Yes, mallets were initially issued to the British Riflecorps along with the Baker (with iron rammers) for a brief period before they were abandoned in 1802 (or ’03?). The earlier Pattern 1776 British rifle was not issued with a mallet either at first or at all. That single fact does not convince me that North Americans in the 18th century (or the first half of the 19th century, for that matter), used short starters. There are dozens and dozens of references to things like ramrods, powder horns, worms, ball molds, greased patching, etc. but no mention anywhere of a short starter unless you count a brief experiment by early Napoleonic Era British War Dept’s issuing of a mallet.
Due to the lack of specific documentation to short starters and mallets for rifle loading on the frontier and the fact that period homespun cloth was much thicker than today’s modern cloth based on known research, I would wager that riflemen used the thick homespun cloth and a smaller ball in order to load their rifles. A thick patch and a smaller ball combination loads much easier. Surely there was much more gas blow which no doubt contributed to rifle refreshing that was common.
I point again to the account of Morgan’s riflemen at Saratoga disengaging because their rifles were too fouled to load. They were not issued mallets. That said, most of the accounts of reloading from the American frontier dispose of all modern conceptions of firearms safety. Spit balls from the mouth, tamping the bare ball on the ground to seat it, loading directly from the horn, etc. This is what most of us would do in a life or death situation. We wouldn’t pull out a bullet board or cut patches at the muzzle…
