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-The Project Gutenberg eBook of Arms and Armor of the Pilgrims, 1620-1692,

-by Harold L. Peterson

-

-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and

-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions

-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms

-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at

-www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you

-will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before

-using this eBook.

-

-Title: Arms and Armor of the Pilgrims, 1620-1692

-

-Author: Harold L. Peterson

-

-Release Date: May 13, 2021 [eBook #65335]

-

-Language: English

-

-Character set encoding: UTF-8

-

-Produced by: Steve Mattern and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at

-             https://www.pgdp.net

-

-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARMS AND ARMOR OF THE PILGRIMS,

-1620-1692 ***

-

-

-

-

-Transcriber’s Notes:

-

-  Underscores “_” before and after a word or phrase indicate _italics_

-    in the original text.

-  Illustrations have been moved so they do not break up paragraphs.

-  Old or antiquated spellings have been preserved.

-  Typographical and punctuation errors have been silently corrected.

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-Fotoset and Lithographed by COLORTONE PRESS, Washington 9, D. C.

-

-

-

-

-                            ARMS AND ARMOR

-                                OF THE

-                          PILGRIMS 1620-1692

-

-

-                                  by

-                          Harold L. Peterson

-

-                [Illustration: Patrero or “murderer”]

-

-    Published by Plimoth Plantation, Inc. and the Pilgrim Society,

-                             Plymouth 1957

-

-[Illustration: _A seventeenth century musketeer ready to fire his

-matchlock. From Jacques de Gheyn_, Maniement d’Armes, _1608_.]

-

-The average colonist landing on the wild shores of North America in the

-early 1600’s set great store by his arms and armor. The Pilgrims were

-no exception. They were strangers in a vast and largely unknown land,

-inhabited by wild beasts and peopled by savages who were frequently

-hostile. Greatly outnumbered by known enemies and possibly facing

-dangers of which they were not yet aware, these Englishmen placed

-their main hope for survival on the possession of superior weapons and

-protective armor. On the more peaceful side, their firearms were also

-valuable, for they provided fresh meat for the table and furs for sale

-back home.

-

-Because the colonist was so dependent on his arms he soon learned to

-select the most efficient kinds that he could obtain. In so doing he

-pushed the evolution of military materiel far ahead of contemporary

-Europe and developed a high degree of skill, particularly in the use of

-firearms.

-

-The military supplies which the Pilgrims brought with them may be

-divided into three major categories: defensive armor, edged weapons,

-and projectile weapons. A completely armed man, especially in the first

-years, was usually equipped with one or more articles from each of the

-three groups, usually a helmet and corselet, a sword, and a musket.

-

-

-ARMOR

-

-Of all the pieces of defensive armor, the most popular was the helmet.

-Almost everyone wore one when he prepared for trouble. Most of those

-worn at Plymouth were undoubtedly open helmets which left the face

-uncovered, although it is possible that a few completely closed

-helmets were also used. These open helmets were of three principal

-types: the cabasset, the morion, and the burgonet. The cabasset was

-a simple, narrow brimmed helmet with a keeled bowl and a tiny apical

-peak pointing to the rear. The morion had a larger crescentic brim

-pointed at the front and back and a high comb along the center-line

-of the bowl. The better specimens of both these helmets were forged

-from a single billet of steel, and both were very efficient defenses.

-The curving lines of the bowls caused most blows to glance off without

-imparting their full impact, and the comb of the morion presented an

-extra buffer of metal through which a sword would have to cut before

-it reached the bowl. Inside each helmet was a quilted lining held in

-place by a row of rivets around the base of the crown which acted much

-like the modern helmet liner in holding the steel shell away from the

-wearer’s head.

-

-[Illustration: _Cabasset._]

-

-[Illustration: _Morion._]

-

-The burgonet was a slightly more complicated helmet than the morion or

-cabasset, and it was made in a variety of styles. Basically, it was an

-open-faced helmet which covered more of the head than the other two.

