Description
I honestly don’t recall ever seeing a non-dug example for sale or on display anywhere in the past 40+ years. This one was found inside a cartridge box that had half a dozen loose Tower Enfield rounds as well. I doubt I’ll ever see another, and you likely won’t, either!!
Ironically, the cartridge box was found in the attic of a 1790s home in New Bern, NC! The Gardner explosive bullet, also known as the musket shell, was a type of bullet invented by Frederick J. Gardner of New Bern, North Carolina during the Civil War.
Gardner received Confederate Patent No. 12 for the bullet on August 17, 1862. He later received patent #40,468 for the exploding bullet on November 23, 1863. The bullet had a thick bottom ring, a thin raised ring, and two grooves. Gardiner likely based his bullet-casting machine on an earlier machine patented by David Bruce for casting printing types.
Exploding bullets caused severe wounds that were likely to be fatal or result in long-term disability. Today In the US, it is a felony to possess, manufacture, import, keep, offer, or expose for sale, give, or lend any bullet that contains or carries an explosive agent.
