Civil War Armory

Ammunition

This section gives information on ammunition as well as a brief overview of its history around the time of the Civil War.

Ammunition is the material loaded into and fired from firearms.  Bullets are the most common form of ammunition.  For centuries bullets have been made of lead.

Bullets are placed in cartridges, small containers that carry gunpowder and a bullet.  The first cartridges were made of paper.  Later on, metallic cartridges were developed.

In 1890, the lead bullets were made with a copper cover or a jacket.  When smokeless powder was used, it melted the bullets a little.  The melted lead inside the barrel of the gun made bullets less accurate.  To solve this problem, a harder jacket was made for the bullets.