On the left is a minie ball flattened by impact. You can clearly see its hollow base and how its ragged shape could damage a human body. In the center is an unfired minie ball. On the right is a round ball for a smooth-bore musket.
Riflemen on both sides during the Civil War targeted and often killed the enemy’s flag bearers.
Francis M. Poore at times served as a flag bearer for the 13th Mississippi Infantry and was wounded at least once while doing so.
Flag bearers wore a harness with a metal base or cup where the base of the flagstaff
rested. One of these may have saved Francis’ life. A Yankee bullet hit this base a glancing below and then the bullet went into Francis’ side. Because the cup deflected the bullet, the wound was not deadly.
He suffered other wounds during the war to his hand, foot and possibly to one shoulder. His survival seems something of a miracle.
Civil War riflemen used a .58-caliber lead bullet called a minie ball. The name was a corruption of Minié (say “min-YAY”), the name of the French Army officer Claude-Étienne Minié who designed the projectile. Union and rebel soldiers alike just called it a “minnie ball.” And it wasn’t even a ball, but a a cylindrical bullet with a conical point.
Bullets and a quarter for size comparison.
When a soldier fired his rifle, the base of the minie bullet expanded. As the soft lead expanded it gripped the spiral grooves inside the rifle barrel. This gave the bullet a spin that increased its range and accuracy over smooth-bore guns. It also inflicted serious damage on the human body that was more likely to result in death.
A solid round shot could pass through a soldier’s body in one piece. The exit wound wouldn’t be much bigger than the entry wound.
But the soft lead minie ball flattened and deformed on impact. It shattered bones and shredded tissue and internal organs. The ragged, tumbling bullet tore out an exit wound several times the size of the entry wound.
This is why Civil War surgeons often had no choice other than to amputate wounded arms and legs. They couldn’t repair the shattered limbs. Gunshot wounds to the head, chest or gut usually meant death.
Did your Civil War ancestor suffer from a serious gunshot wound? Did it leave him without an arm or leg?
Poore Boys In Gray 
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interesting. my civil war ancestor lost his arm.
Very interesting. What a deadly bullet. My ancestor lost an arm too.
One of mine survived, shot through one lung, left for dead, captured & exchanged.
Have long since figured it was either buck or ball.
This is information about my GGG-Grandfather, who was wounded in the chest by a minie ball and lived. My grandma said they packed his wound with rags:
“A 58 Caliber Minnie Ball entered the left side of his chest just above his left nipple. It then passed between his second and third ribs. It went through his left lung and came out just below the back of his left shoulder. That shoulder wound caused him to lose most of the use of his left arm, although he claimed he could sometimes plow with just his right arm.”
Amazing he lived. Most such wounds were fatal.
Indeed. Here is more info. He apparently had some trouble with the wound healing, but went back to serve by the next year:
“They reengaged with the enemy at Dallas, Georgia on 28 May 1864. While charging the enemy’s works, he was wounded severely by a 58 caliber Minnie Ball that passed through the area of his left shoulder blade. He was in the hospital for 4-5 weeks in Montgomery, Alabama, after which he obtained a wounded furlough home. After the furlough ended, he returned to the hospital. His wound was not doing well, so they gave him an extension on the furlough.
His unit was marched across North Georgia to North Carolina. He fought in the last battle of Bentonville, North Carolina in the Spring of 1865. He was discharged in Greensboro, North Carolina 26 April 1865 when General Joseph E. Johnston’s Army surrendered them to the Yankees.”
Where did you get so much information on him?
My brother has spent the past 20 years researching our ancestors extensively, and documenting everything he finds. This story is largely gleaned from hand-written letters he sent to the Gov. of Florida while seeking his pension (it took him years, and many letters, to finally receive his $5 pension). Those letters were saved on file with the state and my brother obtained copies of them.
Y’all are lucky to have such a record.
Very much so!
We have the spent Yankee Minnie Ball that caused my wife’s ancestor to lose a leg– I have been in the family for 63 yrs. and it was told to be true by all–
What a great story and treasure to have! Jim, by the way, have you checked your ancestor’s muster roll? It may contain info about his wounding.