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Ready Aim Fire: Small Arms Ammunition in the Battle of Gettysburg
More than 375 bullet and cartridge specimens used by the Northern and Southern armies in the largest battle of the Civil War.
76 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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August 21, 2018
I live about 45 miles north of Gettysburg in Harrisburg, PA. Naturally, the town and the battlefield are a frequent destination for day trips with my family. I'm also interested in antique, black powder firearms. It is easy enough to find affordable replicas of many of the small arms used in the Civil War, but creating period-correct ammunition to use in them is a do-it-yourself proposition. "Ready... Aim... Fire! Small Arms Ammunition in the Battle of Gettysburg" provides a lot of good information on what ammo was actually used during the battle (which is representative of the ammo used throughout the war), with details on how the bullets and cartridges were constructed.
This book is a slim volume with the information on bullets and cartridges found on the Gettysburg battlefield sorted approximately by army units (at the corps level) based on where those units were placed during the battle. This book has the clear writing and lack of technical jargon found in good history books meant for general audiences, but the subject is very much for a niche audience that is generally familiar with Civil War small arms, but interested in the ammunition they used.
One side effect of the book's narrow focus is that there is no information at all on Civil War firearms. For example, the section on Union cavalry arms shows ammo for a Smith carbine. The ammo used a 50 caliber bullet seated in a rubber case containing the powder. Until I read that section, I had never heard of Smith carbines or rubber cartridges. However, it's easy enough to research specific firearms, and there's something to be said for maintaining a narrow focus in a book this specialized.
There are three appendices: (1) a listing Union units and the small arms each carried. Unfortunately, there is no similar list available for the Confederate units; (2) a copy of the Army of the Potomac's general order no. 30, which detailed the process for ordnance requisitions; and (3) a table of typical powder charges for common ammunition types.
This book is a slim volume with the information on bullets and cartridges found on the Gettysburg battlefield sorted approximately by army units (at the corps level) based on where those units were placed during the battle. This book has the clear writing and lack of technical jargon found in good history books meant for general audiences, but the subject is very much for a niche audience that is generally familiar with Civil War small arms, but interested in the ammunition they used.
One side effect of the book's narrow focus is that there is no information at all on Civil War firearms. For example, the section on Union cavalry arms shows ammo for a Smith carbine. The ammo used a 50 caliber bullet seated in a rubber case containing the powder. Until I read that section, I had never heard of Smith carbines or rubber cartridges. However, it's easy enough to research specific firearms, and there's something to be said for maintaining a narrow focus in a book this specialized.
There are three appendices: (1) a listing Union units and the small arms each carried. Unfortunately, there is no similar list available for the Confederate units; (2) a copy of the Army of the Potomac's general order no. 30, which detailed the process for ordnance requisitions; and (3) a table of typical powder charges for common ammunition types.
Displaying 1 of 1 review