The Sound of Minie Balls Singing

From a letter written by Walter Battle, 4th Infantry, North Carolina (from http://www.soldierstudies.org)

Dated May 14, 1864 describing Battle of Spotsylvania Court House

. . . .There is not a man in this brigade who will ever forget the sad requiem, which those minie balls sung over the dead and dying for twenty-two long hours; they put one in mind of some musical instrument; some sounded like wounded men crying; some like humming of bees; some like cats in the depth of the night, while others cut through the air with only a "Zip" like noise. . . .

A stormy march--(Artillery)--Spotsylvania Court House by Edwin Forbes
From Library of Congress Collection