Glossary of terms

Kerry Barlow

Bullet A projectile that is oblong with a sharp or pointed end.
Ball Is exactly that, a perfectly round ball of lead.
Balls or Bullets: These could be standard round lead balls or various types of shaped bullets. Whichever they were they were certainly lethal to anyone that got in there way. It may be of interest to note that a round ball is not truly round after it is fired from a revolver. The process of pressing the ball into the chamber shaves off a tiny ring of lead from the outside circumference of the ball giving the ball straight sides to it. This helps tremendously as the ball is fired down the barrel,because the sides of the ball will now engage the rifling in the barrel creating the characteristic spin of the ball for accuracy. Round ball is extremely accurate over short ranges up to 100 yards from a handgun and much further then that from a rifle. Bullets did not ever seem to have a great advantage over the round ball except in very long range shooting, however they were still used extensively during the war.
Barrel The extended part of the pistol or revolver that guides the ball and improves its accuracy. This can be either smooth bore inside or rifled.
Caliber Used to describe how large the bore of the handgun is. Measuerd in Inches .44 caliber being almost 1/2 of an inch in diameter
Capping tool: This was a special tool used to hold the tiny caps and place them onto the nipples. It was possible to place the cap on a nipple by hand, however it ran the risk of exploding the cap, as well as being just plain to difficult to do with large hands. The capping tool would be designed to dispense 1 cap at a time.
Caps: These were tiny cup like devices the size of a pencil eraser that would explode when struck hard by the hammer of the gun. One cap would be placed upon each nipple to fire the main charge of powder. These were a HUGE improvement over the earlier days of firearms that used a separate tiny charge of powder in a pan that was ignited by a rotating wheel striking on flint
Chamber The opening in the cylinder where the powder and ball are placed to load the pistol. There could be 4,5,6,or even 9 chambers inside the cylinder. Just because you have a revolver does not necessarily mean you have a 6 shooter. Imagine attacking a soldier thinking he had a 6 shot revolver when in effect he really had a 9 shot LeMat revolver! Don't stick your head up at the wrong time,the 9 shot revolver would get you. The chamber is also the place on a pistol where the powder and ball are placed/put into as well. In this photo a ball can just be seen going into the cylinder,chamber opening.
Cleaning rod: Used to clean inside the bore of a handgun to remove powder fouling.Guns needed to be cleaned after every use because the black powder was very corrosive. Fortunately soap and water easily removed the powder residue. How often guns actually got cleaned with constant battle is a good question.
Cylinder The actual area of the revolver that holds the bullet,powder and cap.
Cylinder Pin A round pin at the center of the Cylinder,and which the cylinder rotates or REVOLVES around as each chamber is brought to fire. This is why a Pistol is known to be called a revolver.
Frame The part of the revolver that holds the cylinder,trigger,hammer,cylinder pin, and basically makes the handgun itnto a working weapon. The frame would be either open or closed.
Open frame A Colt style would be open framed, wrapping around the cylinder on only 3 sides.
Closed frame Wraps all around the cylinder on 4 sides. Remington style
Top strap This is the upper strap or top part of the frame on Remington style revolvers which gave them much more strength then Colt style revolvers.
Forming tool: This was used to create balls and bullets from ingots of lead,which would be melted over a fire. They came in many different styles and shapes. Some could make a single ball at once while others would make 6 balls at a time. You may have heard the term Shot Tower. This was a very high tower that had a bowl of molten lead at the top of the tower. Lead was poured off the tower down through its middle section and the falling lead would pass through a wire screen mesh. This screen was calibrated to be the correct height from the ground and the correct hole size to produce a perfectly round ball of lead as it passed through on its way falling to the ground. The lead would then land in a tub of water on the ground. When the lead was removed it would be formed in a round ball just the size necessary for use in a weapon. I myself wonder how well these towers actually worked?
Gun oil: This would be used to clean the gun,oil its moving parts and act as a preservative on the outside to prevent rust.
Grease: Grease was a safety item and one of the most critical items for safety that a person firing a revolver could use. A revolver had a very real possibility of creating what was called a Chain fire. Multiple cylinders firing at once. As you can imagine this would not be enjoyable for the soldier firing the weapon. It was possible in a revolver to fire one shot and have flame shoot back and work its way down inside the next unfired cylinder, thereby igniting that cylinders charge, it would most certainly destroy the handgun if not kill the soldier using it! Grease was placed over the end of each loaded cylinder, topping off the cylinder and preventing these chain fires from occurring. A single shot pistol did not have this problem, only having the one shot at a time. Grease would be some sort of animal fat, most likely whatever was at hand.
