I plead stupid. I need help on a Minnie ball ID.

[John 'n' W.Va]

I hunt around old homes. Today wasn't going so well and I came across this. I found a round lead ball 1/4 mile form this Minnie ball. I seem to find a lot of the round ones. This is the first Minnie ball I have found. I checked the web site on Minnie balls, but it was asking me questions that I didn't understand. I looked through the list of Minnie balls and got more confused.
After finding it I realized I was about a 1/4 mile from Jone's raid(southern) where he destroyed a train trestle. I am in northern WV. if that helps on the ID. There is a large union encampment 10 miles from where I live. Most of the activity in this area was union. If I am going to keep finding these things, I am going to have to get something to measure them. Here is my best shot at it. It is cone shaped inside.

1 1/8 th inch long
21/32 wide

[attachment 83429 3-12-082lead.jpg]

[attachment 83427 3-12-08mim.jpg]

[attachment 83428 3-12-08mim2.jpg]

[attachment 83426 3-12-08inside.jpg]

 

[Nemo]

Both appear to be the same caliber (diameter in hundreds of an inch) both are .69 or 69/100 of an inch) Both are typically fired in muzzleloaders . Yours appear to be what is referred to as "drops" meaning they were dropped as the soldier was running or playing with the bullets in his cartridge box.
The roundball was fired in a musket and the Minie bullet was fired in a rifled musket. These were early weapons in the Civil War and were later replaced by .58 caliber weapons. You have measured the length and width amd all you need is the weight of the bullet to make a good identification. You will probably eventually need a caliper to make the measurements if you get into bullet identification

A good book to start with is Thomas and Thomas "A Handbook of Civil War Bullets and Cartridges." It usually costs less than $10 and is a good book for the beginner and expert.

Keep hunting around the area you may find more of these

Nemo