Landmines in America's backyard

SUMMARY: Few realize the world’s first widespread deployment of landmines took place during the American Civil War (1860–1865). At the start of the Civil War, the disparity in military manpower, materiel, and weaponry between the North and South was significant. The gap widened in the Union’s favor as the war progressed, forcing the Confederate war industry to innovate and improvise. That was especially true with landmines. As the conflict progressed, landmine warfare advanced commensurately, and both tactics and technology evolved to include innovative types of design and deployment. During the war’s later years, Confederate soldiers used both command-detonated and victim-activated landmines more frequently to defend and to protect static positions, including cities.