This Day in History: January 26
Daniel Morgan wrote to William Snickers on January 26, 1781: “I was desirous to
have a stroke at Tarleton … & I have Given a devil of a whiping [sic].”27 Morgan knew that Tarleton would come fast, determined to finish off the Americans before they could escape and devised a battle plan that would make use of his capabilities while exploiting Tarleton’s zeal for a quick and decisive victory.28 This plan, ingenious in nature and original in thought, was well executed by the men under his command and directly contributed to thwarting the British strategy in the Carolinas. [More]
Isn't Tarleton the one that Tavington was patterned after, in "The Patriot"?
ReplyDelete"Developed out of respect for the accuracy of the rifles carried by some of the
ReplyDeleteAmerican patriots, the British used “immediate-action” tactics to exploit the longer load
time of the riflemen. These tactics involved charging with the bayonet to reduce
exposure to the deadly fire of the riflemen while exploiting the riflemen’s weakness of
not having bayonets of their own."
So in other words, having weapons more suitable for hunting by lacking bayonets put the Americans (especially the militia) at a disadvantage during the vulnerable reload period where the attacking British bayonet equipped troops would attempt to bayonet the Americans. There is a modern equivalent where the state of New York would limit the magazine capacity to seven rounds, increasing the frequency of the vulnerable reload period. The presumption here by the state of New York is that the citizen rifleman or handgun shooter would always be unlawfully attacking, never lawfully defending. If you were lawfully defending yourself you would definitely want a reduction in overall reload time. The military/police would not be similarly encumbered. The 2nd Amendment does not state that you have a right to keep and bear inferior arms so that you will be easily defeated by better equipped criminals or government.