They had just returned from North America and had marched 50 miles from Ghent. The Inniskillings (27th Foot) only arrived on the battlefield at 10.30am on the morning of the battle as part of the 10th Brigade.
This enabled the infantryman to ‘ram home’ his musket ball and cartridge paper over the powder with his metal ramrod without cutting his hand.
The bayonet was mounted to the side of the barrel. The bayonet fitted over the end of the musket. Each hole contained a paper cartridge filled with powder and a musket ball. The box contained a wooden block with 60 holes drilled into it. The bayonet was suspended from one belt and the cartridge box from the other. It was worn on the front of the two whitened belts which crossed over the chest of an infantryman. The belt plate has a representation of the castle of Enniskillen in Northern Ireland, the home of the regiment.
