Used in the Smith carbine extensively during the early years of the Civil War, this specimen of carbine ammunition is the very scarce .50 caliber ‘hard rubber cased’ cartridge in excellent original condition. The .50 caliber conical lead bullet with its accompanying powder charge is complete and still wrapped in its original ‘India Rubber’ casing. The black rubber wrapping is dry and hard but it remains tight and intact with no cracks, rips or tears. As with several other types of breechloading carbines, the greatest objection to the Smith carbine was the difficulty often experienced in extracting the ‘rubber’ cartridge after several firings. The use of Smiths early in the war resulted in a number of the carbines falling to the hands of Southern cavalrymen who loaded the weapon with loose powder and bullet to make them functional without the special cartridge. Later designs of the cartridge utilized a rolled paper casing which alleviated some problems. This artifact is a scarce and minty original specimen example of a intact Smith carbine ‘hard India rubber’ cartridge of Civil War ammunition.

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