New Acquisition: Civil War Minie Balls
By Cody Berry
This time we are taking a break from the mines of Bauxite and the upcoming exhibit about WWII to announce that the Gann Museum has recently acquired something very special. Saline County resident Don Lucy came to see me on June 5 to donate a set of 18 Civil War era Minie balls to the Gann Museum. According to Mr. Lucy, these heavy lead bullets were found at Jenkins’ Ferry Battlefield sometime in the early 1970’s by Dr. William N. Jones.
Dr. Jones was born in Little Rock on March 4, 1934, to Dr. Curtis W. Jones and his wife Rosina Jones. Dr. Jones was a Vietnam veteran having served from 1963 to 1965 as a Captain in the U. S. Medical Corps in Colorado. After leaving the military, Dr. Jones started his private practice in dermatology, and for 54 years he worked out of the Doctor’s Building in Little Rock. Dr. Jones had several hobbies and one of them was hunting for Civil War artifacts. Sadly, Dr. Jones passed away on Monday, November 29, 2021, at the age of 87.1
What made the Minie Ball so special was its design. The Minie Ball was invented by Claude-Etienne Minie and fellow Frenchmen Henri-Gustave Delvigne, in 1849. Minie Balls have a conical design on top and groves on the bottom section which increases muzzle velocity when fired from a rifle. After the powder ignites, the expanding gas in the barrel deforms the bullet, and the rifled barrel causes the bullet to spin, ensuring better accuracy and longer range.2 This was a huge improvement over the traditional round shot used in muzzle loading rifles.
The Engagement at Jenkins’ Ferry occurred in late April 1864 when Confederate troops caught the Federal (Union) army retreating from nearby Camden near the Saline River. After some intense combat, the Union troops crossed the river and returned to Little Rock. After the battle was over, the Confederates claimed 86 men on their side were killed, 356 were wounded, and one was missing. 63 Union troops were killed, 413 were wounded, and 45 were missing.3 Our collection of Minie Balls from that bloody battle are now on display at the museum.
Citations:
1 Roller-Chenal Funeral Home, “Dr. William N. Jones, https://www.rollerfuneralhomes.com/memorialpage.asp?id=61206&locid=17, Date Accessed 6/6/2025.
2 “Minie Ball: The Civil War Bullet That Changed History,” historynet.com, https://www.historynet.com/minie-ball/, Date Accessed 6/6/2025.
3 Derek Allen Clements, “Engagement at Jenkins’ Ferry,” CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas, https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/engagement-at-jenkins-ferry-1136/, Date Accessed 6/6/2025.