Dan Shapiro
04-23-2010, 10:14
Have always been fascinated by the early battles with flintlock muskets. It's never shown in "the movies" that firing by men on line was a highly orchestrated affair. That and the fact that we are used to seeing troops today fire many hundreds of rounds. You couldn't do this with a musket. Most troops went into battle with only 12-18 rounds of ammunition. After around 10-12 rounds either the flint in the hammer needed to be replaced, or the barrel was so fouled with powder residue you could no longer quickly reload, which necessitated having A LOT of troops.
When Von Steuben came to the American army at Valley Forge, the colonial militias had been trained using two different British drill manuals of the period (it appears to have depended on the part of the country you lived in as to which manual you were trained under). While many of the commands were similar, there were differences which could cause confusion - which you don't want in the heat of battle. Von Steuben took what he considered were the best features of both manuals and then wrote America's first drill manual.
The commands of the Steuben musket drill seem too slow and deliberate to modern ears to be of efficient use in a battle situation. However, through proper execution of the training commands, the soldiers became a well- synchronized unit. Speed came with practice. In the stress of battle, officers gave shortened combat commands, and Washington's men could fire coordinated volleys of musket fire every fifteen seconds.
The Training Commands:
1. Half-cock Firelock
Soldier pulls musket cock back one notch and opens the steel (frizzen) covering the pan.
2. Handle Cartridge
Soldier slaps cartridge box to settle the powder in the cartridges, tears open the cartridge with his teeth, and places the opened cartridge under his chin to protect it.
3. Prime
Soldier places a small amount of powder in the pan.
4. Shut Pan
Soldier shuts the steel to hold the powder in the pan and casts the musket (places butt of musket on ground) about in order to place the powder in the barrel.
5. Charge with Cartridge
Soldier dumps powder down the barrel and then places the paper-wrapped musket balls into the barrel. (Note: The barrel was always pointed AWAY from the soldier when loading the powder.)
6. Draw Rammer
Soldier draws the ramrod out. This was expected to be done with the left hand. Two pulls would free the rod and it would be rotated to the left (can't have a line of soldiers waving rods in all directions as they seat the face of the ram rod in the muzzle.)
7. Ram Down Cartridge
Soldier rams paper-wrapped musket balls down securely on top of the powder with the ramrod.
8. Return Rammer
Soldier returns ramrod to its place beneath the barrel.
9. Shoulder Firelock
Soldier holds musket steady on the shoulder.
10. Poise Firelock
Soldier places musket in the ready position.
11. Full-cock Firelock
Soldier pulls musket cock back to second notch.
12. Take Aim (The British hated this command, their's was "Present")
Soldier levels musket.
13. Fire
Fires musket.
Combat Commands (Shortened commands during battle)
1. Load
Soldier loads musket using steps 1-9. From the shouldered firelock position, the officers can order the soldiers to charge, retreat, or fire. If the officers want the soldiers to fire, the commands are:
2. Make Ready
Soldier goes through poise position and pulls musket cock back to second notch.
3. Take Aim
Soldier levels musket.
4. Fire
Fires musket.
As far as accuracy goes, with an effective range of 70-100 yards, you'd be lucky to hit the target you were pointing at 4 out of 10 times. However, if you used the 'buck and ball' cartridge, your ability to hit a target went up to 8 out of 10 times. Only problem was that the effective range of the buck and ball cartridge was at most 60 yards.
When Von Steuben came to the American army at Valley Forge, the colonial militias had been trained using two different British drill manuals of the period (it appears to have depended on the part of the country you lived in as to which manual you were trained under). While many of the commands were similar, there were differences which could cause confusion - which you don't want in the heat of battle. Von Steuben took what he considered were the best features of both manuals and then wrote America's first drill manual.
The commands of the Steuben musket drill seem too slow and deliberate to modern ears to be of efficient use in a battle situation. However, through proper execution of the training commands, the soldiers became a well- synchronized unit. Speed came with practice. In the stress of battle, officers gave shortened combat commands, and Washington's men could fire coordinated volleys of musket fire every fifteen seconds.
The Training Commands:
1. Half-cock Firelock
Soldier pulls musket cock back one notch and opens the steel (frizzen) covering the pan.
2. Handle Cartridge
Soldier slaps cartridge box to settle the powder in the cartridges, tears open the cartridge with his teeth, and places the opened cartridge under his chin to protect it.
3. Prime
Soldier places a small amount of powder in the pan.
4. Shut Pan
Soldier shuts the steel to hold the powder in the pan and casts the musket (places butt of musket on ground) about in order to place the powder in the barrel.
5. Charge with Cartridge
Soldier dumps powder down the barrel and then places the paper-wrapped musket balls into the barrel. (Note: The barrel was always pointed AWAY from the soldier when loading the powder.)
6. Draw Rammer
Soldier draws the ramrod out. This was expected to be done with the left hand. Two pulls would free the rod and it would be rotated to the left (can't have a line of soldiers waving rods in all directions as they seat the face of the ram rod in the muzzle.)
7. Ram Down Cartridge
Soldier rams paper-wrapped musket balls down securely on top of the powder with the ramrod.
8. Return Rammer
Soldier returns ramrod to its place beneath the barrel.
9. Shoulder Firelock
Soldier holds musket steady on the shoulder.
10. Poise Firelock
Soldier places musket in the ready position.
11. Full-cock Firelock
Soldier pulls musket cock back to second notch.
12. Take Aim (The British hated this command, their's was "Present")
Soldier levels musket.
13. Fire
Fires musket.
Combat Commands (Shortened commands during battle)
1. Load
Soldier loads musket using steps 1-9. From the shouldered firelock position, the officers can order the soldiers to charge, retreat, or fire. If the officers want the soldiers to fire, the commands are:
2. Make Ready
Soldier goes through poise position and pulls musket cock back to second notch.
3. Take Aim
Soldier levels musket.
4. Fire
Fires musket.
As far as accuracy goes, with an effective range of 70-100 yards, you'd be lucky to hit the target you were pointing at 4 out of 10 times. However, if you used the 'buck and ball' cartridge, your ability to hit a target went up to 8 out of 10 times. Only problem was that the effective range of the buck and ball cartridge was at most 60 yards.