Just realized what I️ had in my miscellaneous bullets.

[Truth]

Three .45 Cal Confederate Whitworth Sharpshooter bullets. I️ read they where kind of rare.

 

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[alabama11]

Wow. What great finds. Nice work.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

I wish I didn't have to say this, but... they appear to be too short for Whitworth bullets. There are some slightly postwar .45 Buffalo Sharps Rifle bullets which are about that length. They are shown and described in the Thomas-&-Thomas "Handbook Of Civil War Bullets & Cartridges as bullets #65 and #66. That book says they date from 1876 into the 1880s. We need some closeup photos showing what sort of cavity is in your bullets. Also, if you've got a Caliper, precise measurements of your bullets' diameter and length would help in correctly identifying them.

 

[Truth]

I wish I didn't have to say this, but... they appear to be too short for Whitworth bullets. There are some slightly postwar .45 Buffalo Sharps Rifle bullets which are about that length. They are shown and described in the Thomas-&-Thomas "Handbook Of Civil War Bullets & Cartridges as bullets #65 and #66. That book says they date from 1876 into the 1880s. We need some closeup photos showing what sort of cavity is in your bullets. Also, if you've got a Caliper, precise measurements of your bullets' diameter and length would help in correctly identifying them.

One thing about me TCG is I️ can handle the Truth. Lol. Here you go buddy

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

I appreciate your wise outlook. I too believe it is better to know the truth.

Unfortunately, your bullets' measurement is a dead-on (to one-hundredth of an inch) match for the 1876 Buffalo Sharps .45 metallic-cartridge bullet shown as bullet #66A in the "Handbook of Civil War Bullets & Cartridges." The Buffalo Sharps bullet is 1.09" long by .450" diameter and yours is 1.08" by .450" diameter. Also, yours has the same "dish/shallow-bowl" cavity as 66A.

For anybody here who wants to know, for future reference when you suspect you've found a Whitworth bullet... the CSA .45 Whitworth in the "Handbook" is 1.40 long by .445 diameter... fully .30" longer than the .45 Buffalo Sharps bullet.

 

[Truth]

I appreciate your wise outlook. I too believe it is better to know the truth. Unfortunately, your bullets' measurement is a dead-on (to one-hundredth of an inch) match for the 1876 Buffalo Sharps .45 metallic-cartridge bullet shown as bullet #66A in the "Handbook of Civil War Bullets & Cartridges." The Buffalo Sharps bullet is 1.09" long by .450" diameter and yours is 1.08" by .450" diameter. Also, yours has the same "dish/shallow-bowl" cavity as 66A.

For anybody here who wants to know, for future reference when you suspect you've found a Whitworth bullet... the CSA .45 Whitworth in the "Handbook" is 1.40 long by .445 diameter... fully .30" longer than the .45 Buffalo Sharps bullet.

Thank you very much cannonball. Appreciate your time.

 

[Davers]

I was afraid this was the case , hence I held back a response, I hope you did indeed have (Shorter Whitworth) that I did not know about.

My 1996 published T&T HBOCWC does state # 66 a and b are " .45 caliber, Whitworth ( Bullets: A, D- .450, L- 1.09 , W-387) " & 66 B; Dia-.437 , L-1.11 , W 398.) Shorter variants, "A" has a dished base and "B" has a cone cavity".

Has this been updated in later publishing's (if there were any)?

Cause looking at my copy , I would think I had 'Short Whitworth' Variants.

The # 67 'Hexagonal ' Variant is explained to my satisfaction as is # 68 " double-end" Whitworth.

I also learned that I have been spelling' Wintworth ' wrong for almost 20 years . 'Whitworth'.

Guess it would have help if I had found 1 . LOL

 

[Truth]

I was afraid this was the case , hence I held back a response, I hope you did indeed have (Shorter Whitworth) that I did not know about.

My 1996 published T&T HBOCWC does state # 66 a and b are " .45 caliber, Whitworth ( Bullets: A, D- .450, L- 1.09 , W-387) " & 66 B; Dia-.437 , L-1.11 , W 398.) Shorter variants, "A" has a dished base and "B" has a cone cavity".

Has this been updated in later publishing's (if there were any)?

Cause looking at my copy , I would think I had 'Short Whitworth' Variants.

The # 67 'Hexagonal ' Variant is explained to my satisfaction as is # 68 " double-end" Whitworth.

I also learned that I have been spelling' Wintworth ' wrong for almost 20 years . 'Whitworth'.

Guess it would have help if I had found 1 . LOL

I️ friend of mine did find this one 50 yards from these. I’m pretty sure this one is the real deal. I’ll keep looking trust me until I get one. LOL

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Davers wrote:
> My 1996 published T&T HBOCWC does state # 66 a and b are " .45 caliber, Whitworth ( Bullets: A, D- .450, L- 1.09 , W-387) " & 66 B; Dia-.437 , L-1.11 , W 398.) Shorter variants, "A" has a dished base and "B" has a cone cavity".
> Has this been updated in later publishing's (if there were any)?

