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Riflemen are powerful defenders. By the time you can build these, saltpeter is in abundance and is not needed.
Civilopedia entry[]
Two developments in the 19th century made early firearms (such as the musket) obsolete. The first was the invention of a spiral groove, or "rifling", inside the barrel of a gun. Second was the development of the repeating rifle, which could fire multiple shots before it required reloading. The rifle was a better weapon than its ancestors, with much more accuracy over a greater range than the musket and a much higher rate of fire. Riflemen were first employed in large numbers during the American Civil War. The rifle gave a strong defensive advantage, since riflemen could fire several times while the attackers advanced to within hand-to-hand distance. This was normally enough to hold any position. Riflemen dominated the battlefield until the appearance of armored attack vehicles.
Trivia[]
- The Rifleman is based on the Union Army soldiers during the American Civil War.