Watch Tales of the Gun online: Episode 17 Guns of the Civil War

Ominously foreshadowing the horrors of World War I, the guns of the Civil War were the first modern weapons. More Americans died in the Civil War than in all other wars combined. The revolutionary weapons they fought with helped make sure that happened. The Civil War saw the introduction of guns that were far more deadly and accurate than those of just a few decades before. It was a gruesome proving ground for the technological advances brought about by the Industrial Revolution, and the innovations of weapons makers like Winchester, whose lever action rifle was one of the most sought after and effective guns used in the War Between the States. Filled with interviews with weapons experts and military historians, GUNS OF THE CIVIL WAR documents the advances and introduces the weapons that helped turn American fields red with blood. See rare photographs of Union and Rebel troops in action, and get an up-close look at the actual weapons that they used.

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