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1200
The cannon takes shape
In the mid to late 13th Century gunpowder began to be used in cannons and handguns, and by the mid 14th Century they were in common use. -
The first beyonet is forged
The inventor is unknown, but the first bayonets were made in Bayonne, France, in the early 17th century and became popular among European armies. -
the invention of the muzzleloader
The muzzleloading rifle is the oldest firearm on earth. It has been around since the start of the 17th century, yet the past 25 years have witnessed a resurgence of interest in muzzleloaders. In 1610, artist, gunsmith and inventor Marin le Bourgeois develops the first flintlock for King Louis XIII of France the design was later adopted and in some ways improved upon by the American army. -
The musket was invented
. Muskets were matchlocks until flintlocks were developed in the 17th century, and in the early 19th century flintlocks were replaced by percussion locks. Most muskets were muzzle-loaders. -
Muskets' are first used in the war
The Springfield Model 1861 was the most widely used rifle of the civil war. A slightly modified version of the Model 1861. The Enfield 1853 rifled musket was used by both the North and the South in the American Civil War, and was the second most widely used infantry weapon in the war. -
Muzzeloaders impact on the civil war
Wounds Caused by Minie´ Balls. The soft lead that allowed Minie´ balls to expand within the rifle barrel also caused them to flatten out and/or splinter when they hit a human target. -
the cannons ring out
the Civil War Cannon, a Weapon used in the American Civil War. One of the more important technological advances at the time of the Civil War was the ability mass produce rifled barrel field artillery, increasing their accuracy and range. -
The bayonet is introduced in the war
The Bayonet was used in every land-based battle in the civil war some soldiers' lives were saved by this weapon others barely put it to use. It was a weapon with many uses and found itself a home in the arsenal of both the north and south. -
The last cannon is fired in a major American war
The last cannon to be fired in a major American war was at the battle of Palmito ranch.This marked the last time American troops would light the fuse of a cannon and watch it fire off inti the distance -
The Muzzleloader is retired
The invention of the Minié ball in 1849 solved both major problems of muzzle-loading rifles. The Crimean War (1853–1856) saw the first widespread use of the rifled musket for the common infantryman and by the time of the American Civil War (1860s) most infantry were equipped with the rifled musket. -
The Bayonet is retired
the last major American Bayonet charge was led in the Korean war by Col. Lewis L. Millett and that marked the last time the bayonet was used in an American war. -
The Musket is replaced
The U.S. army replaced the musket with the M16. It was a lightweight, 5.56 mm caliber, air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine rifle with a rotating bolt actuated by direct impingement gas operation. The weapon was constructed of steel with an aluminum alloy receiver and a composite plastic stock.
