Hi,
I dug this up which makes a deal of sense regarding re supply of units.
A point often overlooked is that the fouling after up to sixty rounds will require complete cleaning of the musket and flint replacement.
As a general overview, the Royal Artillery was responsible for small arms ammunition stocks, transported and stored en masse in the Artillery Park; from that point, supplies of ammunition would be sent forward in one-horse carts or 'tumbrils' (drivers from the Royal Wagon Train?) to brigades where Brigade Major should arrange for individual casks of ball-cartridge to be laden on mules (supplied by the Commissary Dept) to be delivered to battalions where it would be stockpiled- still in casks- behind the firing line. The Quartermaster and QM sergeants, as well as other NCOs would be involved in delivering rounds to soldiers' pouches. Should the ammunition mules fail to make it forward 'from brigade' -not always a clearly defined place in the order of battle- then it might be necessary for soldiers to be sent back to locate the tumbrils and if necessary bring ammunition forward without waiting to transferring casks to mules, as happened at Hougoumont on 18th June 1815
General Orders 20th June 1810:
The commanding officer of the artillery will attach to the new divisions of infantry the same proportion of musket ammunition and flints for their numbers as is attached to the other divisions; and he will make a requisition upon the Commissary General for mules to carry it.
William Surtees (25 Years in the Rifle Brigade):
After a considerable quantity of ammunition had been expended by my battalion, it became my duty to look out for a fresh supply. I accordingly posted off to the rear, where I expected to find some mules which had been attached to us, with ammunition on their backs; but on my way thither, the ground was actually ploughing up on all sides by the enemy's large shot, and their musket balls falling very thick; so much so, that some of our mules far to the rear had been wounded, and the others had dispersed… Some ammunition for our rifles was, however, found in a one-horse cart belonging to the artillery, and out of it those whose ammunition was expended were replenished.
Richard Henegan (Seven Years Campaigning):
At Vittoria, each infantry soldier, on entering the field, had sixty rounds of ball cartridge in his cartouch box for immediate use… As near as possible to the divisions of the army, were brigades of small-arms ammunition to feed the expenditure; and from the commencement to the close of the engagement 1,350,000 rounds of ball cartridge were issued by the Field Train to the troops.
John Cooper (Rough Notes of Seven Campaigns):
The colonel put his hands on my shoulders and said "Serjeant Cooper, go up the hill and tell the brigade-major to send down ammunition immediately, or we must retire." This was necessary, as our men were taking cartridges out of the wounded men's pouches. I scrambled up the steep, and performed my duty with difficulty, as my legs would hardly obey me. I then dragged a Spaniard with his mule laden with ball cartridge down to my company.
Browne of the 40th Foot mentions following at Waterloo
'Boxes of ammunition were placed at intervals along our rear, from about fifty to a hundred paces from us, so that the men could help themselves when they required it.'
Siborne's 'Waterloo Letters' No. 176
Cooper of the 7th refers to re-equipping the unit with casks of cartridges unloaded from a mule.
Macready of the 30th mentions following at Waterloo~
'Our ammunition decreased alarmingly-at length our artillery waggon 'galluped' up emptied two or three casks of cartridges into the square and we were comfortable.'
(Notes compiled from answers to my question on a thread on the old 'Napoleonic Wars Forum.')