Yes, the Thomas-&-Thomas "Handbook of Civil War Bullets & Cartridges" has been updated since your 1996 edition was published. My copy of the updated version says "Revised 2007."

Interestingly, I also have a copy of the 1996 edition which must have been updated after your copy was printed. In it, bullets #65, and 66A & 66B are titled "Sharps 1876-1880s." In my Revised 2007 copy, bullets #65 and 66 are Whitworth bullets, there is no 66B, and the three Sharps bullets have been moved to the bottom of the page inside a separate "block" and labeled (without bullet numbers) as .45-70 Sharps, with the same metallic-cartridge info as before.

The current edition of the Thomas-&-Thomas "Handbook of Civil War Bullets & Cartridges" is available from one of the authors, Jim Thomas, for $10, at:
www.civilwarprojectiles.com
When you get there, click on "Books." Jim's contact info, (phone and email), is at the bottom of the Books webpage.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Truth1253 wrote:
> I️ friend of mine did find this one 50 yards from these. I’m pretty sure this one is the real deal.

It is a fired real Whitworth Minie bullet. The distinctive rifling shape made by the Whitworth Rifle's hexagonal bore (not mere ordinary 6-groove rifling) is the key ID clue. Also, it has the correct cavity for a Whitworth, a semi-small cone with a very thick rim.

 

[Truth]

Truth1253 wrote:
> I️ friend of mine did find this one 50 yards from these. I’m pretty sure this one is the real deal.

It is a fired real Whitworth Minie bullet. The distinctive rifling shape made by the Whitworth Rifle's hexagonal bore (not mere ordinary 6-groove rifling) is the key ID clue. Also, it has the correct cavity for a Whitworth, a semi-small cone with a very thick rim.

Yeah I️ was excited to see that it came from the same area I️ detected. I️ actually just him 2 weeks ago and he came up and introduced himself. Very very knowledgeable guy about the Civil War and a 20 year detectorist at that. So I’m planning on learning a lot from this guy. Love this hobby

 

[Truth]

Yeah I️ was excited to see that it came from the same area I️ detected. I️ actually just him 2 weeks ago and he came up and introduced himself. Very very knowledgeable guy about the Civil War and a 20 year detectorist at that. So I’m planning on learning a lot from this guy. Love this hobby

He also showed me a couple of his finds.

 

[Davers]

Davers wrote:
> My 1996 published T&T HBOCWC does state # 66 a and b are " .45 caliber, Whitworth ( Bullets: A, D- .450, L- 1.09 , W-387) " & 66 B; Dia-.437 , L-1.11 , W 398.) Shorter variants, "A" has a dished base and "B" has a cone cavity".
> Has this been updated in later publishing's (if there were any)?

Yes, the Thomas-&-Thomas "Handbook of Civil War Bullets & Cartridges" has been updated since your 1996 edition was published. My copy of the updated version says "Revised 2007."

Interestingly, I also have a copy of the 1996 edition which must have been updated after your copy was printed. In it, bullets #65, and 66A & 66B are titled "Sharps 1876-1880s." In my Revised 2007 copy, bullets #65 and 66 are Whitworth bullets, there is no 66B, and the three Sharps bullets have been moved to the bottom of the page inside a separate "block" and labeled (without bullet numbers) as .45-70 Sharps, with the same metallic-cartridge info as before.

The current edition of the Thomas-&-Thomas "Handbook of Civil War Bullets & Cartridges" is available from one of the authors, Jim Thomas, for $10, at:
www.civilwarprojectiles.com
When you get there, click on "Books." Jim's contact info, (phone and email), is at the bottom of the Books webpage.

FWIW I typed all this earlier today before Church but I got logged out had to reload the page Then Sign back in & the info was Gone .

Oh Well as I stated earlier , my book was bought in 1997 & the only Sharps bullets with metal cartridges are on page 29. 1 is listed as a .54 Sharps & Hankins Bullet/ Cartridge with the 'pin' protruding from it's base (to hold the linen wad in place). 2 ed is also a .54 Sharps & Hankins.
It states was used in the ( old model ) carbine & was thought until recently that it was to be used in the 'Ballard carbine'. Then 3rd a .38 caliber Sharps , a Reloadable Cartridge case for a Sharps Lever action pistol, the brass case had an extra ear soldiered to it to aid in extraction.
'A neat little load IMO'. #'s are 124 , 125 , 126, respectively.

I looked pretty hard but I don't see the " 45-70 Sharps" listed by that name in my Copy.

I had lost this copy for a few years and bought another one in the late 2000's ; that I have since misplaced .

I will look into getting another Copy as I feel it's good to have as many of these 'Handy' books as possible.

Funny I bought the first copy at the Gift Shop /Museum at the Kennessaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.
Merry Christmas
Davey

 

[Davers]

I️ friend of mine did find this one 50 yards from these. I’m pretty sure this one is the real deal. I’ll keep looking trust me until I get one. LOLView attachment 1529320View attachment 1529321View attachment 1529322View attachment 1529323

That's very Cool that the Bullets came from the same General Area.