By 1st Sgt. Koepp
The mysterious, yet famous, linen Sharps round is now much less mysterious. It still surprises me how well known some things can be in our hobby yet are still unexplored. This was yet another foray into “experimental archaeology” that I had long wanted to explore but I had a few missing links in documentation. It’s odd how nearly every other method of shooting an NM1859 Sharps is written about on forums, websites, and even YouTube, but the linen cartridge has always been only tangentially mentioned.
Then, I happened to have a Mark Hubbs video pop up in my YouTube feed. I’m not much of a historical pistol cartridge reloader, though I have dabbled. I do, however, enjoy watching videos of arcane cartridge construction. I kept watching because he gives great instructions and he often referenced documentation. That always gets serious respect from Co. D. One reference he consistently referenced was “Round Ball to Rimfire” by Dean Thomas. I opened up my Amazon app and saw a complete volume (Part 2) just on Federal breechloading carbines and rifles. I paused momentarily at the high price of the book, but purchased it anyway.
Upon arrival, I was instantly blown away by the depth of information on Sharps cartridges and the massive number of primary sources shared in the book. He classified about a dozen different types of arsenal packs, and even more cataloged examples of different cartridges. For example, one arsenal pack apparently came in blue and white checker wrapping. After pouring over letters from the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Co, the Ordnance Department, and various arsenals I saw it and my jaw dropped! For the longest time, I wondered how linen could be durable enough to bear the heavy Sharps bullet but there, in black and white was the most obvious answer: sizing. There are several references to sizing the linen and even a complaint about a batch of faulty rounds because they were not properly sized. Before we get into details lets talk about why linen was so popular.
Paper cartridges, like shown in our YouTube video, did exist and were issued for the NM1859 yet the commonly complained about fault was how the bullet lubricant would weaken the paper over time and cause the cartridge to fall apart during shipping or while in a cartridge box. This was especially true in higher temperatures or high humidity. The Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Co. consistently had the highest quality of cartridges, being well made and of linen. However, various arsenals and the Ordnance Department were well aware of their hustle to make as much money off the government as possible. Several letters in the book illustrate this concern. However, in an effort to maintain their government contract, they had an agent, George H. Penfield write to General Dyer on January 20, 1865. The intent of the letter was to itemize the cost of materials in making 1000 Sharps cartridges.
For those of you not particularly familiar with the intricacies of Sharps cartridge construction, I’ll explain a bit more about the above materials list from 1865. The tallow and beeswax refers to the bullet lubricant. The bullets would have been dipped into this mixture. The varnish can refer to varnishing the labels and varnishing the arsenal packs for additional weather protection. Bank note paper was used for the paper base of the bullet. Today, we use tissue paper, but if you are of the inquiring type, an original bank note I have from the State of Maine comes in at about .002” thick. For comparison, modern tissue is about .001 thick. I would take these measurements as approximate since it was very cold in my shop today and it tends to make my caliper a bit finicky.
Another thing that really stood out to me about cartridge manufacture was a patent shared in the book for the 1865 J.S. Adams Sharps cartridge “choker.” Apparently, there were some complaints about the quality of attachment between the paper/linen cartridge and the bullet. This issue actually led one arsenal to put girls on the bullet assembly line and move the boys from that role to another in cartridge construction. Adam’s choker existed apparently in very small numbers in the various arsenals to ensure proper bond between cartridge and bullet.
Lastly, in all the research provided in the book, there is not one reference to nitrated papers for the Sharps. I know some black powder shooters take pride in nitrating Sharps rounds, but nowhere in original documentation was I able to find a mention of it. I just thought I'd share that insight.
So, it all comes down to some wallpaper sizing. This article is by no means meant to be a definitive guide but I hope sharing these resources your own further research and development. Now all I have to do is take some to the range and try them out. If you are curious about learning more, I highly recommend you pick up this book as it goes in to much more detail than this brief article.
I will close with the usual disclaimers: this is for informational use only and is in no way a recommendation but is shared for informational purposes only. Any re-creation and use is done at your own risk.
