Mystery Items From A Civil War Site

[BuckleBoy]

Hello All,

I have a whatzit for you, as well as an odd question about a bullet... First off, the whatzit. It is brass, and it should be of the right time period to be Civil War (judging from the patina that we get on 1860's brass around here). Here are photos of the front and back of the piece. The piece is curved.






And here's the question about the bullet. I found a .69 cal round ball that had a perfect "X" carved into it. This one was dropped rather than fired, and it looks like the troops were melting down .69 cal three ringers and molding them into round projectiles on the site--judging from the number of charred and half-melted bullets and campfire lead we've found. I have several of these with the "X" in them, and my buddy has found one as well. Any ideas as to what purpose this would've served? Usually when troops carved lead, they rendered it unusable--but not in this case. That's why I was wondering if it had a function.



Thank you all in advance for your thoughts and ideas.

Regards,


Buckleboy

 

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[jeff of pa]

Looks like the End of an old Spoon

 

[Highwater]

Buckleboy,
I think Jeff is correct about the end of an old spoon, or maybe a fork. I have found lots of them, but don't remember any with a bend like that.
I wonder if the X on the lead isn't an early version of a 'hollowpoint'.? It might make it shatter upon impact causing more serious damage.? We used to cut the end off and carve an X on our lead when I was a kid and couldn't afford hollowpoints. We used to call them Dumdum's. HH Highwater

 

[Monty]

Sharpshooters were very particular about their bullets. To get the absolute best accuracy they wanted to be sure the ball was oriented the same way shot after shot. So, they often would cut or grind off the sprue and put an X on the bullet. In the dark they could feel the X and be sure to load it correctly. That may be what you have found. Monty

 

[BuckleBoy]

Buckleboy,
I think Jeff is correct about the end of an old spoon, or maybe a fork. I have found lots of them, but don't remember any with a bend like that.
I wonder if the X on the lead isn't an early version of a 'hollowpoint'.? It might make it shatter upon impact causing more serious damage.? We used to cut the end off and carve an X on our lead when I was a kid and couldn't afford hollowpoints. We used to call them Dumdum's. HH Highwater

My first thought when I found it was that it was one side of a broken spur. The curve is right, but there are no slots in it for the bootstrap. I have never found a brass spoon piece with a curve in it like that. Also, the brass is thick (usually the brass spoons I've found are thin brass). This is most certainly cast, not stamped. The spoon idea is a good one, but I'm not entirely convinced.

Sharpshooters were very particular about their bullets. To get the absolute best accuracy they wanted to be sure the ball was oriented the same way shot after shot. So, they often would cut or grind off the sprue and put an X on the bullet. In the dark they could feel the X and be sure to load it correctly. That may be what you have found. Monty

I think you may have hit the nail on the head there! These were picket post finds, so certainly they had some good riflemen posted there. Nice work!



-Buckleboy

 

[Montana Jim]

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