Gatling gun was the first practical rapid-firing gun. American inventor Richard Gatling patented the weapon in 1862. To fire the gun, operators cranked a handle to rotate multiple barrels. After one barrel fired, the next swung into position. Automatic reloading allowed Gatling guns to shoot hundreds of rounds of ammunition per minute. Gatling guns intimidated enemies and escalated the scale of violence in battle.
The Union Army made limited use of Gatling guns during the American Civil War (1861-1865). By the Spanish-American War (1898), the U.S. military had adopted more powerful models of the weapon. In the late 1800’s, Europeans used Gatling guns while fighting in Africa and Afghanistan. By World War I (1914-1918), hand-cranked Gatling guns were replaced by more devastating machine guns in which holding the trigger resulted in continuous firing.
