Even further back, about 20 years before breech loaders. By the end of the American Civil War both sides were firing from the prone or kneeling, and any cover they could find. It was always possible to reload muzzles from the prone, it just didn’t make any sense with smoothbore muskets. Rifles increased accuracy so much it became a problem to reload in the open.
Even further back, about 20 years before breech loaders. By the end of the American Civil War both sides were firing from the prone or kneeling, and any cover they could find. It was always possible to reload muzzles from the prone, it just didn’t make any sense with smoothbore muskets. Rifles increased accuracy so much it became a problem to reload in the open.