Is it true that there were cylindrical dum-dum bullets recovered from wreck of the whydah? does anyone have more information on how these bullets worked and how they would have been fired from a smoothbore weapon?
Ok, I think I may have found an answer. Apparently they were intended to tumble when hitting a target but didn't actually break apart.
http://southerncampaign.org/newsletter/v2n1.pdf
Figure 19 - Cylinder-shaped shot. Soldiers altered round musket balls by hammering them into cylinders or “Sluggs” as they were called in the 18th century. They were equivalent to modern, illegal “dum-dum” bullets. This shot would tumble after firing and rip through human targets causing massive, irreparable injury. The use of cylindrical shot is not unique to Monmouth and appears to have a long history. Five specimens were excavated from the pirate ship Whydah that sank off Cape Cod in 1717 and are currently on display in the museum in Provincetown, Rhode Island.