A reader asked about infantrymen speeding up the loading procedure for their muskets in the Sharpe (TV) series by omitting the step of ‘…the wadding being placed and ramming the ball’.

This is known as tap loading. The procedure is much the same as usual but the ball, which is smaller than the bore, is simply dropped down the barrel followed by thumping the butt on the ground a couple of times, instead of ramming the rest of the paper cartridge and the ball down onto the charge. I can’t find any original references to this, but experiments confirm that it does work and I’m pretty sure soldiers who used these muskets in battle knew about it. You would lose pressure and muzzle velocity because the ball probably wouldn’t be properly seated, but that wouldn’t matter at close range. Rate of fire was more important, and it would obviate the risk of a man forgetting to remove the ramrod and firing it at the enemy!

I expect you know this but a musket is also a falconry term for a male sparrowhawk.

Martyn Kerr