Old cartridge shell found at civil war site

Barneymartin3

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Found this old cartridge shell in a known civil war site today. It’s length is .855 and the shell diameter is .456. The rim diameter is .524. The base has a large circular raised center which looks to have a raised letter of number in the center. It has several very long firing pin strikes on it. Any one know what type shell it is? Is it civil war error?
 

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Pretty sure that's a .44 Henry. Dimensions you list are within .005 of the unfired example I have. The raised headstamp indicates late 1860's, I believe? The letter would be an H.

I've found several of these with multiple firing pin strikes. My guess is misfire on the first try.

- Dave
 
Pretty sure that's a .44 Henry. Dimensions you list are within .005 of the unfired example I have. The raised headstamp indicates late 1860's, I believe? The letter would be an H.

I've found several of these with multiple firing pin strikes. My guess is misfire on the first try.

- Dave
Yep. With 1800's manufacturing techniques, it was difficult to distribute the priming compound evenly around the rim of the cartridge. So it was extract cartridge from the chamber, spin cartridge and insert into the chamber again.
Repeat until you found where the primer compound had settled.
Today the rimfire primer compound is water based so it is inert and easy to distribute in the rim uniformly. When the compound dries, it becomes explosive.
 
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