re: #292 Dark_Falcon

The issue of “flash in the pan” misfires is also why armies adopted the percussion cap so rapidly when it appeared. With flintlocks, a regiment of 500 muskets would some times only fire 375-400 shots, with the others being “flash” misfires. With percussion caps, the misfire rate plummeted from 15-25% down to 2%. That’s a smaller part or why US Civil War engagements were so much deadlier that those of the American Revolution: A great deal more shots were being fired, and commanders could count on that fire being delivered reliably.

Civil War casualties were horrific because weapons technology advanced faster than tactical military formations.