Starting in the 1840s, with the advent of the Minié ball and the first military breech-loading rifles, the rifles entered the age of industrialized warfare. It was mass-produced and accessible to all infantrymen. The high level of training and specialized roles gave way to generality: the rifles were much faster and simpler to load, able to be reloaded while prone, and impossible to be double-loaded after a misfire. The term 'rifleman', once used solely as a mark of distinction and pride, became a commonplace description of all infantry, no matter what their actual status was. Nevertheless, the term retained a certain "élan" that is still found today.