Minie Ball - National Parks Gallery

The advent of the Minie ball changed warfare in the 19th century. Rifled muskets existed as far back as the 1500s, but they were time-consuming to load, as the only available ammunition was a round lead ball. The conical Minie ball could be made smaller than the gun barrel because it has a hollow base that expands when the gunpowder ignites, expanding the base of the bullet to engage the rifling inside the barrel. Now, more accurate guns could be loaded much more quickly than before. This is one of the reasons casualties in the American Civil War were so high; the weapons had changed, but the tactics had not.