British line infantry in 1780 was expected to fire three rounds a minute, every minute, for as long as the action lasted. The standard wasn't unreasonable; it was the slowest reliable rate a well-drilled regular could sustain through the full loading cycle — prime, load, draw ramrod, ram, return ramrod, present, fire. The ramming step depicted by this figure was the rate-limiting movement: the only step that demanded both hands free and the full attention of the soldier, the only step where a misseated cartridge could ruin the next shot. The British army drilled it harder than any of the others. A regiment that could maintain three rounds a minute through a quarter-hour engagement could out-fire any opposing force that couldn't, which was most of them. The American sharpshooter tradition — fewer shots, more aimed, from cover — was a different solution to the same problem, but it depended on the British line not getting close enough to use their rate-of-fire advantage.

This figure shows a 43rd Foot infantryman in the ramming step of the loading drill — left hand holding the musket vertical, right hand pulled high above his head to draw the ramrod clear of its housing before reversing it to push the cartridge home. He wears the standard 1780 British line uniform: scarlet coat with white facings, white cross-belts with cartridge box and bayonet sheath, white waistcoat and breeches, black knee gaiters, tricorne with white binding. He pairs with the Continental Line Standing Ramming soldier — the American counterpart, depicting the same loading step in opposing colors — the British 43rd Foot at "Make Ready" (the step after ramming, when the musket is brought up for firing), and the British 43rd Foot Sergeant with Halberd (the NCO timing the drill).

1/30 scale (60mm), matte-painted, single figure boxed. Catalog number 16199. As with the rest of the W. Britain modern range, the painting is photographic-quality detail intended to read well in dioramas and display cases.