Jacob Sheetz, a Hampshire County gunsmith, became unusually busy in 1861 converting old flintlock rifles to the newer percussion system. The long rifle, also called the Pennsylvania or Kentucky rifle, had been popular with frontiersmen since the mid-18th century. To fire a flintlock, a rifleman rammed powder and a bullet down the barrel, poured priming powder into a pan on the side of the lock, and pulled the trigger, causing a flint-held hammer to strike the frizzen, create a spark, ignite the priming powder, and then fire the main charge through the flash hole. Because rain could foul the powder, a waterproof percussion system was developed in the 19th century, replacing the frizzen and pan with a nipple covered by a cap containing priming powder, which the modified hammer struck to ignite the primer and charge. Later in the war, self-contained metal cartridges became the next technological advance. Confederate Lt. John Blue, a Hampshire County native, recalled that local troops mostly carried home rifles and a few old flintlock muskets found in the courthouse loft, moved camp near the gunsmith's shop to have their flintlocks converted, spent the next two weeks hunting, and then discovered they needed army caps because their home rifle caps were too small. Before long, soldiers in both armies received standard weapons, and the guns Jacob Sheetz had altered were discarded.