New Book!

[Carl Schwamberg]

Originally Posted by johnbryan

The US military also used what was known as a "buck and ball" load,

I was about to say

Originally Posted by johnbryan

... whereby a musketman using a smooth bore musket would place several buckshot of about .38 caliber into a pre-wrapped paper cartridge along with the normal .69 caliber musketball and powder charge. The buckshot couldn't kill a man in the ranks, but it could incapacitate him in battle.

At close range the .38 shot will kill with a heart of brain hit. The whole load at 20 to 50 meters will induce a lot of shock with multiple hits.

As far as who provided the shoulder arm, in Indiana a miltia the size of that of Ohio was authorized on paper. But, no funds were provided for armorys or much else. The Adjutant General was provided with a stipend & no fund for a staff. The territorial and State budgets of that era were very thin on funds for anything to do with the miltia. As a wild guess I'd think it the same for Ohio.