"The musket in common use was a heavy matchlock, which even a trained soldier could not hope to fire more than once a minute. Though it might kill or main at 200 yards it was not likely to hit the target at a range of more than 50 yards. The reason for this inaccuracy was that the bullet did not fit the smooth-bore barrel at all tightly, and therefore, when propelled towards the target, it tended to wander. The disadvantages of match were all too obvious: by night it could betray the position of the musketeers, and in foul weather it simply went out."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Civil wars involving the states and peoples of EuropeMilitary history of EnglandPolitics of the United Kingdom17th-century military history
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Peter Young, The English Civil War Armies (1973), p. 6
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/English_Civil_War
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Related Quotes
"Most of the Army preachers believed that the New Model was an army of saints who were possessed by the Holy Spirit an…"
"Both of the colony's principal dissenters- the English Puritans and the Scots-Irish- proudly considered themselves to…"
"In the summer of 1642 the First Civil War between King and Parliament had broken out in England. Initially both sides…"
"Despite these views it is doubtful that the rank and file of the New Model Army were as deeply imbued with religious …"
"William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle (1592-1676) commanded the Royalists in northern England, and during 1643 made he…"
"When a civil war began in the 1640s between the King's forces and the Parliamentary forces, many English religious di…"
"Prince Rupert was more than an inspiring leader; despite his youth he had wide experience of continental warfare, and…"
"England in August 1642 was in the midst of harvest, the fields covered in shocks of corn or standing golden brown rea…"
"It is fairly easy to conjure up in the imagination a picture of the New Model Army as a Bible-reading, Psalm-singing …"
"You have satisfaction in your conscience that you are in the right; that the king ought not to grant what is required…"