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’d still need to spend time to reload those other muskets. You can’t shoot anybody if you’re using both hands to get black powder and a bullet down the barrel of another gun at the same time.