Carved round ball, more pics

[fyrffytr1]

Can anyone tell me what this may have been used for? It is about 54 cal. and made of lead. The hole in the cetner is very shallow and does not go through the ball.

 

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[TxMike]

I know that if a blackpowder rifle had to be unloaded because for some reason it failed to fire like it was filled with wet or bad gunpowder or even NO gunpowder (apparently a fairly common mistake in the heat of battle) the soldier would have to use a Ball Puller to get the bullet out. The puller was basically just a threaded screw type attachment that fitted on the end of the ram rod and was literally screwed into the soft lead of the bullet. The bullet was then pulled out of the barrel with the ram rod. That might explain the hole in the bullet. It might have been that the bullet was too badly damaged from the removal process to be re-used and the soldier just decided to carve on it. Maybe there was something the soldiers rubbed the wasted bullet on? Those grooves look pretty perpindicular and of even depth. Can't think of anything. Just guessing.

 

[plymouthian12]

Looks like it was maybe carved into a rustic looking flower

 

[Breezie]

I think the carved bullets are so interesting. There's really no way of knowing what was on the soldier's mind when he carved this, but he could have been making some sling shot ammo. Neat find, Breezie

 

[DCMatt]

An attempt to make a nipple pick?

As TxMike said, musket misfire was a common problem on the field... And it still is for CW reenactors. But the hole in your bullet is too small for an extraction. Often a clogged nipple was/is the cause.

I was in the 150th anniversary Sharpsburg battle last month and a guy in the company next to us loaded three times before his gun finally went off (with all the smoke and noise, sometimes you can't tell). It kicked back and hit him in the face, knocking him and another guy to the ground. He was cut pretty bad. The battle had to be stopped so EMT's could come on the field to take him away.

DCMatt
13th Virginia Infantry, Company I
Frontier Riflemen