-Usually it had a peak or umbril somewhat like the visor of a modern cap

-over the eyes, a comb on the bowl, and movable plates to protect the

-cheeks and ears. Often there was a defense for the face in the form of

-a single adjustable bar which passed through a hole in the umbril or by

-three bars fashioned like a muzzle and attached to the umbril which was

-pivoted at the sides so it could be raised or lowered. One form of the

-burgonet which became popular in the second quarter of the 17th century

-was known as the lobster tail burgonet because the wearer’s neck was

-protected by a series of overlapping plates which somewhat resembled

-those on a lobster’s abdomen or “tail.”

-

-A fourth and final type of helmet was known as a “pikeman’s pot.” This

-greatly resembled the morion, but had a broad flat brim instead of a

-narrow crescentic one. As its name indicates, it was worn primarily

-by pikemen in conjunction with a specific type of corselet which was

-generally designated pikeman’s armor.

-

-This armor consisted of five elements in addition to the helmet. There

-was a gorget to protect the neck and to support the weight of a back

-plate and a breastplate which were fastened together by straps which

-passed over the shoulders and attached by hooks at the front and by a

-belt that passed around the waist. At the lower edge of the breastplate

-were fastened two hinged plates called tassets which protected the

-thighs. Although each of these plates was made from a single sheet of

-metal they were embossed to resemble a series of overlapping plates,

-complete with false rivets.

-

-Of all the forms of body armor worn in America during the early

-1600’s, the pikeman’s suit was undoubtedly the most popular. There

-are numerous references to it in the contemporary documents. A

-tasset from such a suit was found behind the fireplace in the John

-Howland house near Plymouth and is now preserved in Pilgrim Hall. In

-the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston there are a helmet, a

-back plate and a tasset from another suit which belonged to an early

-colonist, and portions of similar suits have been found in Pennsylvania

-and at Jamestown, Virginia.

-

-Men armed with muskets might sometimes wear pikeman’s armor, but

-more often they wore simpler corselets consisting only of breast and

-back-plates. With these corselets they wore either a cabasset, a morion

-or a burgonet.

-

-The weight of the corselets worn by the Pilgrims depended largely on

-the quality of the breastplate. The helmets and other pieces were

-sufficient to stop a sword blow or turn an Indian’s arrow but still

-quite light. Breastplates, however, were made according to three

-standards depending on what weapons they were supposed to offer

-protection against. The lightest forms were labeled pike proof or

-high pike proof; the next heavier were called pistol proof, and the

-heaviest were musket proof. The musket proof breastplates are quite

-scarce. Often they are ⅜ of an inch thick and bear a dent caused by a

-bullet fired at them as a test when they were made. Pistol proof plates

-are much lighter and are much more plentiful. They also often bear a

-testing dent and sometimes the letter “P” as a proof mark.

-

-[Illustration: _Burgonet_]

-

-[Illustration: _Lobstertail burgonet._]

-

-Most modern Americans tend to think of armor in terms of brightly

-polished steel. Sometimes it was finished bright, but by the 17th

-century it was more often black, brown, or dark blue. This was

-especially true of those suits destined for active service in the

-field. A brightly polished piece of armor needed constant care to

-guard it from rust and maintain a good appearance. Blacking, russeting

-or bluing it helped protect it and made it easier to maintain. The

-black finishes were sometimes obtained through the use of soot and

-oil, sometimes by paint. The russet and blue finishes were produced by

-artificial oxidation.

-

-[Illustration:_English pikeman’s armor bearing the cypher of James I

-(1603-1625). The waist belt is now missing._]

-

-[Illustration: _Simple corselet with a bullet proof breastplate._]

-

-This defensive armor, though popular at first, was soon discarded by

-the Pilgrims. The men who set out on the first exploring expedition

-when the _Mayflower_ touched at Cape Cod were all armed with corselets.

