The Gatling gun has passed into legend and is now redolent of the Wild West and the British Empire. Richard Gordon Gatling began work on his 'Revolving Battery-Gun' in 1861. Ironically, his impulse to develop what was in effect the first machine-gun came from a humanitarian desire to restrict the number of combatants on the battlefield. In June 1898, Gatling wrote: "It may be interesting to know how I came to invent the gun which bears my name; I will tell you: In 1891, during the opening events of the war (residing at the time in Indianapolis, Ind.) I witnessed almost daily the departure of troops to the front and the return of the wounded, sick and dead. The most of the latter lost their lives, not in battle, but by sickness and exposure incident to the service. It occured to me that if I could invent a machine - a gun - which could by its rapidity of fire, enableone man to do as much battle as a hundred, that it would, to a great extent, supercede the necessity of large armies, and consequently, exposure to battle and disease be greatly diminished. I thought over the idea and finally this idea took practical form in the invention of the Gatling Gun."
Gatling Guns went on to figure in virtually all later theatres of war. In the American West of 1875, for example, "two Gatlings were reported to have done 'splendid service' in frequent encounters with the Redskins on the Western Frontier. On one of these occasions, Major Price, of the 8th United States' Cavalry, was attacked by 600 or 700 Indians, and he used his Gatlings with such excellent effect as to quite demoralize and drive off his savage assailants".
And in Russia in 1877: the Russians used Gatling Guns in the seige of Plevna. A special correspondent of the London Times writing under date of 26th November, 1877, from headquarters of the Army of Bulgaria, at Bogot, says: "The Gatling Guns were in constant action until midnight, splitting the air with their harsh, rattling reports". Another account (29th November) says: "The Russians are using their mitrailleurs Gatlings a great deal more at night, probably with the intention of keeping the Turks occupied so as to relax the tension on the infantry in the trenches". Of the engagement at Shopka Pass in August 1877, the cable correspondent of the Cincinnati Commercial says: "The Gatling Guns of the Turks that day proved their superiority over any other cannon, as the Russians suffered the loss of several hundred men, while the Turks remained quite out of reach".
And in the Zulu Wars: "The Gatling Guns, loaded with the naval contingent from the Active and Tenedos, have astonished the Zulus, who have been trying an engagement with our blue jackets. They found the fire much too hot, and the naval force has had the satisfaction of carrying more than one contested position. It is a pity that Gatlings are not more plentiful with Lord Chelmsford's army. The naval brigade have got some, but the artillery none. If there had been a couple of Gatlings with the force annihilated the other day, the result of the fight might have been different, for Gatlings are the best of all engines of war to deal with the rush of a dense crowd".
The Gene Autry Museum is the holder of the Gatling Records.