American Civil War Anecdotes

"Look at them Yankee sons of bitches, loading

their guns under water! What sort of critters

be they, anyhow?"

-One Confederate soldier to another, as Union troops swam across the Chattahoochee River. During their swim the Union soldiers realized that they could load their waterproof metal cartridges underwater, then pop up, empty the water out of their carbines and fire. (A. Hoehling, ed. Last Train from Atlanta cited in James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom.)