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The Bullets of Selma
By Dean Thomas
(Originally Published in American
Digger Magazine)
page 2
Click
on the photos to enlarge
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| .69
cal. Rifled Musket with cone-shaped cavity |
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Regardless,
as White predicted in mid-June, cartridge production did dwindle
significantly by the end of 1863. In December of that year,
only 370,490 cartridges were produced. Production was more
than halved again in January 1864 when 167,710 cartridges
were made. According to the "Summary Statements of Work
Done" from February to August 1864, there was little
improvement until June:
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February
- 105,810
March - 144,470
April - 150,000
May - 168,882
June - 322,682
July - 329,866
August - 387,874
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The
"Summary Statements" from December 1863 through
August 1864 also reveal that fifteen different types of bullets
and cartridges were fabricated:
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| .69
cal. Buck and Ball |
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.577/.58
cal. Enfield rifle or rifle musket (In
April 1864 the English
ball
was changed to a U.S. pattern 3-ringer.)
.54 cal. Miss. or Austrian rifle (Same
remarks as above.)
.69 cal. Musket ball
.69 cal. Buck & ball
.69 cal. Buck Shot
.52 cal. Sharps rifle
.50 cal. Maynard rifle
.37 cal. Maynard rifle
.44 cal. Colt Army pistol
.36 cal. Colt Navy pistol
.54 cal. "Dragoon" pistol
.56 cal. Colt revolving rifle
.75 cal. Tower musket ball
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Buck
Shot used in a
.69 cal. cartridge |
As General W.T. Sherman's armies closed in on Atlanta in mid-1864,
General J.E. Johnston's forces appealed to Selma and other facilities
for more ammunition than the Atlanta Arsenal could supply them.
On June 28, 1864, Lt. Col. White sent a telegram to Johnston's Chief
of Ordnance, Lt.
Col. Hypolite Oladowski: "Twelve thousand cartridges daily
- force small - no hope of increase." And two weeks later on
July 13, White wrote to Lt. Col. Mallet:
"...Since
the disorganization of the cartridge Laboratory, by the suspension
(almost entire) of its work, and the consequent disbanding of its
employees, it has been impossible to restore to it its complement
of laborers; and moreover, people are not disposed to quit other
employment, where the chances of permanency are more promising than
has hitherto characterised the operations of our Laboratory, for
the purpose of accepting employment in the latter, even at higher
wages. The wants of the Troops in this section of country are more
than we can supply, and no aid, in this respect, can be given to
Gen. Johnston's Army."
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left:
.75 cal. Tower musket round ball
right: .75 cal. Tower rifled musket, shallow dished-cavity |
The
records located at the National Archives do not reveal whether or
not White, or his September 1864 successor Lt. Col. John C. Moore,
were able to increase cartridge production beyond 400,000 per month
by the end of the war. However, we do know from samples received
by Mallet, that .577/.58, .54, Sharps .52, Colt Army & Navy,
.50 Maynard, and .69 cal. smoothbore rounds continued to be made.
In March 1865, Yankee Gen. James Wilson made Selma the initial target
of his great cavalry raid, and succeeded in capturing the city on
April 2. Most readers will recognize this date as the same day as
the fall of Richmond, Virginia. At any rate, in obedience to orders
received from Wilson, Col. Edward F. Winslow of the 4th Iowa Cavalry,
commanding the First Brigade, assumed command of the city on Monday
April 3. Winslow "commenced destroying everything which
could be of benefit to the enemy."
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left:
.52 cal. Sharps carbine or rifle
right: .50 and .37 cal. Maynard rifle |
"First.
Selma Arsenal, consisting of twenty-four buildings, containing an
immense amount of war material and machinery for manufacturing the
same.[The arsenal itself covered 6 acres.] Very little of the machinery
had been removed, although much of it was packed and ready for shipment
to Macon and Columbus, Ga. Among other articles here destroyed were
15 siege guns and 10 heavy carriages, 10 field pieces with 60 field
carriages, 10 caissons, 60,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, 1,000,000
rounds of small-arms ammunition, 3,000,000 feet of lumber, 10,000
bushels of coal, 300 barrels of resin, and 3 large engines and boilers."
Here, the 72nd Indiana Mounted Infantry was assisted by 400 negroes,
"and it surprised us a little to see how cheerfully they
went at the work. They fixed up a spout on an inclined plane that
led down to the river. Fifteen or 20 feet below the spout they fixed
a platform, and when the shells would roll down the spout they would
gain such velocity that on striking the platform they would bounce
50 feet out into the river. This tickled the darkies wonderfully,
and for two days they just kept the river boiling." |
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Steve Burgess/American Digger Magazine |
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