Ammo Bite the Bullet Revisited

[Schod03]

Hello Relic Hunters- Some of you may recall Pvt. Hollifield's Bite the Bullet post from September 3, 2019.
This post was an interesting read and generated many opinions and much conversation…For those that were positive that biting a bullet did not happen, I submit this example I dug last April on a Military camp site that was used as early as the 1850s.
This 58 caliber bullet was dug in the same hole along with 2 Williams Cleaners.
It appears the bullet was cut lengthwise with a knife so that t would compress when bitten.

 

[CheathamHill]

This is such weird timing. I was just reading an older thread on here about bitten bullets not even an hour ago after researching the term 'bite the bullet'. Universe's timing is uncanny sometimes

 

[Schod03]

Williams Cleaners and bitten Bullet shortly after dug…

Williams Cleaners and the bitten bullet shortly after dug…

 

[Package4]

Hello Relic Hunters- Some of you may recall Pvt. Hollifield's Bite the Bullet post from September 3, 2019.
This post was an interesting read and generated many opinions and much conversation…For those that were positive that biting a bullet did not happen, I submit this example I dug last April on a Military camp site that was used as early as the 1850s.
This 58 caliber bullet was dug in the same hole along with 2 Williams Cleaners.
It appears the bullet was cut lengthwise with a knife so that t would compress when bitten.
View attachment 471774View attachment 471775

I challenge anyone to bite a bullet hard enough to make a tooth indent, if you choose to do so please do it in the waiting room of your dentist's office. There were plenty of sticks pieces of leather etc to perform the same task without breaking off teeth.

Were there exceptions, most likely, but most of the bullets found have obvious animal teeth marks. Seriously contemplate the biting of a bullet, if you are in that type of pain, you would be much more likely to swallow the bullet, it makes no sense, but a good story.

Your bullet, if those are to be believed as tooth marks would be insisors and would be incredibly painful to bite and make no sense. Simply appears as if a soldier wanted to carve and gouge a bullet. Maybe he was trying to get out of the service……..

 

[LafayetteCountyDigger]

Here's a chewed 3 ringer I dug a couple of months ago

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

Were there exceptions, most likely, but most of the bullets found have obvious animal teeth marks.

I wonder what would prompt an animal to chew on a lead bullet?

It appears the bullet was cut lengthwise with a knife so that it would compress when bitten.

I'm not quite understanding how cutting the bullet in half helps?

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

Just a thought- hogs rooting around for food, and heaven help us, let's hope they were not feeding on dead bodies.

Perryville - Hungry Hogs after the Battle | South & Western Theaters

"The Battle-Field of Chaplin Hills—Dr. McMeens." [This was written November 5, 1862 after observing the field less than a week after the battle.] "… The field is still covered with the debris of the fight,--dead horses, broken artillery wagons, haversacks, cartridge boxes, hats, shoes...

civilwartalk.com

 

[Schod03]

I wonder what would prompt an animal to chew on a lead bullet?



I'm not quite understanding how cutting the bullet in half helps?

The bullet is not cut all the way thru…my theory is…it was cut to create a hinge on one side, so as the person bit down the bullet would compress back together providing some give to the bite action.

 

[UCVRelics]

The bullets posted are ALL animal chewed. @Package4 is spot on with a human not being able to making those marks.

I wonder what would prompt an animal to chew on a lead bullet?

Hogs, squirrels etc chew on hard object to keep to keep their teeth sharp.

 

[Schod03]

The bullets posted are ALL animal chewed. @Package4 is spot on with a human not being able to making those marks.


Hogs, squirrels etc chew on hard object to keep to keep their teeth sharp.

So just for fun…I sent my photos to a retired dentist that I know and asked him to provide an opinion on if the marks on this bullet could have been made by human teeth or by an animal…
His response…human…worn down eye teeth…cuspids…
That is good enough for me.
He did add…it had to have been a painful experience.
Some tough old boys back in the day…

 

[A. Roy]

I found this definition in the 1811 version of Francis Grose's "Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," a kind of slang dictionary first published in 1785:

NIGHTINGALE. A soldier who, as the term is, sings out
at the halberts. It is a point of honour in some
regiments, among the grenadiers, never to cry out,
become nightingales, whilst under the discipline of the
cat of nine tails; to avoid which, they chew a bullet.

