How To Carry Reloads For Cap And Ball Revolver

[tpelle]

Currently I have an 1860 Army, a Remington NMA, and have another 1860 on the way. I have a repro "Civil War" rig for both pistol - a black "Union" one for the 1860 and a brown "Confederate" one for the Remington. They both include a cartridge box, which I understand is sized for rifled musket paper cartridges, and a patch box.

I know that during the war, the army issued paper cartridges, but my question concerns how would have someone, say a post-bellum settler who carried a cap and ball revolver and used "loose" components, have carried his reloading supplies back in the day? I would think that, with the availability of Civil War leather, they may have found a way to utilize that stuff. But anyway, how do the folks here think they may have carried that stuff?

 

[BHP FAN]

A canvas haversack or leather Civil War surplus cartridge box.

 

[col.lemat]

carry reloads for cap & ball

The caps weather for the pistol or rifle were carried in the standard cap pouch either loosely or in the tins. Pistol ammo was paper cartridges in a paper packet carried in a small leather pouch. Smaller than that used for the rifle. They came in two differnt sizes for 36 or 44 cal. they only held a couple of packets each but several pouches could be worn on the belt. Loose powder and ball would have been carried seperate from each other. Balls in a bag or pouch and powder in a tin or powder flask carried on the person in any convient manner, usually in a large leather pouch with other shooting/maintainance supplies (rags,nipplewrech,screwdriver,grease, what ever might be needed.) By the time of the civil war the carring of loose componets was deminishing, the loose componets would be used more by a specialty shooter such as sharp shooters. Hope this helps.

 

[AlexanderA]

Civil War cavalrymen carried a lot of stuff on their belts: holstered pistol, saber, carbine cartridge box, pistol cartridge box, carbine cap box (depending on the carbine), and pistol cap box. This stuff (along with the carbine) was heavy -- that's why they needed the additional "Sam Browne"-style shoulder strap to help support the weight, and why they couldn't march too well on foot and needed their horses.

Nobody carried loose powder and bullets in the Civil War -- it was all pre-issued in paper cartridges. After the war, even civilians could easily buy paper cartridges from the huge surplus stocks.