Who can identify these bullets ?
On the top row are four bullets that I dug up at the Fredericksburg Virginia battlefield. They were very light for their size, and had a really odd quality to them. I dug up 9 of them total. I cut open the one on the left, and the outer shell is non-metallic, and appears to be wood, with a lead core. Has anyone ever heard of, or seen a wooden jacketed bullet ?
The four just below are some buckshot, which I imagine probably came from confederate troops using .69 cal smoothbore muskets with buck-and-ball loads. The bottom row is a standard .58 cal. Minie ball, 2 .44 cal. fired pistol balls, and one round ball that had been flattened out into a poker chip
The four just below are some buckshot, which I imagine probably came from confederate troops using .69 cal smoothbore muskets with buck-and-ball loads. The bottom row is a standard .58 cal. Minie ball, 2 .44 cal. fired pistol balls, and one round ball that had been flattened out into a poker chip
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The top row are the teeth of a cave man. And the second row are the biggest kidney stones I've ever seen. An the third row left to right looks like a .45 bullet from a muzzle loader and the two in the middle, lol. And the one to the far right a potato chip?[:D] 0 -
Also I see a peach pit in there. [:D] 0 -
Forget those guys.
I think those a very cool.
Doug0 -
No knowledge on the subject of potential historical "sabots" that used wood to encase a lead bullet, but I'm wondering if these were fired bullets that struck, and became embedded in, wood. The wood was subsequently buried and decayed away, but the lead had an anti-fungal effect on the wood directly around the bullet so it was preserved and you found them that way.
Do the bullets look deformed? That could indicate that they struck the wood they are encased in.0 -
quote:Originally posted by watrulookinat
The top row are the teeth of a cave man. And the second row are the biggest kidney stones I've ever seen. An the third row left to right looks like a .45 bullet from a muzzle loader and the two in the middle, lol. And the one to the far right a potato chip?[:D]
LOL[:D][:D]0 -
quote:Originally posted by competentone
No knowledge on the subject of potential historical "sabots" that used wood to encase a lead bullet, but I'm wondering if these were fired bullets that struck, and became embedded in, wood. The wood was subsequently buried and decayed away, but the lead had an anti-fungal effect on the wood directly around the bullet so it was preserved and you found them that way.
Do the bullets look deformed? That could indicate that they struck the wood they are encased in.
That was a good question.
I completely peeled away the wood on the one I had originally sliced open. and there is visible rifling on the bullet, so it appears that is exactly what happened. The remaining bullet is fairly small, like around .25 cal., but I'm not aware of any civil war vintage arms that would have used anything in that size. These may have been more modern rounds that just happened to get fired in the same area. I dug up a total of 26 bullets, all within about a 250 yard range. It was a good day [:)]0 -
They used a lot of "pre-packaged" ammo that was wrapped in paper and linen. There was some "wood sabot" ammo, but IIRC it was only used in cannons.
You could ask over at www.cartridgecollectors.org as this isn't even close to what I collect.0 -
Don't know much about them, but very cool! 0 -
Isn't it a no-no to poach from a national battlefield? 0 -
grave robber[}:)] 0 -
quote:Originally posted by givette
Isn't it a no-no to poach from a national battlefield?
It's a BIG no-no if it is on designated National Park land. Those silly civil war guys didn't confine their squabbles to the parks though. These were all taken from private land outside of the park service borders.0 -
I think they really used some foresight in having those battles in parks where no commercial building would be allowed. [:D] 0 -
Do you Use a metal detector? 0 -
Great photo and story!
Yes I suspect that the wood encased slugs are more modern.
I used to live in Milledgeville Georgia. It was the state capitol in 1864. Sherman came through and spent two nights there.
One of my buddies was searching a garden in town with a metal detector and found a button from a Massachusetts soldier. It had the state emblem on it, it was a stallion rearing up.
So, on the night of Nov 23, or 24, in 1864, a Massachusetts artillery man lost a button off his coat. Got drunk and got into a fight over a Georgia tart? A drunken poker dispute? Got to be a story behind that.0 -
quote:Originally posted by mrseatle
Do you Use a metal detector?
Yep, using a metal detector. It's unbelievable how much metallic junk is under your feet almost anywhere you are. Fortunately the better detectors have settings that let you skip most of the junk, and only hit on the better items.0 -
I find this interesting thanks for posting the photos. 0 -
DC, my daughter lives in MD and last summer I visited both battlefields, F'burg & G'burg. They are flipping awesome.
In one reference book on the G.burg battle, the North fired appx 193 tons of small arms rounds and supposed the South fired the same, there were almost 400 tons of lead fired. About boggles the mind.
I would love to be able to find a good spot to work in the battle of Vicksburg. The yanks had them under siege for quite some time. The whole city moved underground. Tom
PS I would suggest the two round balls on the bottom are rifle shot since, if for the revolver, it would cut a ring out of the lead when forced into the cylinder. Just can't tell by the picture0 -
Very interesting. Thanks. 0 -
The .44 balls both have the ring present where they were pressed into the cylinder. They just didn't show up well on the photo.
I'd never heard any estimates like the number of tons of lead that were fired, but that is still an amazing thought. Then add into it the amount of artillery and many of those contained lead or iron balls.
TC, next time, check out the Petersburg battlefield. There is a large crater there, where the the union troops tunneled almost 200 yards under the confederate lines, stuffed 4 tons of black powder at the end of it, and blew up the confederate fortifications.
http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/hh/13/hh13f.htm0 -
quote:Originally posted by dcinffxva
quote:Originally posted by mrseatle
Do you Use a metal detector?
Yep, using a metal detector. It's unbelievable how much metallic junk is under your feet almost anywhere you are. Fortunately the better detectors have settings that let you skip most of the junk, and only hit on the better items.
Cool, I Hope to see more posts like this. One of my co-workers runs a detector website call Dirtjournal.com, I've been thinking of getting into the hobby with a low-end ace250 detector.0 -
Thanks for that link on the Battle of the Crater. We studied that in college History.
I love the technique the Yankees devised for ventilating the shaft. Very smart.
The battle was a debacle for the Yankees, but it could have been a decisive Union victory.
Is the Crater still visible?0 -
The Crater is still very visible. Obviously weathered through time, but no doubt about it.
MrSeatle, you should take your buddy up on getting in to the hobby. It's amazing how much history is beneath your feet.
Here are some pics of the bullets I plucked out of the ground in 2 days. This isn't all of them, but most. The top photo are all definitely Civil War, the ones below might be more modern mixed in. I found enough iron artifacts that it required 2 trips out of the woods to carry them all. I'll post pics of them once I get 'em cleaned up.0
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