-They found them efficient protection against the arrows of the Indians,

-but when they at length discovered a quantity of Indian corn, they were

-so encumbered and weary from the weight of their arms that they could

-not carry back as much of the booty as they desired. Soon they found

-that they could usually dodge arrows unless taken by surprise, and so

-gradually they began to decide in favor of freer movement and less

-weight. The corselet retained its popularity for the first ten years,

-but a compromise in the form of a heavy buff leather or quilted coat

-began to make its appearance. By the time of the Pequot War in 1637,

-the presence of “unarmed” men, as those without armor were called,

-became more and more frequent. The helmet was the last piece of plate

-armor to be discarded, but following King Philip’s War (1675-1678) that

-too was abandoned, and plate armor disappeared from the scene except

-for ceremonial occasions.

-

-[Illustration: _Capt. Miles Standish’s rapier and scabbard._]

-

-

-EDGED WEAPONS

-

-The edged weapons brought to America by the Pilgrims were of four

-principal types, swords, daggers, pikes and halberds. The bayonet was

-almost unknown on this continent at the time. Of all these arms, swords

-were by far the most plentiful. Every soldier, whether he was armed

-with a musket, pike or halberd or served a cannon, was required to

-carry a sword. Thus, since almost every able-bodied man was supposed to

-perform military service, all had to be familiar with the weapon, and a

-large supply was necessary.

-

-Both thrusting and cutting swords were used. The thrusting swords,

-known as rapiers, had long straight blades, diamond-shaped in cross

-section, with sharp points and only rudimentary edges. Some had guards

-fashioned of numerous bars bent in graceful curves and loops, and these

-are called swept-hilted rapiers. Others had a solid cup-shaped plate

-between the hand and the blade augmented by extra bars and branches.

-These are called cup-hilted rapiers.

-

-Fortunately, one of the cup-hilted rapiers used by the Pilgrims has

-survived. It belonged to Captain Miles Standish, the doughty military

-advisor of the colony, and it is now preserved in Pilgrim Hall. It

-is a very good example of the Dutch-English style of cup hilt, the

-shallow iron cup and supplementary branches, the knuckle-bow, and the

-pommel are decorated with crudely incised designs of leaves and masks.

-The grips are covered with black leather. Originally they were wound

-with twisted wire in the spiral grooves, but the wire is now missing.

-The scabbard also has been preserved, and that is most unusual for

-swords of this period. It is made of wood, almost cylindrical, covered

-with black leather. There is an iron ferrule at the throat (which

-has now slipped several inches down the scabbard) and an iron tip.

-Interestingly, Standish is known to have been a short man whose enemies

-sometimes called him “Captain Shrimp,” and this sword is about six

-inches shorter than the average rapier, which would have made it easier

-to handle for a small man.

-

-Probably even more plentiful than the rapiers were the cutting

-swords. Most of these were shorter weapons with single-edged blades,

-sometimes straight and sometimes slightly curved. Two of these weapons

-have survived and are preserved in Pilgrim Hall. The older and more

-spectacular of these belonged to Gov. John Carver and was made near the

-beginning of the century. It has a massive hilt with guard and pommel

-of iron encrusted with floral decorations of silver. The decoration and

-workmanship are typically English. The blade is straight with a single

-edge and a narrow fuller or groove along the back. The second sword

-is considerably smaller and later. It came from the Brewster family

-and may have belonged to Elder William Brewster, although he must

-have purchased it late in life. It has a lighter iron guard without

-ornamentation and a slightly curved singled-edged blade, also with a

-narrow fuller at the back. This sword, too, is typically English.

-

-[Illustration: _Detail of the Standish rapier hilt._]

-

-[Illustration: _Swept-hilted rapier excavated at Jamestown. Those used

-at Plymouth would have been similar_. National Park Service.]

