shawn91481
Cadet
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2015
I was thinking what would have happened if the South employed something like the English longbow. Sounds crazy right? Maybe, maybe not.
Longbow
Pros:
1. Similar range versus the Springfield. In fact Henry III was able to exceed the range of the musket at 400 yards with skilled archers.
2. Rate of fire would have easily been 3:1 or greater. In a matter of minutes a 100 archers can have fired over 10,000 arrows. Federal Troops would be completely unprotected.
3. Relatively cheap and required non-industrial resources. Valuable steel would be minimized to just the arrow tips. Arrows can be made at home or in the field. Something impossble to do with gun powder.
Cons:
1. Would require increased training.
2. Reduced accuracy.
3. Reduced stopping power.
4. Useless in close quarters combat.
Now I don't think the longbow could have replaced the musket but a couple of equipped companies in a regiment I think could have caused considerable casualties and strike fear as they could see the thousands of arrows raining down on them. Crazy thought I know but I don't think it would have been impractical considering the time it took to load and fire a muzzle loader.
Longbow
Pros:
1. Similar range versus the Springfield. In fact Henry III was able to exceed the range of the musket at 400 yards with skilled archers.
2. Rate of fire would have easily been 3:1 or greater. In a matter of minutes a 100 archers can have fired over 10,000 arrows. Federal Troops would be completely unprotected.
3. Relatively cheap and required non-industrial resources. Valuable steel would be minimized to just the arrow tips. Arrows can be made at home or in the field. Something impossble to do with gun powder.
Cons:
1. Would require increased training.
2. Reduced accuracy.
3. Reduced stopping power.
4. Useless in close quarters combat.
Now I don't think the longbow could have replaced the musket but a couple of equipped companies in a regiment I think could have caused considerable casualties and strike fear as they could see the thousands of arrows raining down on them. Crazy thought I know but I don't think it would have been impractical considering the time it took to load and fire a muzzle loader.