Paper Cartridges, Gettysburg PA

Paper Cartridges, Gettysburg PA Recreating history in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. No sales! No powder, no primers. Just history, demonstration, and discussion of Civil War-era paper cartridges.

A wild dachshund from the forests of central Pennsylvania is seen here attacking Joe, who was simply trying to make some...
09/16/2026

A wild dachshund from the forests of central Pennsylvania is seen here attacking Joe, who was simply trying to make some Snider and Martini-Henry ammo boxes.

Random dachshund attacks are common in these parts. Fortunately Joe is well trained to fend off wiener dog attacks with a combination of tickles and belly rubs.

Getting ready for the Victorian R***eman shoot next weekend. And since the U.S. Model 1855 is unquestionably the finest ...
09/11/2026

Getting ready for the Victorian R***eman shoot next weekend. And since the U.S. Model 1855 is unquestionably the finest Victorian-era r***e, especially when paired with the utter perfection of the Burton-Minié ball, that’s where my attention has been focused.

Also bringing some Prussian needle r***es and some Austrian stuff, like a Kammerbüchse and an 1842 Augustin tube lock and a Lorenz, of course, since that is the topic of my Friday evening presentation.

And since it is a British Militaria Forum shoot, I guess I have to bring some of those British things with me too, even though they will probably look silly and incapable next to the technological triumph that is the Model 1855.

There were lots of comments on my previous post asking about the tube of caps that went into each bundle of cartridges d...
09/09/2026

There were lots of comments on my previous post asking about the tube of caps that went into each bundle of cartridges during the American Civil War.

The paper tube holding 12 caps (or 13 for Confederate made bundles) would have been placed as shown here, tightly placed along one of the “tiers” of cartridges.

The tube of caps would produce a bulge of sorts, and when the bundles were packed into 1000-round wooden boxes, they would be placed so that the L-shaped sort of bulge of one bundle fit neatly in the recessed part of the L-shape on another bundle (think of Tetris if you’re an older Millennial like me).

The 1000-round crates were packed very tightly and over time the tube of caps tended to get pressed into the paper cartridges. Military caps in the 1860s had much smaller flanges so they also took up less space; think more “bowler hat” than “top hat”.

The Ordnance Manual instructions for the bundles of the glorious wonderful U.S. Burton-Minié cartridge can be confusing....
09/08/2026

The Ordnance Manual instructions for the bundles of the glorious wonderful U.S. Burton-Minié cartridge can be confusing.

It calls for stacking “two tiers of cartridges of five each, the balls alternating.”

A well-known article on historic am******on for Civil War reenactors, that is still widely circulated, assumes that this meant all 5 cartridges on the top tier were pointed one way, and the 5 on the bottom pointed the other.

In fact, each cartridge alternated, distributing the weight of the lead. This has been confirmed by several methods including x-ray examination of original unopened packs, and the opening of several original packs to physically examine the cartridges inside. In one of the packs I have personally examined, there were six Williams patent cartridges and four regular Minié, all stacked with bullets alternating, instead of each tier facing the same way.

Here you can see some beautiful glorious U.S. Burton-Minié cartridges being bundled up. Historically a paper tube with 12 percussion caps would be added before the bundle was closed up and tied off.

*Yorckscher Marsch intensifies*A few of us are bringing Dreyse’s to the Victorian R***eman - British Militaria Forum sho...
09/07/2026

*Yorckscher Marsch intensifies*

A few of us are bringing Dreyse’s to the Victorian R***eman - British Militaria Forum shoot in a couple weeks. The Dreyse Needle R***e (Zündnadelgewehr in German) used a completely self contained cartridge, which was revolutionary for its year of adoption in 1841. The powder, bullet, and early form of percussion primer were all wrapped up in a paper tube, eliminating any need to prime a flintlock pan or place a percussion cap on a cone. This, combined with breechloading capability, resulted in a rate of fire about twice that of the best muzzleloaders of the day.

It’s one of my favorite r***es. They are very uncommon on this side of the Atlantic.

I’m a lead farmer, and this morning’s harvest was abundant. After the entire month of August was a miserable humid sauna...
09/07/2026

I’m a lead farmer, and this morning’s harvest was abundant.

After the entire month of August was a miserable humid sauna, the weather finally broke and there was a hint of crispness in the air this morning, and it was a glorious 58° F.

So I plugged in my lead pots (I use large electric furnaces for convenience) and went for a run while it melted and then cranked out a little pile of Burton Minies. All before 9am.

Such is the life of a Victorian lead farmer.

I am still very fond of the P/53 Enfield but the U.S. Model 1855 continues to grow on me. Such a lovely r***e.
09/03/2026

I am still very fond of the P/53 Enfield but the U.S. Model 1855 continues to grow on me. Such a lovely r***e.

I made my first Maynard primer tape exactly two years ago, and it’s been a steady trial and error process of improvement...
09/01/2026

I made my first Maynard primer tape exactly two years ago, and it’s been a steady trial and error process of improvement since then.

The breakthrough was archival research (many thanks to Paul Davies for sharing his discovery of a treasure trove of Maynard primer system correspondence from Frankford Arsenal) that revealed the glues, lacquers, and methods used to manufacture and seal the tapes.

Secretary of War Jefferson Davis was extremely enthusiastic about the Maynard primer, although Col. H. K. Craig, the Chief of Ordnance, was very hesitant. By 1859, however, even Craig conceded that the system had reached “perfection.”

Of course, the downfall of the Maynard primer was its susceptibility to moisture but probably not the way you’d think. When fresh from the Arsenal, the tapes were waterproofed so well that they could be immersed underwater for 60 minutes and still could function. Fresh, new tapes worked perfectly. The problem was with old tapes that had gone through the temperature swings of a year or more, which cracked the shellac-based lacquer and let moisture get in to the primer powder.

Having grown up playing with red roll caps for toy cap guns, the Maynard primer tape has an unusual sentimental familiarity and that may partially explain why they are just so dang fun to take to the range.

In addition to the fantastic company at the Arsenals of History symposium at the Cody fi****ms museum, the impressive (a...
08/31/2026

In addition to the fantastic company at the Arsenals of History symposium at the Cody fi****ms museum, the impressive (and seemingly endless) collection had some real gems. On display in the museum were several Maynard patent tape primer system guns, with several unique configurations.

Particularly interesting is one model which had the tape primer coil in the hammer!

Their first model Maynard carbine also has a bit of tape still poking out of the magazine.

If you ever make it out to Cody, you need to reserve at least one full day to take in the museum.

I’ve been in Wyoming at the Cody Fi****ms Museum, for the Arsenals of History symposium, which is why it’s been very qui...
08/28/2026

I’ve been in Wyoming at the Cody Fi****ms Museum, for the Arsenals of History symposium, which is why it’s been very quiet on the page lately.

Your regularly scheduled musketry nerdery will resume next week.

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