US Civil War.....help/info needed on bullet

[lach470]

Hey gang....Not sure if anyone can help me out here or not...but wanted to share some pics of a round that was given to me by my parents a long time ago. It was picked up at a US Civil War battlefield - sorry, I can't remember which one but I do remember them coming back from a trip down the US East Coast and saying that it was from a Civil war site.

Does this look 1860's period to you guys? I have NO clue as to what this is from as this is completely out of my collecting field. It has three "gooves on the outside, it's got a whitish color now but I don't think it's always been like this - some kind of oxidization maybe? It's quite heavy and pretty big for a bullet.

Anyways...took some quick pics. Would love to know what kind of bullet this is. Any help - any info would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

Rob

[lithgow]

It's an unfired Minie ball in .577 or .58" calibre for the Springfield or Enfield muzzle loading rifles-the 2 most common US civil war types-made of lead-this oxidises over time-often found on battlefields as they (and the percussion caps even more so) were easily dropped in the heat of action.

[Mountaineer]

Looks pretty good sized in the pics. Could be .69 caliber. Would need measurements to be sure. Its not an Enfield round they are of a different style.

[colt45]

minie ball made for rifleing barrel muskets

[Gordon123]

It is a standard 3 ring .58 minie used by both sides of the Civil War. Imported Enfield rounds were smooth sided without the rings. Both sides manufactured this style of round. Because the union army used so many .577 Enfields, and the difference in the calibers was so small, all rifle musket ammunition was made in .577 to simplify the issuance of ammunition to the armies in the field.

[lach470]

Thanks for all the information guys! When measured (in millimeters), the diameter comes out to roughly 12mm. (about half an inch). Hope that helps figure out the caliber. Looks like a big round to me - but then again, I'm comparing it to today's 5.56mm and 7.62mm!
Cheers and thanks again for all the help!
Rob

[Mountaineer]

It is a standard 3 ring .58 minie used by both sides of the Civil War. Imported Enfield rounds were smooth sided without the rings. Both sides manufactured this style of round. Because the union army used so many .577 Enfields, and the difference in the calibers was so small, all rifle musket ammunition was made in .577 to simplify the issuance of ammunition to the armies in the field.

How can you tell it's .58 caliber without measurements? Just asking .

[Mountaineer]

Thanks for all the information guys! When measured (in millimeters), the diameter comes out to roughly 12mm. (about half an inch). Hope that helps figure out the caliber. Looks like a big round to me - but then again, I'm comparing it to today's 5.56mm and 7.62mm!
Cheers and thanks again for all the help!
Rob

With that diameter it is most likely .58 caliber.

[Gordon123]

There were other minie style bullets used during the war in other calibers, especially early in the war. But the .58/.577 were by far the most numerous. The .69 minie, as used by the rifled 1842 Springfield rifle musket, has a similar appearance. But due to its large size, has an overall different look. Bullets in .54 have a very different base. This caliber was used mostly in carbines. Bullets that were imported for use with weapons purchased abroad during the war were often unique to the weapon. This is true in the use of the Austrian Lorenz that was the second most popular imported musket after the English Enfield. The Lorenz has a unique .54 bullet. The state of Georgia had a large number of Lorenz Rifles in the arsenal in Milledgeville that were issued to militia and a company of prisoners from the local state prison during Sherman's March to the sea in 1864. .54 Lorenz rounds can be found at a river crossing that was successfully defended against Sherman.