Having taken another look at Maj. Riley's papers, it's more clear now as to what he meant. Examples of these cartridges were tested near Tullahoma on Feb. 19, 1863. A report of firing results and a test pattern takes up three or four pages. I'll try to transcribe and post these.
Riley makes some other interesting observations:
1) Army of Tennessee regulations limited small arms issues to actual combatants. For instance, commissioned officers and regimental infirmary details were not supposed to be issued a musket. His "Armament & Ammunition Report" for Hardee’s Corps, Feb. 14, 1864, shows 869 unarmed men in 69 regiments. Persumably these are all enlisted men. Also, Riley's subtotals for weapons available in Cleburne's and Stevenson's Divisions are almost exactly the same numbers which appear on the Army of Tennessee strength report for February 1864 in the "effective total" column.
2) Arms show on receipts from the various Confederate armies did not always match arms issued by ordnance officers. Riley explains that packing boxes were being reused, and often carried the original markings as to the type of arms being delivered. After the boxes were opened, actual type of arms received might be different.
3) You mentioned the "dead angle" at Kennesaw Mtn. On June 30, 1864, Riley requested that officials at the arms laboratory in Atlanta develop and forward twenty to thirty "fire balls". Front line officers in Cheatham's Division were concerned about Federal troops approaching their lines under cover of night. The ability to toss a "fire ball" across the lines to illuminate enemy movements would be helpful. Of course Riley was thinking about use of a 20th century innovation, the flare.
I'll try to answer particulars about weapons issues in the Army of Tennessee if anyone has questions. Riley served for two years as O.O. for Withers' Division and later Hardee's Corps, from the summer of 1862 up to the summer of 1864. His papers include a number of interesting statments. Here's an example:
11-16-62 Statement of Arms & Equipment of the Reserve Division, Army of
the Mississippi:
Enfield Rifles 2248
Muskets 69 cal. 3527
Miss. Rifles 179
Minnie Bayonet 243
Sword Bayonet 154
Musket bayonet 2530 (cal. 69)
Enfield bayonet 139
Bayonet scabbards 227
Cartridge boxes 4570
Cap boxes 4438
Waist belts 4453
Shoulder belts 2035
Haversacks 1901
Knapsacks 2606
Canteens 2354
Canteen straps 1114
Full quota of ammunition on hand