Talk:Indian Mutiny

In case anybody is still wondering about the cartridges connected with the 'Indian Mutiny'/ Indian Uprising:

"The powder was supplied in pre-measured paper cartridges that were greased to make them waterproof. To load the gun, the soldier was to bite off the end of the cartridge and pour the powder into the muzzle." (Daniel R. Headrick. Power over Peoples: Technology, Environments, and Western Imperialism, 1400 to the Present. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton UP, 2009. 260.) .

Tearing the coated paper by hand would also have been possible - and indeed was later allowed - but opening the cartridge with your teeth was quicker and left one hand free, things which were important in a war.