Although ultimately originating with the 16th century handgunners and the 17th century musketeer

Musketeer

A musketeer was an early modern type of infantry soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern armies, particularly in Europe. They sometimes could fight on horseback, like a dragoon or a cavalryman...

s and streltsy

Streltsy

Streltsy were the units of Russian guardsmen in the 16th - early 18th centuries, armed with firearms. They are also collectively known as Marksman Troops .- Origins and organization :...

, the term rifleman originated from the 18th century. It would later become the term for the archetypal common soldier.
As the effectiveness of firearms increased, the balance of these pike-and-musket units shifted, until the pikes were supporting the muskets. The last pike regiments were dissolved by the 1720s with the invention of the bayonet

Bayonet

A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...

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