The mysterious, yet famous, linen Sharps round is now much less mysterious. It still surprises me how well known some things can be in our hobby yet are still unexplored. This was yet another foray into “experimental archaeology” that I had long wanted to explore but I had a few missing links in documentation. It’s odd how nearly every other method of shooting an NM1859 Sharps is written about on forums, websites, and even YouTube, but the linen cartridge has always been only tangentially mentioned.
Then, I happened to have a Mark Hubbs video pop up in my YouTube feed. I’m not much of a historical pistol cartridge reloader, though I have dabbled. I do, however, enjoy watching videos of arcane cartridge construction. I kept watching because he gives great instructions and he often referenced documentation. That always gets serious respect from Co. D. One reference he consistently referenced was “Round Ball to Rimfire” by Dean Thomas. I opened up my Amazon app and saw a complete volume (Part 2) just on Federal breechloading carbines and rifles. I paused momentarily at the high price of the book, but purchased it anyway.
Upon arrival, I was instantly blown away by the depth of information on Sharps cartridges and the massive number of primary sources shared in the book. He classified about a dozen different types of arsenal packs, and even more cataloged examples of different cartridges. For example, one arsenal pack apparently came in blue and white checker wrapping. After pouring over letters from the Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Co, the Ordnance Department, and various arsenals I saw it and my jaw dropped! For the longest time, I wondered how linen could be durable enough to bear the heavy Sharps bullet but there, in black and white was the most obvious answer: sizing. There are several references to sizing the linen and even a complaint about a batch of faulty rounds because they were not properly sized. Before we get into details lets talk about why linen was so popular.
Paper cartridges, like shown in our YouTube video, did exist and were issued for the NM1859 yet the commonly complained about fault was how the bullet lubricant would weaken the paper over time and cause the cartridge to fall apart during shipping or while in a cartridge box. This was especially true in higher temperatures or high humidity. The Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Co. consistently had the highest quality of cartridges, being well made and of linen. However, various arsenals and the Ordnance Department were well aware of their hustle to make as much money off the government as possible. Several letters in the book illustrate this concern. However, in an effort to maintain their government contract, they had an agent, George H. Penfield write to General Dyer on January 20, 1865. The intent of the letter was to itemize the cost of materials in making 1000 Sharps cartridges.
- 70lbs lead 16c
- 9lbs Powder 35 ½
- 5 ½ Linen 80
- 100 paper boxes
- Wax and tallow
- Varnish
- Bank note paper
- Gum and paste
- And more…
For those of you not particularly familiar with the intricacies of Sharps cartridge construction, I’ll explain a bit more about the above materials list from 1865. The tallow and beeswax refers to the bullet lubricant. The bullets would have been dipped into this mixture. The varnish can refer to varnishing the labels and varnishing the arsenal packs for additional weather protection. Bank note paper was used for the paper base of the bullet. Today, we use tissue paper, but if you are of the inquiring type, an original bank note I have from the State of Maine comes in at about .002” thick. For comparison, modern tissue is about .001 thick. I would take these measurements as approximate since it was very cold in my shop today and it tends to make my caliper a bit finicky.
Another thing that really stood out to me about cartridge manufacture was a patent shared in the book for the 1865 J.S. Adams Sharps cartridge “choker.” Apparently, there were some complaints about the quality of attachment between the paper/linen cartridge and the bullet. This issue actually led one arsenal to put girls on the bullet assembly line and move the boys from that role to another in cartridge construction. Adam’s choker existed apparently in very small numbers in the various arsenals to ensure proper bond between cartridge and bullet.
Lastly, in all the research provided in the book, there is not one reference to nitrated papers for the Sharps. I know some black powder shooters take pride in nitrating Sharps rounds, but nowhere in original documentation was I able to find a mention of it. I just thought I'd share that insight.
So, it all comes down to some wallpaper sizing. This article is by no means meant to be a definitive guide but I hope sharing these resources your own further research and development. Now all I have to do is take some to the range and try them out. If you are curious about learning more, I highly recommend you pick up this book as it goes in to much more detail than this brief article.
I will close with the usual disclaimers: this is for informational use only and is in no way a recommendation but is shared for informational purposes only. Any re-creation and use is done at your own risk.