The Gun that Won the South

Title: The Gun that Won the South: The Production and Consumption of Firearms in Nineteenth-Century America

By Tracy L. Barnett (Old Dominion University, History) 

Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Time: 1630-1800

Room: Humanities Seminar Room (H-232)

Abstract: The overthrow of Reconstruction in the American South largely relied upon a tool made in northeastern factories: the multi-shot repeating rifle. Centered on the domestic firearms industry, this talk explores the process of making, selling, and buying firearms in the 1860s and 1870s. The history of guns in the United States indicates a complex link between civilians’ desire for technologically advanced weaponry as well as manufacturers’ decision to profit by mass producing and then selling large quantities of rifles and pistols. In the nineteenth century, both factors—the oversupply and the endless demand—caused a massive number of firearms to flow into the hands of white southern civilians and paramilitary groups.

About the speaker: Tracy L. Barnett is a Visiting Assistant of Professor of History at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. In May 2025, she earned her Ph.D. in American History from University of Georgia. Firearms—their meaning to men and their availability in nineteenth-century America—are at the center of her research. In addition to her scholarly publications, she has worked on various digital and public history projects and currently contributes a quarterly column on nineteenth-century language to the Civil War Monitor.

Organized by the Department of American Culture and Literature