Glossary · Term · weapon

Gatling gun

1862 · 19th century

The Gatling gun is a hand-cranked, rapid-firing gun with several rotating barrels, patented by the American inventor Richard Gatling in 1862. It was used in the later stages of the American Civil War and then in colonial wars around the world. In Japan's Boshin War of 1868, the Nagaoka domain famously deployed two Gatling guns against the imperial army.

Gatling gun
Image: Paul Hermans · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Nagaoka Domain

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Gatling gun. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/gatling-gun
MLA
“Gatling gun.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/gatling-gun. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Gatling gun.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/gatling-gun.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Gatling gun’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/gatling-gun (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