Hessian Regiment von Donop, Tearing Cartridge--single figure
$50.00

Muskets are smoothbore weapons; the inside of the barrel is smooth, not rifled, and notoriously inaccurate.  It was a flintlock weapon, meaning that a sharpened flint attached to a cocked hammer was pushed into a locking position prior to firing.  When a soldier pulled the trigger, the hammer sprang forward.  The sharpened flint struck a vertical L shaped steel “frizzen,” which covered the pan where a small amount of black powder was sprinkled.  The blow forced the frizzen back, exposing the black powder to a spark caused when the flint struck the frizzen.  This spark ignited the powder in the pan and part of the explosion passed through a tiny hole above the pan leading to the main charge of black powder at the breech of the barrel finally igniting the powder in the barrel and propelling the lead ball.