MUSKETS

The most common weapon on both sides of the conflict was the smoothbore flintlock musket. It fired a round ball, buckshot, or a combination of the two. This weapon was notoriously inaccurate. One reason for this was that it fired a ball that was a somewhat smaller caliber than the weapon itself. Th is was necessary because the black powder used at the time left a residue inside the barrel of the weapon. Unfortunately, the smaller caliber ball also allowed the gases projecting it to escape the barrel unevenly. The result was that the musket was very inaccurate at distances over 100 yards. The saving grace of a musket was that it was three to five times faster to reload than a rifle. This statement, however, needs to be read in the context of the period. At the time, all firearms took what seems today like an incredibly long time to reload. The above mentioned General Herkimer, for example, when faced with annihilation of his command, coolly ordered his militia to work in pairs so that the Indians would not have an opportunity to rush them. One final point to remember about smoothbore muskets was that they could be fitted with a bayonet which was very important during the Revolutionary War as will be seen below.