“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.