Why are Civil War bullets white?
Civil War bullets were made out of a purer lead than is presently used in bullets. Lead is a gray color. If a bullet is recovered and appears to be white, it is because lead does oxidize leaving a white outer coating of lead oxide. It is kind of like rust, only white.
First, the vast majority of civil war bullets were cast from molten lead. Second, 150 year old bullets will come out of the ground with a corrosive lead oxide coating that gives an authentic civil war projectile its typical white patina.
Although the Minié ball was conical in shape, it was commonly referred to as a “ball,” due to the round shape of the ammunition that had been used for centuries. Made of soft lead, it was slightly smaller than the intended gun bore, making it easy to load in combat.
"Lead metal is unstable when it is in contact with air and water. It corrodes and forms hydrocerrussite, the white coating seen on old bullets in museums. That slows corrosion," Rimstidt said. However some lead escapes, he said.
It's simply lead oxidation on your bullets. Gives a whiteish patina on them.
All Gettysburg relics were obtained before it was national Park and are 100% legal to own. There will be no more bullets or relics from this area because relic hunting is now prohibited.
Most of the rifles of the day were subsonic and most of the rifled arms were muzzle velocities in the 1000 fps range. I believe it was the Sharps rifle and the M1854 Lorenz (w/ proper ammo) that could push out quite a bit faster but I believe they were still subsonic but only just.
Musket ball shapes, sizes and colors will vary. $4 per musket ball.
After the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, both Union and Confederate soldiers used the “minnie” bullet (as they called it) in their muzzle-loading rifles.
One reason why the Civil War was so lethal was the introduction of improved weaponry. Cone-shaped bullets replaced musket balls, and beginning in 1862, smooth-bore muskets were replaced with rifles with grooved barrels, which imparted spin on a bullet and allowed a soldier to hit a target a quarter of a mile away.
Why was the Minié ball so devastating?
The soft lead of the minié ball caused the ball to flatten out upon hitting its target, and when the target was a human body, the bullet shattered bones and destroyed tissue in catastrophic ways. The increasingly grisly damage of the minie ball led to the high number of amputations performed at Civil War hospitals.
They were usually made of lead. Musket balls were made by pouring molten lead into a musket ball mould and trimming off surplus lead once it had cooled.
The two projectiles used in this study were different in all bullet variables. The bullets used with the Civil War rifled musket weighed on average twice as much, were less aerody- namically shaped, and were made entirely of soft lead. There are some important findings for those who study gunshot wounds today.
After the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, both Union and Confederate soldiers used the “minnie” bullet (as they called it) in their muzzle-loading rifles.
