Considering how long it takes to reload a musket, why didn’t soldiers from the 18th century simply carry 2-3 preloaded muskets instead to save time?

Question

Considering how long it takes to reload a musket, why didn’t soldiers from the 18th century simply carry 2-3 preloaded muskets instead to save time?

In: Engineering

Answer 1

they did but not in the way you are thinking. british cavalry would carry two pistols which were in effect brown bess muskets with no stock and a short barrel. Blackbeard was said to have carried six pistols going into action, but a lot of that sort of thing is made up. Full length muskets werr expensive and heavy. you also can’t store them loaded, so you have to load anyway.