Every army had to teach its men to load and fire its muskets: the British had their 1764 Manual Exercise, and the French had the 1776 Ordonnance de Roi. In this image, we can see the soldats at the first step – “chargez vos armes”. They are about to be ordered to “ouvrez le bassinet” (open the frizzen/hammer). In total the French army was taught to load “en douze temps” – in 12 steps – and this approach did not change until well after the Napoleonic period.
Photo by kind permission of Daz’s Photography
Le Régiment Gatinois 