BR16199 British 43rd Regiment of Foot, Ramming Cartridge, 1780

The average soldier of the 18th century was expected to fire three volleys per minute. After the first volley, troops usually took from 20 to 30 seconds to reload. Upon loosing off the second volley, they would reload and the third volley would occur a minute after the first. Defending troops were expected to release two volleys in the time it would take their enemy to cover a hundred yards at a dead run. The second volley would hopefully be fired at less than 30 yards when the charging mass of men in tight ranks would have to endure the weight of lead at close range where the musket’s accuracy was greatly increased. The range of 30 yards and less was considered the most effective killing zone for massed firings.

Scale 1/30.