The United States of America is one of the most successful countries who undergone war. Its World War II victories are remarkable and one of the ways that the country gain its stability not only in security but in economy as well. The production of Atomic Bomb gave a tragic end of war in Hiroshima and some part of Japan. Amazingly, we can’t imagine how fast the technology is developing. For before, during the ancient periods, war is really a hand-to-hand combat using swords and other non-explosive weapons.
Due to the desire of winning the war, people developed and expound the weapon technology and created the beginning of the nuclear weapon, the rifles. During the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln America is in the state of calamity due to Civil War. It even accounted a bloodiest day in American Military history where 4,800 were dead and 18,500 were wounded and of whom 3,000 died, September 17, 1862 (“Military Stalemate”, Americas History to 1877, 1987, p456).
In a photograph taken by Mathew Brady, the most famous Civil War photographer, you can see a sunken road with two union regiments has trapped the confederates in a barrage of rifle fire (“Military Stalemate”, Americas History to 1877, 1987, p456). During those times continuing death because of the production of the more efficient weapon. Before, some uses different military tactics and strategies to win the battle. Even those times face-to-face combat using the bayonets still exist. Rifles that time can only be fired once and after that be reloaded.
Unlike now, rifles can fire several shots in a single reload. In 1855, U. S. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis began equipping American soldiers with rifle-musket (“Military Stalemate”, Americas History to 1877, 1987, p460). It was the latest rifle model that time whose some characteristics are of smooth-bore musket where it got its name. The rifle-musket advances the military condition because of its reliability and accuracy. The older musket can be fired up to 250 yards. A veteran with a rifle-musket can killed at 300 yards whereas if he uses the musket, can only get an assurance of 100 yards.
The new gun can fire only a single shot. It is reloaded at its muzzle and had a long barrel (“Military Stalemate”, Americas History to 1877, 1987, p460). Some soldiers cam reload the weapon lying but it is faster if reloaded in kneeling or standing position, but the risk is that he is more prone to the enemy fire. Because of its design, the rifle needs a frequent clean up which is unreliable during war. And in the 1850’s an American mechanic invented a new bullet which can clean the groove with each shot (“Military Stalemate”, Americas History to 1877, 1987, p460).
In 1863, casualties outnumbered and on November 19 of that same year, Pres. Abraham Lincoln delivered an address and dedicated part of the battle field as a National Cemetery. We can’t imagine how tragic the development of weapon is. And it is sad to know that the man’s invention meant for protection only lead to his destruction. Now try to imagine a single bullet which can only kill a single person perhaps. Then try to compare it with the giant nuclear weapon. We can say that as the technology becomes more sophisticated the percentage of threat among people’s live increases.
And if we try to compare the situations before and now we can say that even the weapon of mass destruction (i. e. nuclear weapon) that has the ability to vanish a country in a second gives way to peace. Everyone has a reason for war. No person I guess will give his life a threat just for no reason. On the Civil War if the 1800’s for example, the only reason for the North was to force the Southerners to accept the legitimacy of the Union government (“Military Stalemate”, Americas History to 1877, 1987, p455), sad to say because one of the government’s task is to protect it constituents.
In other words, the disagreement of the law leads to war to protect the law. On 1864, President Lincoln, placed Grant in charge of all the Union armies. Grant also convinced that heavy casualties would be necessary to end the war swiftly (“Military Stalemate”, Americas History to 1877, 1987, p461), and the death of many is the only key for the agreement of those who will survive the war. If we try to picture out the war scene, we can’t imagine how to survive. Most of our living will is in the state of inconvenience. Fear and other psychological trauma occur.
Imagine how can we be able to sleep when explosions roar? The Civil War of the America proved that a war is only a destruction of mankind. It will only ruin the future of the people. It’s not easy to overcome traumas; some brought it even to there death. And after war, a new beginning of struggles will arise. Mostly a country can recover after 10 years (for those who belong to the first world). After a series of readings on this issue many questions come out of my mind, why do people have to kill and fight just to let his fellows accept his stand?
Well, there are still many reasons for that matter; some because of pride and some because of the negative perception against his fellow or against the authorities. Because of the nature of man, many disagreements up roar. Thousands of civilians and armies gave their lives in protecting the integrity of the nation. That’s nationalism and patriotism; there are persons who love their country more than their selves. If we will evaluate the persons who died during the Civil War they die not for there popularity but for peace and the desire of their country to achieve the stability of their government.
After winning the war the only outcome is peace, an irony because in trying to have peace one way of achieving it is through war which is the antonym of peace. Why not we give way for peace at first to avoid bloody scenes? But because everybody is a unique creation, with different perspective, different upbringing, and different backgrounds disagreement and conflict occur. Today we can say that war is at its point of it’s vanish. War against nations seldom occurs and it’s good news for us because nobody wants to experience war.
Perhaps it is because of the fear for everybody’s eradication that nations have common agreements and laws under the organization of the United Nation. If everybody wants to have peaceful lives why not start from the easiest and the root, oneself? If everybody believes that peace should start in him, I will live this challenge; prove that you really want to have peace by starting with your self.
Work cited
Hennetta, James A. , Brownlee, W. Elliot, Brody, David, and Susan Ware. “Military Stalemate”, America’s History to 1877. USA: The Dorsey Press, 1987.