Medical History of the War of the Rebellion, Part Third of Volume Two; pages 701-2-3-4 & pages 710-11
"One hundred & thirty cases of wounds attributed to explosive missiles were recorded in returns. The records of the Ordinance Office, U.S. Army, show that thirty-three thousand three hundred& fifty (33,350) Gardner's "explosive bullets" or " musket balls" were issued to troops in the early part of the war; that of theses over ten thousand (10,000) were abandoned on the field for want of transportation. It is probable that the latter foo into he hands of Confederates, accounting in a measure for the wounded before alluded to, but many reports of wounds attributed to explosive balls were mad in which is it is doubtful if the missile was of this nature, as under certain circumstances the ordinary ball is capable of great distortion & of inflicting severe injury."
Perhaps the most remarkable wound caused by explosive bullets was suffered by a member of the 2nd New Hampshire at Gettysburg. His ammunition pouch was struck by a piece of an exploding shell that set off the exploding bullets within. The resulting sympathetic explosion & fire was both spectacular & fatal.
The Rifled Musket by Claud E. Fuller should be in every Civil War student's library. Pages 288-293
Exploding & Poisoned Bullets is a comprehensively documented section on this subject. The medical reports on the effect of exploding bullets are graphic in the extreme. At Gettysburg, the distinctive sound of exploding bullets that were fired at Union Troops was identified by ordinance officers. The CSA infantry in Pickett's charge were on the receiving end of exploding bullets fired by the 2nd New Hampshire. For understandable reasons, no first person accounts from those on the receiving end of that fire exist.
As the records of the Ordinance Office indicate, an ordinary mini ball commonly caused grotesque wounds that were interpreted as being from exploding bullets. Very few of the reported incidents of exploding bullets can be credited as accurate. At least some of the 10,000 Gardener exploding bullets abandoned on the field were issued to CSA troops. Other than that, there is no documentation that I am aware of that the CSA infantry was issued with exploding bullets. Jefferson Davis categorically denied that the CSA gov't ever purchased or issued any of the infernal devices. Once again, Davis' denial is supported by the lack of any evidence to the contrary.
Note: If you don't have a copy of
The Rifled Musket on your bookshelf, get one. You will never have to try to remember where you read or heard something technical on Civil War muskets & ammunition again.