Ave!

U.S. Civil War, Williams .58 Caliber "Cleaner" Bullet  

Lead; 21mm / 1 oz.

Con/ Rifle-fired, blunted nose with a tan leaden patina.

Seller's Note/ So, what is a "clean out" bullet, anyway? During the Civil War, many muskets and rifles were muzzle loaders using black powder to fire their projectiles. After firing 8 to 10 rounds the black powder residue would begin to foul the bore thusly making reloading difficult. One method was to clean the bore with water or even piss (!), but that was clumsy, especially during a battle when time was short.

The quicker way was to use a "clean out" bullet, one of which would be included into every packet of ten paper cartridges,.

The soldiers did not like them because the musket would recoil much harder than with a normal round. Because of that, the soldiers would just throw them out unless they were short on ammunition; many are recovered unfired for that reason.