Civil War carved-lead dice, dug at Corinth Mississippi

Being offered are a pair of Civil War dice. These soldier-carved lead dice were carved from bullet lead and they each measure about a half-inch. They were in my collection for many years, and were dug together at Corinth, Mississippi.

Corinth's location at the junction of two railroads made it strategically important to the Confederacy during the Civil War. Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard retreated to Corinth after the Battle of Shiloh, pursued by Union Major General Henry W. Halleck. General Beauregard abandoned the town when General Halleck approached, letting it fall into the Union's hands. Since Halleck approached so cautiously, digging entrenchments at every stop for over a month, made this action known as the Siege of Corinth.

Union General William Rosecrans also approached Corinth and concentrated his forces in the city. The Second Battle of Corinth took place on October 3−4, 1862, when Confederate General Earl Van Dorn attempted to retake the city. The Confederate troops won back the city for a very brief period but were quickly forced out again on the same day when the Union troops were reinforced.

Originally, these dice would have had pencil or ink markings. Or sometimes they would poke holes, however with use it didn’t take time for these markings to wear out. In my book “The Civil War Soldier – His Personal Items”, I go into detail about the games soldiers played in their downtime, dice being one of the popular pastimes (see pictures). They come in the glass top display case pictured.