This display shows some bullets that have been flattened and made into sinkers and game pieces, top left. There are several that have teeth marks in them, 3rd row down on the left, and some have a small hole in the end where they have been pulled out of the barrel after a misfire, bottom right. On the top right, is several Williams Cleaners, that were used to clean the barrel, usually after the 10th shot. The second and fourth row on the left, just has some various fired bullets. But they all could tell a story.
by Mark P with comments disabledThis 2 1/4 inch canister shot, and fuse holder
insert were dug close to the Battle of Richmond KY., on private land. The insert would have screwed into a cannon ball, and then a timed paper fuse would have been inserted into it, and plugged before being loaded into a cannon. Most of the time these were blown to pieces, and finding pieces like this one intact is getting very hard to find.
A good friend of mine found this 2 inch canister shot in a big tree branch while cutting down a tree for firewood. This was in the Harrodsburg Ky. area. It has been beautifully preserved in the wood for all of these years.
by Mark P with comments disabledBeginning collectors beware, what may appear to be a 12lb Civil War cannon ball, is just a old shot putt, or weight. This happens so much. Cannon Balls were never stamped like this. If you see something like this, it is a weight of some kind, not a cannon ball. It is only worth it’s weight in scrap steel. Save yourself from a costly mistake!
by Mark P with comments disabledThis display shows a few of the different types of bullets the Confederate Soldier would have used. The big 69 cal. 3 ring Minie Ball, the 58 cal. 2 ring, Gardner Minie Ball, and the 58 cal. Smooth sided Enfield. There were many more, but these were the 3 main ones used. These were all dug in Virginia.
by Mark P with comments disabledThis handful of bullets were dug close to the battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse VA.
by Mark P with comments disabledAlong with the bullets, there are some artillery fragments, a bed roll buckle, a couple of pewter nozzles off of whiskey kegs, and a few other odd pieces that were dug close to the battle of Shiloh Tenn.
by Mark P with comments disabledI picked up this collection of dug bullets off of a gentleman who had been metal detecting and collecting Civil War artifacts around the Perryville KY area for most of his life. He said most of this bullet collection has been dug over the past 50 years. It has fishing weights, game pieces, poker chips, pencils and some carvings all made of flattened bullets. It takes literally years to find an assortment like this. What a great addition to my bullet collection.
by Mark P with comments disabledWhile my wife and I were vacationing in Virginia, I was able to find a collector who dug this assortment bullets at Brandy Station. Shot bullets could tell a great story!
by Mark P with comments disabledWhile traveling through Tennessee and Georgia, I met a gentleman who enjoys metal detecting as much as I do, and was able to get this really nice assortment of bullets off of him. He dug these on private land adjoining the Chickamagua Battle field in Georgia.
by Mark P with comments disabled