By the time of the Civil War, cartridges were wrapped in paper packets of ten, with an eleventh paper cartridge tube holding a dozen caps with each ten rounds. 40 were carried in the cartridge box, with two packages torn open in the upper part of the tins covered by an inner and outer leather flap, and two unopened packages inside the tins. Typically, a couple extra packets were issued to be carried in the pockets, as stated up post. Sometimes additional ammunition might be issued and stored in the knapsack, or there would be runners to try to bring ammunition up as needed. Sometimes soldiers might be sent out of the line to go retrieve ammunition if it couldn't be brought up for one or another reason. In dire circumstances, soldiers would rummage through the cartridge boxes and pockets of the wounded and slain to obtain ammunition as the circumstances warranted.
After dissatisfaction with various attempts at creating cartridges, the Confederates settled on a preference for British-type paper cartridges as used for the Enfield. In such cartridges, the end is opened, the powder charge dumped into the barrel through the muzzle, and then the cartridge was inverted, the bullet skirt wrapped in greased paper introduced into the muzzle, and then the rest of the empty paper cylinder was snapped off and discarded. These cartridges were typically longer than U.S. patterns. For that reason, there were modifications made to cartridge boxes, or the tins discarded, or a different pattern of cartridge box was used in order to house the cartridges.