.54 cal. Minie Ball Cartridge Trapezoid Dimensions

[arkangel33]

A month or so ago on the Forum the question was posed where can you find the dimensions for the trapezoids for the .54 cal. Minie ball cartridge. Being the information was not readily available in the 3 editions of the Ordnance Manuals. I also had a friend from the Ordnance Museum look into with no luck the Ordnance circulars that aren't already online no luck. An inquiry with the author Dean Thomas was also no Dice. I cam across a .54 minie ball cartridge that was a prime candidate to unravel and check dimensions and here they are. Oh one other thing all dimensions are given in Tenths of an inch as that was the Ordnance Departments preferred standard of measure. Please make sure this info gets out to anyone interested in rolling their own live rounds. With the switch to .58 it seems this info would have went out in a memorandum but I have not found proof so the proof is in the artifact. The photo's of this venture are posted over on the Facebook ACW Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery Equipments page.

Height 4.0
Long Base 3.3
Short Base 2.4

.58 measurements from the 1862 Ordnance manual are as follows.
Height 4.12
Long Base 4.0
Short Base 2.5

[VMI88]

Mike,

I realize this is an old thread, but I was researching just this question and your post was about the only information that came up. So first of all, thanks! Do you have any additional details on the cartridge you examined? Union or Confederate? Swaged ball or cast? Type/color of paper? A picture would be great if you have it.

Regards,