In the years leading up to and during the American Civil War, many advances were made in firearms technology. This article will focus on a few of these advances, namely the inventions of the Minié bullet, the Spencer and Henry repeating rifles, and the Gatling gun. Before the invention of the Minié ball, it was necessary that the ball be the same. diameter than the barrel so that it can engage the rifling. This made loading difficult and time consuming, as the bullet would have to be pushed into the barrel with some force. As a result, muzzle-loading rifles had never been used in combat. But the Minié ball changed the situation. The Minié bullet had a diameter slightly smaller than the rifle barrel, was conical in shape, and contained an iron plug in its hollow base. When fired, the force of the expanding charge would force the iron plug into the base of the bullet, causing the base to expand slightly and engage the rifling. The Minié bullet, fired from a rifled musket, had an effective range of up to 250 yards, which was a great improvement over previous muskets and ammunition. The Minié ball-firing rifled musket became the most common firearm used by both sides during the Civil War, and the Springfield, Massachusetts, armory produced nearly two million of them for the Army of the 'Union. (History.com, 2010) Christopher Spencer first patented his Spencer rifle in 1860. (Greener, 1910) Although his rifle was not technically the first repeating rifle because Samuel Colt had adapted his revolver system to using it as a rifle, it was much more effective and safer than Colt's rifle. The Spencer rifle had a seven-round magazine in the butt, and the ammunition was loaded from the magazine middle of paper ...... served as the basis for the invention of more modern repeating weapons, and their mechanisms are in fact still used in many modern civilian weapons. Modern versions of the Gatling gun, such as the .30 cal. The Dillon Aero mini-cannon and the 30mm GAU-8 on the Air Force's A-10 Warthog are still commonly used in the military today. Works Cited Davis, W. C. (1991). Weapons of the Civil War. The Mallard Press. Greener, W. W. (1910). The gun and its development. Bonanza Books.History.com, S. (2010). Gatling gun. Retrieved from History.com: http://www.history.com/topics/gatling-gunHistory.com, p. (2010). Minié Ball. Retrieved from History.com: http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/minie-ball Hogg, IV (1987). Weapons of the Civil War. Military Press. the Gatling gun. (2005, April 5). Taken from civilwarhome.com: http://www.civilwarhome.com/gatlinggun.htm