Union Soldiers Fired This Machine Gun-Like Weapon During The Civil War

Patented in 1862, the Gatling gun heralded a new age of violence. Yesterday in 1866, the U.S. Army adopted machine guns for the first time. Or, well, almost machine guns: the Gatling gun, first patented in 1862, wasn't fully mechanical. Someone still had to crank it by hand make the gun fire. In an era of warfare remembered for muskets and bayonets, the Gatling gun was a terrifying leap forward. How it worked: The shooter turns a crank, which pushes a firing pin into a loaded, ready barrel at th...