The Confederates
substituted iron case-shot balls for lead due to the shortage of lead needed for small
arms ammunition. The Confederates could not drill into the iron balls to form the
bursting cavity without great difficulty. The bursting cavity was formed by
inserting a dowel into the fuze opening. The iron balls were inserted through the
hole on the projectile's side, and the hot, liquefied matrix was poured in the
side-loading hole. After the matrix cooled, the dowel was removed, and a lead, iron,
copper, or brass plug was screwed into the loading hole. The powder was installed
and the fuze adapter screwed in. Side-loader plugs made of copper or brass are
uncommon. The copper side-loader plug measures .83 in diameter.
