Weapons from 1750-1877

From the mid-1750s, weapons in North America were shaped heavily by European military technology, as seen in the Continental Army enlistment agreements (1775–1777), which show how muskets, bayonets, and powder supplies defined a soldier's duties and effectiveness.¹

David Thompson's narrative (1784–1812) describes how firearms were essential for exploring and surviving in the West, but also how the slow, unreliable flintlock system made frontier life dangerous and unpredictable.²

Earlier accounts, like Don Antonio de Mendoza’s 1528 report, help explain the long-term power imbalance caused by European metal tools and weapons, which continued to influence Native-colonial relations well into the 18th and 19th centuries.³

Even as Europeans relied on firearms, the NPS source “Arrows, Guns, and Buffalo” shows how Indigenous people often chose the bow and arrow for its speed, reliability, and availability of materials well into the 1700s and beyond.⁶

By the time of the American Revolution, sources like A Revolution in Arms reveal that soldiers used flintlock muskets such as the Brown Bess, which required communicated, well-synchronized volleys of fire due to low accuracy.⁷ Frederick Law Olmsted’s A Journey Through Texas (1857) documents how firearms were widespread across the South, not only for hunting but as tools of control (especially for slavery), foreshadowing the tensions that contributed to the Civil War.

Slave narratives from Solomon Northup (1853) and Moses Grandy (1843) show that weapons were also used violently to enforce slavery, demonstrating how firearms shaped power and oppression in the pre-war South.⁴⁵

The Civil War marked a turning point in how weapons were used on the battlefield, as new technologies forced soldiers and commanders to change long-standing tactics. Rifled muskets paired with Minie balls allowed infantrymen to fire accurately at longer distances, making open-field charges far more dangerous and deadly than in previous American wars.⁸⁹ Artillery also evolved, with more reliable percussion-cap systems and rifled cannons that could strike targets with greater precision, reshaping defensive strategies around trenches, earthworks, and fortified lines. Cavalry units relied less on swords and more on pistols and carbines, demonstrating how firearms began to dominate every aspect of combat. These shifts show that the Civil War wasn't just a conflict between armies but one shaped by rapidly advancing weaponry that fundamentally changed American warfare.

After the Civil War, the Evolution of the Breechloader (NPS) shows how the U.S. military modernized by converting older muskets into faster-loading trapdoor breech-loaders using metal cartridges.¹⁰


1. Continental Army Enlistment Agreement (1775–1777): Continental Congress. Enlistment Agreement for the Continental Army, 1775–1777.

2. David Thompson – Narrative: David Thompson. David Thompson’s Narrative, 1784–1812.

3. Don Antonio de Mendoza Letter (1528): Antonio de Mendoza. “Letter to Emperor Charles V, 1528.”

4. Solomon Northup: Solomon Northup. Twelve Years a Slave. Auburn: Derby and Miller, 1853.

5. Moses Grandy: Moses Grandy. Narrative of the Life of Moses Grandy; Late a Slave in the United States of America. London: Gilpin, 1843.

6. NPS – “Arrows, Guns, and Buffalo”: National Park Service. “Arrows, Guns, and Buffalo.” NPS.gov.

7. A Revolution in Arms (American Revolution Institute): American Revolution Institute. A Revolution in Arms: Weapons in the War for Independence.

8. NCpedia – Civil War Weapons: NCpedia. “Weapons of the Civil War.”

9. EBSCO – Civil War Weapons Overview: EBSCO. “Weapons, Tactics, and Strategies of the U.S. Civil War.”

10. NPS – Evolution of the Breechloader: National Park Service. The Evolution of the Breechloader. NPS.gov.