- Created by
- Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company, American, 1850 - 1881
- Subject of
- Brown, John, American, 1800 - 1859
- Meriam, Francis Jackson, American, 1837 - 1865
- Date
- 1859
- Medium
- lead and lead alloy with paper, gunpowder, and thread
- Dimensions
- H x W x D (cartridge): 2 9/16 × 1/2 × 1/2 in. (6.5 × 1.2 × 1.2 cm)
- H x W x D (bullet): 1 × 1/2 × 1/2 in. (2.5 × 1.2 × 1.2 cm)
- H x W x D (cartridge case): 1 9/16 × 1/2 × 1/2 in. (4 × 1.2 × 1.2 cm)
- Description
- An unspent .52 caliber Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company cartridge from the 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry. The cartridge consists of a Minié ball and a cartridge case made from paper and thread.
- The cartridge was kept at the Kennedy Farmhouse that served as the headquarters for the raid. When the raid failed, the three men guarding the headquarters and its store of weapons and ammunition fled. This cartridge was carried by Francis Jackson Meriam.
- The cartridge was stored in a tobacco tin (NMAAHC 2023.84.2).
- Place used
- Washington County, Maryland, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Weapons and Ammunition
- Movement
- Abolitionist movement
- Type
- minié balls
- cartridges
- Topic
- American South
- Antislavery
- Resistance
- Slavery
- U.S. History, 1815-1861
- Violence
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2023.84.1
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




