According
to History.com, in 1862, Richard Jordan Gatling invented a
multi-barreled, rotating gun operated by a hand crank that could fire up
to 200 rounds a minute.
Born in North Carolina in 1818, Gatling
helped his father, a wealthy planter, develop better farming
implements, tools and machinery for sowing and harvesting cotton.
In
1844, soon after obtaining his first patent, for a new type of seed
planter, Gatling moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he continued to
develop farming implements and machinery for growing rice and wheat.
In addition to creating, marketing and selling his inventions, Gatling also studied medicine, but never practiced as a physician.
When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Gatling was living in Indianapolis, Indiana. Though he had been born in the South, he was a staunch supporter of the Union.
After seeing not only the gruesome wounds but the widespread disease that killed so many Union soldiers during the conflict, Gatling began thinking about creating a more efficient and effective weapon than the bayonets and muskets typically used in battle at the time.
In a letter to a friend written in 1877, Gatling explained his motivation for inventing the rapid-fire weapon that would bear his name:
“It occurred to me that if I could invent a machine—a gun—which could by rapidity of fire, enable one man to do as much battle duty as a hundred, that it would, to a great extent, supersede the necessity of large armies, and consequently, exposure to battle and disease be greatly diminished.”
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Listed by Inventiongen.com —
“This invention represents a fraction of the countless contributions made by American inventors, showcasing the nation’s commitment to innovation and progress across diverse disciplines,”
America truly is exceptional, and we’ve only just begun. ///