12 > CIVIL WAR Era MISSISSIPPI DUG BULLETS & BALLS

Updated August 8, 2026

AVAILABLE for SHIPPING or LOCAL PICKUP > Group of 12 excavated lead projectiles recovered in Mississippi, representing assorted Civil War era ammunition forms. Included are several grooved conical rifle bullets commonly described as Minié type balls, together with spherical musket balls and other molded lead projectiles of the period. Minié refers to the Minié ball, a conical lead bullet developed in the 1840s by French Army officer Claude Étienne Minié. Despite the word ball, it is not round. The bullet has a hollow base that expands when the powder charge fires, gripping the rifling inside the barrel. This allowed a soldier to load the projectile relatively easily while gaining much greater range and accuracy than a traditional round musket ball. The conical examples display varying ogival, rounded and flattened profiles, with multiple exterior lubricant grooves visible on several pieces. The spherical examples represent traditional smoothbore musket ammunition or related round shot. Burial has produced varied oxidation, mineral encrustation, discoloration and surface erosion, while several projectiles exhibit compression or deformation potentially associated with impact, firing, recovery or prolonged exposure within the ground. Minié type ammunition became closely associated with the rifled muskets widely employed during the American Civil War, offering improved range and accuracy over traditional smoothbore arms. The assortment reflects the variety of lead ammunition encountered at military camps, travel routes, defensive positions and conflict sites throughout Mississippi. CONDITION REPORT > Excavated condition throughout, with oxidation, soil and mineral encrustation, surface erosion, deformation and scattered losses relative to burial and recovery. As discovered, not cleaned or altered.

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