Minié ball - Wikipedia
WEBThe Minié ball, or Minie ball, is a type of hollow-based bullet designed by Claude-Étienne Minié, inventor of the French Minié rifle, for muzzle-loading rifled muskets.
Minie Ball: The Civil War Bullet that Changed History
WEBTwo different-size Minié balls were used: The Harpers Ferry rifle fired a .69 caliber round, while the Springfield design used .58 caliber. When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, most state arsenals contained smoothbore muskets, and these were used extensively by both sides out of necessity.
Minié Ball ‑ Civil War, Wounds & Bullet | HISTORY
WEBApr 26, 2010 · The Minié bullet, a cylindrical bullet with a hollow base that expanded when fired, proved lethally accurate over relatively long distances, and was soon used to devastating effect by the...
The Bullet That Changed History - The New York Times
WEBAug 31, 2012 · While a smoothbore musket could expel a solid ball with a greater muzzle velocity than a rifle musket, it was the projectile that the latter weapon fired – the slightly smaller Minié ball – that...
Throwback Thursday: Minié Ball & America's Civil War
WEBAug 31, 2023 · Both armies, North and South, fired Minié balls during the American Civil War (1861-1865). In 1855, several years prior to the start of the war, the United States Army adopted the Minié ball and the rifled musket as weapons.
The lead minie ball - Smithsonian Institution
WEBThe minie ball, originally designed by Captain Claude-Etienne Minie of France and improved on by manufacturers in the United States, changed warfare. Since the minie ball was smaller than the diameter of the barrel, it could be loaded quickly by dropping the bullet down the barrel.
Weaponry: The Rifle-Musket and the Minié Ball - HistoryNet
WEBJun 12, 2006 · Known to common soldiers as the minié ball (which they pronounced ‘minnie ball), the conical bullet could be loaded quickly and easily down a rifle’s muzzle and still fit the barrel’s rifling grooves tightly when fired.
Small but Deadly: The Minié Ball – The Gettysburg Compiler
WEBApr 30, 2019 · The bullet was made out of soft lead, had a conical shape, and had anywhere from two to four rings at the base. These characteristics allowed the minié ball to expand and engage the rifling of the gun barrel when it …
AMERICAN CIVIL WAR FIRED MINIE BALL BULLETS - ORIGINAL
WEBThis type of bullet or projectile was very commonly used during the Civil War. It was designed to be fired from either a .577 or a .58 caliber rifle. Usually either a British Enfield or an American Springfield rifled musket. These firearms, accurate up to 500 yards, were popular throughout the war. This bullet probably used a paper cartridge.
WEBa minnie (or Minié) ball although it was a conical shaped missile—that was made of soft lead flattened out upon impact, shattering bone and ripping through tissue. The minnie ball made an entrance wound the size of a thumb; it made an exit wound the size of a fist. Rarely did a bullet pass through a soldier leaving a “clean wound.”