Item Number: B00191

Item Title: Nathan Bedford Forrest Enfield bullet recovered Shiloh, TN

Price: $22

Shipping: Not included

Provenance: CS

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Location Recovered: Shiloh, TN area

Description:
This is the last one I have of these terrific bullets recovered by Jerry Hayes near Shiloh, TN. These are called Nathan Bedford Forrest Enfields because they are most often recovered in his camps. It is smaller than a true Enfield bullet at 0.527" diameter and has a distinctive base rim. These were probably used in the 54 caliber Austrian Lorenz rifled muskets so prevalent in the Army of Tennessee and others.

Of course, NBF had one of his most famous heroics at Fallen Timbers at Shiloh so this is a terrific testimony to that:

A month later, Forrest was back in action at the Battle of Shiloh (April 6 to April 7, 1862). He commanded a Confederate rear guard after the Union victory. In the battle of Fallen Timbers, he drove through the Union skirmish line. Not realizing that the rest of his men had halted their charge when reaching the full Union brigade, Forrest charged the brigade single-handedly, and soon found himself surrounded. He emptied his Colt Army revolvers into the swirling mass of Union soldiers and pulled out his saber, hacking and slashing. A Union infantryman fired a musket ball into Forrest's spine with a point-blank musket shot, nearly knocking him out of the saddle. Forrest grabbed an unsuspecting Union soldier, hauled him onto his horse to use as a shield, dumped the man once he had broken clear and was out of range, then galloped back to his incredulous troopers.[20] A surgeon removed the musket ball a week later, without anesthesia, which was unavailable. Forrest would likely have been given a generous dose of alcohol to muffle the pain of the surgery.