New Page: the weapons… first entry – Minié ball

I am in need of another page on which to collect notes about weapons. I’ve begun it here. First entry…

Cylindroconcoidal Bullet ["Minié ball"]

• Invented by a Captain Norton of the British army in 1832. [TACWOMW, 16]
• Perfected by Claude-Etienne Minié (right) in 1843, a captain in the French army. [TACWOMW, 16]

“Previously too slow to load, the rifle became a practical weapon on the battlefield. The Minie ball could be dropped down the muzzle of a rifle almost as easily as if it were round. T he net result was additional range, velocity, and accuracy.” [TACWOMW, 16]

Photo: Minié Ball design from Harpers Ferry. Source; Wiki commons.

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[TACWOMW] – Edward Hagerman, The American Civil War and the Origins of Modern Warfare: Ideas, Organization, and Field Command (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1988).