Gatling, Richard J. (1818-1903), an American inventor. Gatling was a native of North Carolina. He was possessed of unusual mechanical ability. Among his inventions are a machine for sowing rice, a wheat drill, a hemp brake, and a steam plow. He is known best, however, as the inventor of the Gatling gun. It was used for the first time during the peninsular campaign conducted by General Butler on the James River. It consisted essentially of ten gun barrels fastened in a parallel position to a central shaft. They were turned by a crank. Cartridges were set into the breech through an arrangement called a hopper. The Gatling gun was a terribly destructive piece of ordnance in its time and was capable of firing up to 1,200 shots per minute. By swinging the muzzle slowly to right and left the horizon could be swept by a veritable leaden hail.

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