INTRODUCTION 

From the 1840s until the early 1870s when it was superseded by the breech-loading revolver firing self-contained, metallic cartridges, the muzzle-loading revolver held sway. Although the six-shot revolver provided an obvious advantage over earlier single-shot weapons, its main weakness lay in the time that it took to reload.

To load a cap-and-ball revolver you must:

1. Put the hammer at half cock and hold the weapon with its muzzle vertical
2. Pour a measured charge of black powder into each of the six chambers
3. Where necessary add a wad (or measured quantity of filler) to each chamber
4. Place a ball or picket bullet into the mouth of each chamber and ram it home
5. Put a dab of grease on top of each bullet (not absolutely essential in action)
6. Turn the gun muzzle down and place a cap on each nipple
7. Press each cap down onto the nipple to ensure it is in contact with the anvil

I was surprised to learn recently that contemporary records confirm that during the American Civil War (1861-1865) it was unusual for combatants to reload their revolvers from a powder flask. Most of the soldiers evidently used some form of cartridge that contained a measured charge of powder and a projectile. Clearly, by combining steps 2 to 4 above into a single action a substantial amount of reloading time could be saved and this might mean life or death in the heat of battle.

Part 1 of this article considers the various types of 'paper' cartridge that were available prior to the introduction of the self-contained brass cartridge with integral primer. Part 2 explains how you can make them for your own cap-and-ball revolver.

 TYPES OF 'PAPER' CARTRIDGE 

1. The Untreated Paper Cartridge

Musket cartridges made of untreated paper containing ball and measured charge were in use as early as the 15th century. The soldier bit the end off the paper cartridge using a small amount of the powder to prime his lock. He then poured the remaining powder into the barrel, crumpled the paper into a wad, rammed it onto the powder (or discarded it) and then loaded the ball on top.

The cartridge to the left is for a .577 Enfield muzzle loading rifled musket and dates from the American Civil War. We still call the strong paper from which they were made 'cartridge paper.'

2. The Combustible Paper Cartridge

This cartridge was made from paper (or linen) that had been 'nitrated' or soaked in saltpetre (potassium nitrate) solution. The ball or bullet was glued or tied into one end of the tube and the opposite end was folded and glued to seal in the powder. This cartridge differed in use by being loaded whole into the chamber. The paper or linen shell was completely consumed during the discharge of the weapon.

The combustible cartridge (right) was used to great effect in capping breech-loading rifles such as the Sharps Model 1859-63 in which the rear of the cartridge was sliced off by the rising block to expose the powder inside to the flash from the cap.

In 1862 Colonel Hazard, a New York black powder manufacturer, was granted a US patent for a cartridge that comprised, "a compressed, moulded powder charge attached to the bullet, the whole being coated in collodion." (Collodion was made from cellulose nitrate dissolved in ether and alcohol and was the forerunner of modern celluloid. It would presumably have been consumed on firing.)

3. The 'Skin' Cartridge

Skin cartridges were similar in all respects to combustible paper cartridges except that the envelope containing the powder was made from a nitrated length of animal intestine. 'Skins' were often enclosed in a paper outer wrapper for protection, this being removed prior to use by pulling on a length of tape.

Colt .36 'skin' cartridge

4. The Metallic or 'Tin-foil' Cartridge

In 1855 Samuel Colt patented a metallic cartridge made from thin tin-foil sheet. These were developed in response to problems encountered with combustible paper and skin cartridges in locations where unusually damp or humid conditions caused decomposition of the cartridges and consequent misfires. Once a reliable source of non-porous metal foil had been found, Eley Brothers began to manufacture Colt's metal cartridges under licence selling millions to the British Government and to private customers. The following extract from 'United States' magazine Vol. IV No 3 of March 1857 explains how these cartridges were made:

"Another of the numerous inventions of Colonel Colt is the Metallic Foil Cartridge, a contrivance that always insures "dry powder' to the possessor. Tin foil, cut in the required shape, is formed in an inverted cone, which is charged with gunpowder; the ball is oval, with a flat end; a circle is pierced near the edge, on this flat end, to receive the edge of the foil; on the cone and ball being brought together, the joint is closed by pressure; they are then inclosed (sic) in paper wrappers, so arranged that this covering can be instantly removed when the cartridge is about to be used. The whole operation is completed so perfectly that the cartridge is entirely impervious to water, as by experiment they have repeatedly been fired after having been immersed for hours. Owing to the peculiar shape of the bore of the nipple in Colt's firearms, the fire from the percussion caps readily penetrated the foil, without pricking."

Although these cartridges marked the pinnacle of muzzle-loading cartridge development, few appear to have survived and I have so far been unable to find a picture of one.

I was intrigued by the reference to the 'peculiar' nipple bore on the Colt revolver in the article. Examination of a contemporary cut-away drawing of a Model 1848 Dragoon Pistol shows the nipples to have had a flash channel that tapered to a very fine pinhole where it entered the chamber of the cylinder. This must have concentrated the flash from the cap into a jet of flame capable of penetrating the tin-foil base of the cartridge. By contrast, Enfield (and presumably other) rifled muskets of the same period had their nipple flash channels tapered in the opposite direction. This is now considered to be a safety hazard.

 THE DEMISE OF THE 'PAPER' CARTRIDGE 

It was also in 1855 that Rollin White, a former employee of Colt took out a US patent that included, almost as an afterthought, 'extending the chambers through the rear of the cylinder for the purpose of loading them at the breech from behind'. By granting Smith and Wesson an exclusive licence to exploit this idea Rollin White effectively set American revolver development back for the next 20 years.

When in 1869 the US government refused to renew Rollin White's monopoly, the way was opened for Colt, Remington and other manufacturers to start converting their percussion cap arms to accept rim and centre-fire ammunition and to begin developing new models.

With the appearance in 1873 of Colt's 'New Model Army Metallic Cartridge Revolving Pistol', better known as the .45 'Frontier', 'New Army' or 'Peacemaker', the paper pistol cartridge rapidly became obsolete.

In the next issue I will show you how simple it is to make combustible paper cartridges for your own cap-and-ball revolver using cheap and easily available materials.

Girls making paper cartridges at Woolwich Arsenal 1862

Brian Thornton, October 2006