Firearms trivia question for the night...

[Float Pilot]

Alright here goes the Firearms trivia question for today.

A lighting storm hits the power lines and all of us checking out this web site get sent back to 1863 south of the Mason Dixon line.

So we get wrapped up in resisting the Federal invaders along with the other local folks.
We capture a unit of Federals and their arms. While going through their ammunition boxes we find that about every ten cartridges (Paper tube with the bulleta nd powder all tied together for speed loading) has an odd cartridge wrapped in blue paper.

These odd cartridges seem to have regular black powder inside, but the bullet is not a standard hollow based Minie bullet. Instead it has a weird disc like a washer attached to the bottom of the bullet.

What have we found???

[AK_Greybear]

Tracer rounds

[Float Pilot]

Nope.

But the yankees did use exploding bullets in some battles. Those were called Gardiner Bullets. Supposedly they were made to set of ammunition wagons. But they were also used to fire over trenches since the bullets actually had a fuse.

But these bullets with the disc attached are not tracers or exploding. Although many a yankee was accused of using exploding bullets when these were found in his possession.

Until their true use became known.

Another guess at what these sneaky yankees came up with? We caught them with 58 caliber Spingfield muzzle loading rifles.

[ret25yo]

Allrighty found it,.

RARE, UNOPENED .58 CAL TYPE 3 WILLIAMS CLEANER PAPER CARTRIDGE
Presented here is a rare original… an unopened Federal .58 caliber Type 3 Williams Patent 'cleaner' bullet stilled wrapped in its original dark blue / gray paper. In mint condition, this .58 caliber lead projectile has a zinc disc similar to a flat washer inserted at the bullet's base and was designed to help remove excess blackpowder and soft lead residue from the lands and grooves in a rifled musket. A normal package of ten arsenal issued cartridges would contain eleven percussion caps and one Williams patent cleaner bullet. Unlike the standard minie balls that were enclosed in buff or brown paper, these 'cleaner' bullets were always wrapped in dark blue paper. Soldiers were instructed to fire a William's bullet on each 10th round. Since these bullets were designed without the hollow base like a standard minie ball, they were not as accurate and their cleaning effectiveness was dubious. Most dug cleaner bullets are found as drops and most likely discarded by veteran soldiers in the field. Cartridge comes in its own clear plastic cylindrical tube. A super rare, mint original condition specimen of a Type 3, paper-wrapped, Williams Patent "cleaner" bullet from the Civil War.


http://www.horsesoldier.com/catalog/c0034.html


it's 195$ bullet.

[Float Pilot]

ret25yo is the winner.

It is indeed the Willaims Bore Cleaning Bullet. The gallant defenders of State rights originally thought these were some kind of more destructive bullet being used by the Yankees. Towards the end of the War of Federal Agression, production stopped because somebody thought they may actually cause bore damage. But so many had been made that they continued to be used on both sides, (captured ammo) until the end of the war.

[fishnngrinn]

Great post, Float Pilot. Thanks, I enjoyed the history lesson.

[Darreld Walton]

A theory brought forth again...

by Mr. Jim Harvey who sold zinc washers to be attached to the bottoms of cast bullets which were then swaged in special C-H Tool Co. swage to accomodate the washers....circa. 1961.

[338WM]

Very interesting, thanks for posting that.