Dave,don't know if this is any help, but when I was a little boy I used to hang around 2 old Civil War soldiers, who did considerable reminiscing. They were both veterans of the Army of No. Va., namely the 39th and 42nd Cavalry. I overheard a conversation in which they talked about the fact that early in the war, some Alabama troops were using smooth bore muskets and shooting buck and ball. I asked them what buck and ball was and they replied that it was a paper cartridge with a round ball and 3 buckshots loaded IN FRONT of the round ball. They would tear the cartdige, pour the powder down the barrel and ram the paper and ball and buckshot, all together, down in front of it. The gist of their conversation was that this outfit was really deadly early in the war, but that the smoothbores were soon replaced by battlefield pickups, as the ranges became longer with experience.
Hope this helps.
