Colt .44 caliber bullet mold, dug Fredericksburg in the 1960s at a NY Cavalry camp

This is another nice piece from the collection I am currently working on, it is an iron Colt .44 caliber Bullet Mold. They were used for field casting of round ball and conical bullets. These bullet molds were usually issued in connection with private purchases of Colt pocket revolvers in a box along with the mold, various tools, and accoutrements. It would have been marked "COLT'S PATENT", but no longer visible. It was dug at a New York Cavalry camp and was part of a collection which was dug in Fredericksburg during the 1960s – 1970s.

On November 14, 1862, Union General Ambrose Burnside sent a corps to occupy the vicinity of Falmouth near Fredericksburg, Virginia. Lee reacted by entrenching his army on the heights behind the town. On December 13, after pontoon bridges were laid, Union forces crossed the Rappahannock River under fire.

Burnside mounted a series of futile frontal assaults on Prospect Hill and Marye's Heights that resulted in staggering casualties. On December 15, Burnside called off the offensive and recrossed the river, ending the failed campaign.

The mold measures 9 1/2" x 1" and is frozen in the open condition, just as it was when lost. In my personal collection, I have one which was originally in the Lee’s Headquarters Museum in Gettysburg (see pictures). It would make a nice addition to any Civil War collection, especially along side a revolver.