These days I'm fascinated by the U.S. Civil War and its celebrated hero Abraham Lincoln. True to character, I bought the "Idiot's Guide to the Civil War" (actually the Complete Idiot's Guide, but I find that insulting). When we hear about the hi-tech weapons of war these days, it's easy to overlook the relative crudeness of war 150 years ago, where combat was often hand-to-hand and "air force" was a futuristic term. Here's a fact:
Soldiers were often so terrified amid the explosions and confusion of battle that they simply forgot to shoot. Some 27,500 muskets were recovered on the field of battle. Of these, more than 12,000 contained 2 charges. They had been loaded, but not fired, and loaded again. Another 6,000 contained 3 to 10 charges and balls, and one musket was found with 23 rounds.
Ready -- aim -- load!
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