Civil War soldier’s hand-carved smoking pipe from an Enfield bullet, recovered at Shiloh Battlefield (SOLD)

This is a very unusual item being offered, it is a .58 caliber Enfield bullet that was carved by a soldier to use as a smoking pipe.  He dug the base out about 3/4" deep, which served as a decent size area for the tobacco to be packed in. He then neatly bored a hole at the bottom for the reed stem.  It was recovered many years ago at the Shiloh, Tennessee Battlefield.

The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was fought April 6 - 7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. The Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and was encamped principally at Pittsburg Landing on the west bank of the river, where Confederate forces under Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and P. G. T. Beauregard launched a surprise attack on Grant's army. The Confederates achieved considerable success on the first day but were ultimately defeated on the second day.

This is a very unique relic that shows the ingenuity of the common soldier to create something he needed. It comes in the glass top display case pictured.