“Don’t shoot till you see the whites of their eyes” comes to
mind in this image. If so, then it is hard to understand how
everyone wasn’t killed during this battle. Both sides were in
very close proximity. And with a long rifle it’s hard to miss. I
kept asking and I was always told that the weapons were mostly
effective in volleys. A single lead ball was not perfectly round
and the barrels of the rifles were not grooved to spin the shot
and fire it straight. It’s a good thing, I think. History says
that there were few dead in this battle, which was indeed
surprising.