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I am new to the Forum and I hope that someone can answer my question.
Awhile back I heard ( I can not remember from who) that after the Battle of Gettysburg some muskets were found with up to twenty Minnie balls rammed down the barrels.
It is believed that the owners of the muskets, in the heat of battle, just kept on loading but never got around to firing their weapons.
I have tried to find written evidence of this in the library and on the Internet but have not had any luck.
If it is true I would like to use it when I talk with the public about the rate of fire of an infantryman at reenacting events I attend.
However,I had heard the story long before the movie was made.
I do not have an original source...but I am sure that it did happen.
And not just at Gettysburg.
What with the smoke the impossible torrent of noise...its no wonder.
Also I think the percussion caps would fall off a lot and guns would simply be clogged with spent powder.
Probably happened mostly while firing at will too.
There are stories of this happening throughout the war, both sides, in all theatres. Men, usually a greenhorn or somebody who just forgot, would load a round, and forget their percussion cap, and the would pull the trigger, and with all of the firing going on, they wouldn't realize that the rifle hadn't fired. You also hear stories about men getting impaled on ramrods that men had forgotten to take out too. Though it might not be a common occurence, it most definitely happened. Not sure about twenty rounds, cause I am not sure how many rounds would fit in an 1861 Springfield, or a Model 1858 Enfield, but seven or eight I am sure is not out of the question.
__________________ "The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize." George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796
Have heard and read the same thing. Of course, I can't remember where, or when. It does stand the test of logic. In a heated battle, there would be those who lost track of what they were doing and omitted a step or two in the 7-step drill. Guess you'd hadda been there.
Wish I could help with the source, but it's been about 25 years since it was called to my attention, and I've not seen anything official on it. (At least, nothing I can point you to.)
I'd recommend that you present it as unsubstantiated happenstance that most agree could have happened--the heat of battle, etc. Kinda gives a picture of the nature of training, abject fear, and automatic action--albeit missing a step or two.
ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
The upshot is, nobody there knew where those figures came from.
Have any of you reenactors who own minie balls ever seen how many will fit down the barrel at once? (Not with powder, doh!) I've never shot live rounds out of mine. Yeah, I'm a powder burner.
“On the field of Gettysburg there were 27,574 guns picked up and of those 24,000 were found to be loaded, and half of them were double loaded. One fourth had from three to ten loads in, and many had five or six balls to one charge of powder. In some cases the powder was above the ball, in others the cartridges were not broken at the end, while in one musket twenty three balls, sixty two buckshot and a quantity of powder were all mixed up together.” -Poughkeepsie Daily Journal
__________________ Suppose you were an idiot.
And suppose you were a member of Congress....
But then I repeat myself.
-Mark Twain
30 IL gives the cite. I believe Bruce Catton does too in one volume of his Army of the Potomac series.
A soldier's training consisted of drill, drill and more drill. Very little emphasis was given in firearms instruction. Firing practice depended on the whims of the regiment's colonel and many considered it to be a waste of ammunition. It took until 1864 when Meade gave orders for his men to practice. Marksmanship training and weapons familiarization wasn't very common in those days. Thus, in the heat of battle, some soldiers didn't notice or, if frightened, resorted to their training: mechanical drill of going through the loading motions and firing (even though the weapon didn't discharge).
One is the sound and the other is recoil. In a battle where there is a constant amount of noise near a soldier, in rifle fire and artillery, the individual soldier might miss the sound of his own weapon firing or not firing. In the heat of battle, he might also miss the recoil of the rifle.
I've loaded muzzleloaders and came to be very familiar with how far into the barrel the ramrod went, when loaded. That's a little trick I learned, in case I was about to doubleload the rifle. I'm not sure such a technique was taught, or that many a soldier could be expected to make that observation during a battle.
The smoke would have been so great, I doubt any soldier could observe his rifle's smoke from that of nearby soldiers firing their rifles.
Anyone in their first battle, or a soldier poorly trained, might miss these signs in the midst of battle. Marksmanship was not the hallmark of the average soldier, especially the city soldier who may never have fired a rifle before coming into the army.
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