-

-[Illustration: _The cutting swords of Governor Carver, Elder Brewster

-and John Thompson._]

-

-[Illustration: _Quillon or left-hand dagger._]

-

-A third surviving cutting sword preserved at Pilgrim Hall is a

-broad-sword which belonged to John Thompson who came to Plymouth in

-1623. Like the Carver sword, this weapon also dates from the opening

-years of the 17th century. The hilt is smaller, but the metal parts

-are of iron decorated with the same typically English floral sprays in

-silver. The blade on this specimen, however, is what sets it apart. It

-is much longer and double-edged, a sword suitable for use on horseback

-as well as on foot.

-

-These swords were more than mere military decorations. They were

-highly necessary weapons. In a period when firearms were inaccurate

-and loading and firing were time-consuming operations, the outcome of

-most battles was determined largely by hand-to-hand combat. The musket,

-once it had been fired, was then of no use for it had no bayonet. At

-such times the sword became the principal weapon, and a soldier’s life

-depended upon his skill with it.

-

-There are numerous records indicating the use of swords by the

-Pilgrims. On their first expedition ashore, they used them to “hew

-and carve the ground a foot deep.” In one interesting coincidence, a

-sword’s hilt figured in the death of two persons. In 1646 a privateer

-commanded by Captain Thomas Cromwell put into Plymouth. While there,

-one of the sailors assaulted the captain who had been trying to

-restore order during a brawl. In the course of the struggle, Cromwell

-seized the man’s rapier and struck him on the head with its hilt. The

-cross guard pierced his skull and killed him. Since the man had been

-a notorious trouble-maker, Cromwell was acquitted in a trial by a

-council of war. Some three years later, however, Cromwell fell from his

-horse and landed upon the hilt of his own rapier which so injured him

-internally that he died shortly thereafter.

-

-In addition to their swords, many men also carried knives or daggers.

-Miles Standish and his followers used knives effectively in liquidating

-the trouble-makers at Wessagusset, and there are numerous other

-references to their presence at Plymouth.

-

-Unfortunately no specimens used by the Pilgrims or their 17th century

-descendants at Plymouth have survived. There is a knife that belonged

-to John Thompson in Pilgrim Hall, but it is a table or general utility

-knife, and not a weapon. In all probability the most popular form of

-dagger employed at Plymouth was the quillon or left-hand dagger. This

-weapon had a simple cross-guard or quillons, probably with a ring

-opposite the grips on one side. It had a straight blade which tapered

-evenly to a point, and it was designed to be held in the left hand

-while the rapier was held in the right.

-

-In addition to these edged weapons which were worn on the belt, there

-were also weapons with long wooden hafts, known as pole arms. Of these,

-two forms were principally used at Plymouth, the pike and the halberd.

-The pike was a spear with a simple leaf-shaped head attached by long

-straps to a wooden pole some fourteen feet long. The halberd was a

-combination of axe and spear, and its haft was much shorter, perhaps

-six or seven feet, exclusive of the head.

-

-[Illustration: _Halberd from the cellar of the John Alden house. The

-haft is modern._]

-

-[Illustration: _Pike._]

-

-In European armies pikemen played a very prominent role. Offensively

-they were used for shock tactics in charges against the enemy.

-Defensively, with the butts of their pikes driven into the ground, they

-formed movable semi-fortresses behind which musketeers could retreat in

-the face of a cavalry charge.

-

-Because of this prominence as a weapon in Europe, the Pilgrims

-brought some pikes with them to Plymouth, but they quickly found them

-disappointing. Although the pike was effective in the set tactics

-of Europe, it was of little use against an enemy who would neither

-charge nor stand against a charge and whose forces were never arranged

-in compact formation but scattered and always on the move. A weapon

-fourteen feet long was also difficult to handle in the woods where

-there was little room for maneuvering. Thus the Pilgrims first

-abandoned the full pike for the half pike, which was only six or eight

-feet long. As late as 1646 the Plymouth fathers still required one

-half pike for every four men on military duty, but after the outbreak

-of King Philip’s War in 1675, the settlers of Plymouth agreed with

-their neighbors in Massachusetts Bay “... it is found by experience

-that troopers & pikemen are of little use in the present war with the

-Indians ... all pikemen are hereby required ... to furnish themselves

-with firearms....”

