breech-loading rifle and various multishot weapons of the 19th century made possible loading the entire cartridge as a unit; many varieties were developed, using paper, linen, animal tissue, collodion, metal, rubber, and other materials. All required an external spark to ignite the propellant. In 1847 a Paris gunsmith, B. Houllier, patented the first cartridge, capable of being fired by the blow of the gun’s hammer. In one type, a pin was driven into the cartridge by the hammer action; in the other, a primer charge of fulminate of mercury was exploded in the cartridge rim. Later improvements changed the point of impact from the rim to the centre of the cartridge, where a percussion cap was inserted. The cartridge with a percussion cap, or cup, centred on the base of the cartridge—centre-fire—predominated in all larger calibres, but rimfire cartridges remain popular in small-bore, low-powered ammunition, e.g., .22 calibre. Smokeless nitrocellulose powder replaced black powder as the propellant in the late 19th century.
Also in the 19th century, the round ball was replaced by the elongated, or cylindroconoidal, Minié ball, as it was commonly called, with a cavity in the base that expanded on explosion of the charge to engage the rifling threads in the gun barrel. Shotgun cartridges are made of paper or plastic instead of brass.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.
Claude-Étienne Minié
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Claude-Étienne Minié
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Claude-Étienne Minié, (born Feb. 13, 1804, Paris, France—died Dec. 14, 1879, Paris), French army officer who solved the problem of designing a bullet for the muzzle-loading rifle. The bullet became known as the Minié ball.
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Born: Feb. 13, 1804, Paris, France
Died: Dec. 14, 1879, Paris (aged 75)
Inventions: Minié ball
Subjects Of Study: bullet
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After serving in several African campaigns in the Chasseurs, Minié rose to the rank of captain. In 1849 he designed the Minié ball, a cylindrical bullet with a conical point. An iron cup was inserted in the hollow base so that when the ball was fired, the cup was forced forward, expanding the base to fit snugly against the rifling grooves.
The Minié ball produced lethally accurate fire at long ranges. It was almost universally adopted by the armies of Europe and the United States and was used throughout the American Civil War (1861–65). Minié was rewarded by the French government with 20,000 francs and an appointment to the staff of the military school at Vincennes. After retiring in 1858 with the rank of colonel, he served as a military instructor for the khedive of Egypt and as a manager at the Remington Arms Company in the United States.
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shell
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shell, variously, an artillery projectile, a cartridge case, or a shotgun cartridge. The artillery shell was in use by the 15th century, at first as a simple container for metal or stone shot, which was dispersed by the bursting of the container after leaving the gun. Explosive shells came into use in the 16th century or perhaps even earlier. These were hollow cast-iron balls filled with gunpowder and called bombs. A crude fuse was employed, consisting of a short tube, filled with a slow-burning powder, driven into a hole through the wall of the bomb. Until the 18th century such shells were used only in high-angle fire (e.g., in mortars) and confined almost entirely to land warfare. In the 19th century, shells were adopted for direct-fire artillery, notably in the form of shrapnel (q.v.).
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