The Mechanical Fuze and the Advance of Artillery in the Civil
War, by Edward B. McCaul, Jr., (McFarland, 2010). Paperback, 129
pages main, 217 pages total. $35.00. Bottom line up front. The
Mechanical Fuze is a work which details the technical history of
a weapons systems component. It is not for light reading, or for
those who are easily bored with descriptions of working
components. The intended audience for this book is one
interested in the functionality of artillery during the Civil
War. Fuses, according to McCaul, are an overlooked component of
the artillery weapon system. Other authors have failed to
appreciate the success and failures with regard to fuse
technology and the impact upon the war. At least from a tactical
standpoint, McCaul feels, “The combination of rifled artillery
and mechanical fuses changed warfare.” Adding, “For the first
time battlefields had become so dangerous that, by the middle of
the Civil War, if a man could be seen, he could be killed.”
McCaul attributes the Federal advantag