For my money, the really interesting thing about Dr. Richard Gatling’s history-changing “battery gun” wasn’t its innovative reloading mechanism, or rotating chamber, or rapid rate of fire, or efficiency on the field. Rather, I’m struck by the account that his firm pitched it by sending a “sales engineer” to the front lines during combat. I mean, we’re talking about the bloodiest, most devastating war in our nation’s history. There’s something unique about the thought of a plaid-suited, warranty- and clear-coat-hawking Charlie Cowell just standing out there in the middle of Antietam.