ARB

 

[Package4]

I wonder what would prompt an animal to chew on a lead bullet?



I'm not quite understanding how cutting the bullet in half helps?

Animals are known to pick up all kinds of things to chew, initially thinking it a nut or berry. Pigs will pick these up and their jaw pressure is such that it doesn't take much to imprint

 

[Package4]

So just for fun…I sent my photos to a retired dentist that I know and asked him to provide an opinion on if the marks on this bullet could have been made by human teeth or by an animal…
His response…human…worn down eye teeth…cuspids…
That is good enough for me.
He did add…it had to have been a painful experience.
Some tough old boys back in the day…

I still do not think it was done medically, imagine lying one your back in extreme pain. You have to breathe and are rapidly sucking in air due to the pain, you might even be convulsing. You have a better chance chocking to death than anything else. With all the rest of the items readily available, why does a bullet make sense. There were cartridge box straps galore, belts, knapsack straps, bayonet scabbards on and on. Perhaps, your soldier was undergoing a dental procedure in camp and just enough space was needed. More likely it was a soldier messing around on a dare or trying to dislodge a tooth or teeth.

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

His response…human…worn down eye teeth…cuspids…

If someone were biting a bullet (or any other small item) to get through pain wouldn't they place it between their incisors?

Cuspids/canines would be the easiest to break.

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

When looking into the etymology of the term I intrigued to see that while to bite/chew the bullet has been in use almost as long as firearms have existed, it became popular only after WW2, by which point all the various reasons one might literally bite a bullet were no longer relevant.

Unless some John Wayne movie memorably used the term, I suspect "bite the bullet" came into popular usage as WW2 slang term meaning "to get shot at" (or in other words, to brave the bullets).

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

Unless some John Wayne movie memorably used the term, I suspect "bite the bullet" came into popular usage as WW2 slang term meaning "to get shot at" (or in other words, to brave the bullets).

I've always heard that phrase used as meaning to do something that is going to be unpleasant but you need to get it over with. "He just needs to bite the bullet and replace the refrigerator- it's beyond fixing."

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

I've always heard that phrase used as meaning to do something that is going to be unpleasant but you need to get it over with. "He just needs to bite the bullet and replace the refrigerator- it's beyond fixing."

Yes, of which attacking into gunfire would be an extreme example.

 

[Woods-walker]

I wonder what would prompt an animal to chew on a lead bullet?



I'm not quite understanding how cutting the bullet in half helps?

I challenge anyone to bite a bullet hard enough to make a tooth indent, if you choose to do so please do it in the waiting room of your dentist's office. There were plenty of sticks pieces of leather etc to perform the same task without breaking off teeth.

Were there exceptions, most likely, but most of the bullets found have obvious animal teeth marks. Seriously contemplate the biting of a bullet, if you are in that type of pain, you would be much more likely to swallow the bullet, it makes no sense, but a good story.

Your bullet, if those are to be believed as tooth marks would be insisors and would be incredibly painful to bite and make no sense. Simply appears as if a soldier wanted to carve and gouge a bullet. Maybe he was trying to get out of the service……..

I tend to agree with you, most found are likely animal teeth marks. A stick, or leather would have been more appropriate.

In the 1960s, I relic hunted a Union camp near Fredericksburg that was a modern day hog farm back in the 1940-50s. I found hundreds of bullets and many had "teeth marks" that I had always thought were caused by the hogs that were kept on the property.

To the best of my knowledge the camp was never used as a Federal hospital site and it is 6 miles from the nearest fighting at Fredericksburg , which causes me to wonder why they would have transported a wounded soldier that far for surgery, if they were indeed human teeth imprints.
Another factor to consider that in this discussion is the poor dental health of Americans in the mid 19th century. Missing and rotted teeth would not last long on a bullet and would tend to break, causing more pain.

On the other hand, cutting a bullet in two pieces would make it softer and thus easier to bit. If I owned this bullet I definitely would get my dentists opinion. I found a bone with an imbedded pistol bullet. Saw marks on the bone were clear and easily recognizable. I had thought for years it was a knee cap. After a decade I took it with me to my family doctor on a routine visit. He immediately identified it as an ankle bone.