Lying down was the safest place on a Civil War battlefield, and it was also the hardest place to load a rifle. A muzzle-loader had to be charged from the front: powder down the barrel, then the bullet, then the ramrod driven the full length of a nearly five-foot weapon. A prone soldier had to roll onto his side or back to do it, loading with the rifle held up in the air, then roll back over to aim. Skirmishers and men fighting from cover got very good at it anyway. On Little Round Top, the 83rd Pennsylvania fought from behind boulders and in the rocks along the slope, rising, firing, and dropping back down as the Confederate attacks came up the hill.

The figure lies flat on the ground with his head raised to get a clear look at what's coming, his rifle musket and fixed bayonet held ready in both hands. His knapsack and blanket roll are still strapped to his back, and he wears K&C's 83rd Pennsylvania uniform of dark blue chasseur jacket with yellow trim, green shoulder tufts, sky-blue trousers, and white gaiters. Pair him with Lying Prone Firing for a two-man skirmish position, add the Kneeling Infantryman Firing Rifle behind him, or bring up Crouching Advancing to extend the line.

King & Country model CW125. 1/30 scale (approximately 60mm), matte-painted metal. Single prone figure of an 83rd Pennsylvania infantryman lying ready, on a sculpted groundwork base. Boxed.