Instead of the regular smoothbore muskets, the Springfield 1861 was invented using the new minie ball. These bullets were shaped like a cone with a hollow inside, and on the outside were three grooves packed with grease. The groves would give it a spin while coming out of the barrel which made it more accurate. When the bullet hit, “It didn't just clip the bone the way the modern steel-jacketed bullet does; you didn't have any bone left up there.” (Foote) The bone-crushing bullets caused many amputations, and one Ohio soldier wrote, “…thinking that I had better die by rebel bullets than Union Quackery.” (The American
Instead of the regular smoothbore muskets, the Springfield 1861 was invented using the new minie ball. These bullets were shaped like a cone with a hollow inside, and on the outside were three grooves packed with grease. The groves would give it a spin while coming out of the barrel which made it more accurate. When the bullet hit, “It didn't just clip the bone the way the modern steel-jacketed bullet does; you didn't have any bone left up there.” (Foote) The bone-crushing bullets caused many amputations, and one Ohio soldier wrote, “…thinking that I had better die by rebel bullets than Union Quackery.” (The American