Mementos
On my pilgrimage to Gettysburg, I did manage to procure a couple of mementos of the trip. One thing I brought back was a replica of a Confederate cavalry saber. My youngest boy had already prevailed upon me for a replica of a Union cavalry saber, so I thought I'd get something different than he had. The other thing I got was an intact, unfired round from a Spencer carbine, dug by a memorabilia hunter in an area north of Gettysburg. The .56-56 rimfire round is not a dud, just unfired. I hope whoever dropped it did not need it later.
Personal Thoughts | Gaius Sunday, 13 July , 2008
By Dana, Tuesday, 15 July , 2008 @ 6:13 pm
We visited Gettysburg last Wednesday, and my purchased momento is a brass CS oval belt buckle, as worn by my Confederate brethren in the War of Northern Aggression.
By Quilly Mammoth, Wednesday, 16 July , 2008 @ 8:17 am
Careful with that round.
By James Williams, Wednesday, 16 July , 2008 @ 6:51 pm
The .56-.56 rimfire cartridge was used in the Spenser repeating rifle. The Northern army had about 100,000 of them, and they were used at Gettysburg. The military leaders at the time didn’t seem to think the repeating rifles were decisive, but I have always thought they were in some places, such as at Gettysburg and at Franklin, Tennessee. One problem at the time was the amount of ammunition the soldiers equipped with the repeating rifles required, and the problems that caused because of the logistics deficiencies at the time. Modern armies rely on the massive firepower of automatic rifles, so we now appreciate firepower. I have read that the old rimfire cartridges often would fire on a second try after a misfire, so the cartridge is still dangerous.
By Gaius, Wednesday, 16 July , 2008 @ 8:32 pm
Yes, James. Both you and Quilly are correct. Absent proof that this cartridge has been inerted, it should (and is) being treated as a live round. 145 years later and this ordnance is still very, very deadly.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,353998,00.html
Actually, I need to find someone who can render (or confirm) it safe without destroying it. For now, it is being treated as a live round. I won’t touch it myself, I have no tools, training or experience to do so safely. It sits in the little case I bought it in, secured in a gun safe.
By martian, Thursday, 17 July , 2008 @ 10:01 am
I love the way Southerners call it "the War of Northern Agression" when it was the SOUTH that fired the first shots in their attack on Fort Sumpter.