THE CIVIL WAR
The American Civil War was the first war in which
- Railroads were extensively used for the rapid movement of military supplies and of large bodies of troops from one theatre of operation to another.
- Aerial reconnaissance was first effectively used from anchored balloons in military operations.
- The electric telegraph was used in the strategic control of military operations in widely separated theatres and in the tactical direction of troops in battle.
- A multi-manned submarine sank a surface vessel.
- Opposing ironclads engaged in naval battle.
- Naval “torpedoes” (mines) were widely used.
- Medical care of the wounded was systematically organized.
- Participants, sites and equipment were photographed on a large scale.
- Nationwide conscription was used to raise armies in North America.
- A practical machine gun was developed.
- Voting by soldiers and sailors in service was provided for by national laws.
- Rifled artillery came into general use.
- Mobile railroad artillery was used.
- Large-scale coverage was carried on by recognized news correspondents at the front.
- The repeating rifle was used by large troop units.
- Wire entanglements in field fortifications were used.
- The Medal of Honor was awarded.
The facts published in this booklet have been checked by the Department of Defense, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Archives, the Library of Congress and by a number of famous historians and Civil War experts. We believe the sources of the information to be accurate and reliable.
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