Hammer The item on the gun that would lay under your thumb when pulling the trigger.
Half Cocked A special position in which the hammer can be put into to allow loading or dismanteling of the revolver. The term going off half cocked can be referd to as a loaded cylinder with the revolver trigger in the half cock position and the hammer slipping, or gun being dropped and the hammer falls, firing the weapon. This would never occur in a well maintained weapon it is very diffifult to push a hammer out of its half cock position. Another anology is loading a single shot muzzle loading rifle or shotgun, sometimes a soldier may panic, load his powder and ball, then get surprised or alarmed and leave his ramrod inside the barrel of the gun. Pulling the trigger he would fire the bullet and the loading rod from the mouth of the rifle. Disaster at best I would imagine. Who can say exactly where the term " Going off half Cocked" came from exactly.
Loading Lever This was used to force the lead ball or bullet into the firing chamber. A revolver would have a loading lever and in almost all cases this lever would be attached to the handgun permanently.
Nipple wrench: The Nipple wrench was used to remove the nipples on the firing chamber. One nipple was threaded into each chamber of the revolver. The cap would then be placed over the nipple to fire the main charge.
Nipple pin: A nipple pin was used to clear the tiny hole in each nipple. A nipple was hollow inside allowing the charge from the cap being fired to pass through the nipple and into the main firing chamber. Sometimes the hole would become plugged with debris and the nipple pin was used to clean out this tiny orifice.
Pistol A single shot handgun
Ramrod The single shot pistol would use a ramrod to force the ball and powder down into the chamber. A pistol would have its ramrod kept in a holder on the pistol but it would not be physically attached so it was possible to lose a ramrod. And at the worst time I imagine!!!
Revolver A multiple shot handgun
Rifle/Rifling Rifling refers to cutting screw like threads inside the barrel of a pistol or revolver. This greatly improves accuracy of the handgun over long distances,because the ball or bullet will be spun by the rifling as the projectile leaves the end of the barrel. Many differant thread twists are used depending on many factors.
Powder flask: This was used to hold the actual black powder,the early flasks were made from animal horns. Any style of flask may have been issued to the soldiers,sometimes formed from actual manmade material or the old standby the animal horn.
Powder: Black powder was used extensively in all the early firearms.This powder is different then todays more modern powder in that it was very smoky and would make great flames and sparks when it was ignited. This was a disadvantage to a soldier hiding in the bush's, after the first shot, the enemy would know where he was from the cloud of smoke around him. Also todays powder explodes much more quickly then the early black powder generating much higher breech pressures in the chamber. The two powders are definitely NOT interchangeable. Don't ever use a modern powder in a black powder firearm.
Powder charge measure: Powder had to be measured before it was put in the chamber of the handgun. It could be measured by weight or by volume. By volume was the most widely used method,although not as accurate a measurement. The Colt and Remington style revolvers would use around 30 grains of black powder to fire a bullet.The special measuring tool would be used to measure the correct amount of powder poured from the Powder flask. Many times the end of the flask was cut off to exactly the correct volume length for the soldiers weapon. He would then simply turn his powder flask upside down,holding his finger over the open end.Righting the flask again he would now have the exact amount of powder necessary for that handgun. This would be a much faster method then measuring every single shot by hand.
Spur The item on top of the hammer which your thumb would pull upon to move the hammer aft into firing position. The distinction is made here because some weapons did not have any spur on the hammer,for which the thumb would move the hammer. A case in point is the Tranter Which had no hammer spur.
Trigger Roy Rogers horse............ It may have also been something the soldier put his finger around to fire his weapon????
Trigger groove A special groove cut into the cylinder. This was used to place the hammer into when transporting or carrying the revolver. It allowed a soldier to load all chambers of his revolver and still be safe if the gun were dropped. One of the advantages of a Remington over a Colt. Notice the tiny blue arrow pointing to this special groove.
Screwdriver and small hand tools: Any numerous and sundry tools necessary to disassemble a handgun. The Remington needed a tiny screwdriver to remove its cylinder pin for cleaning. The Colt models used a wedge which could be driven out with a small stone.
Shoulder Stock Attached to a pistol or revolver it was used to improve accuracy of the handgun turning the handgun into a small rifle