-

-The history of the halberd at Plymouth is quite different from that

-of the pike. At this period it was primarily an emblem of rank, and

-as such it survived long after its usefulness in warfare ceased.

-Halberds were carried by sergeants as symbols of their authority and by

-ceremonial guards. In Virginia, for instance, Lord Delaware had fifty

-halberdiers to form his guard when he was governor. This was a vastly

-larger number than normal in America, but most colonial governors,

-including John Winthrop in Boston, had a few attendants so armed.

-Plymouth was no exception. As late as 1675 it was ordered that four

-halberds be carried before the governor on the first day of the General

-Court, and two on succeeding days. It is known also that the sergeants

-at Plymouth had them, and there is a possibility that court officials

-also carried them.

-

-At least one of the halberds from the Plymouth colony has survived and

-is now preserved in Pilgrim Hall. It was probably made about 1600-1610

-and was found in the cellar of the John Alden house. The haft is a

-modern replacement.

-

-

-FIREARMS

-

-The projectile arms of the Pilgrims were their most important weapons.

-The American Indian usually preferred to do battle against Europeans

-in loose formation and at long range, resorting to hand-to-hand combat

-only in surprise attacks or when he believed that the enemy had been

-sufficiently decimated and disorganized by his sniping tactics. In

-addition to their value in warfare, projectile arms were also important

-in providing the settlers with fresh meat. For these reasons, the

-evolution of design in such weapons was swifter and more striking than

-in any other form of military equipment.

-

-The most common type of firearm that came to America on the _Mayflower_

-was the musket. This was a smooth-bored weapon, usually slightly more

-than five feet long with a caliber ranging between .69 and .80. The

-majority of those that the original settlers brought with them were

-matchlocks. They were fired by pressing the lighted end of a slow match

-made of a loosely woven rope soaked in nitre into the powder in the

-priming pan. This was effected by fastening a length of the match to a

-forked holder known as the serpentine on the outside of the lock which

-corresponded to the hammer on a modern gun. Pressure on the trigger

-caused the serpentine to swing in an arc toward the priming pan, thus

-bringing the match into contact with the powder.

-

-Although the mechanism was simple, the loading of a matchlock was a

-long and complicated procedure. After having fired his musket, the

-first task of the soldier was to remove his match (which according to

-regulations was lighted at both ends) so that he would not accidentally

-ignite any of his powder. To do this he loosened the thumb screw

-which clamped the match in the fork of the serpentine and grasped

-the cord with his left hand, holding one of the lighted ends between

-his second and third fingers and the other end between his third and

-fourth fingers. Then, seizing the barrel of the gun with the thumb

-and forefinger of the same hand, he would hold it while he loaded.

-Having thus prepared the piece to receive the charge, he would use his

-right hand to open one of the wooden cylinders on his bandolier or the

-nozzle of his powder flask, depending on which he carried, and pour the

-contents down the barrel. Next came a ball from his pouch or from his

-mouth if it was during an action, and finally, a wad of tow or paper.

-All this was forced home with a rammer. Then he would prime the piece

-by filling the flash pan with fine-grained powder from a little flask

-which was suspended from his belt, close the pan cover, and carefully

-blow away any loose powder.

-

-The gun was then loaded, but several actions were still necessary

-before it could be fired. The match had to be returned to the serpentine

-and adjusted. The coal on its end had to be blown into activity. If

-the gunner was forced to wait any length of time before firing, he had

-to change the adjustment of the match continually to insure that it

-would strike the pan and also to prevent it from burning down to the

-serpentine and going out. If it did go out, he relighted it from the

-coal at the other end of the match which was kept burning for that

-purpose.

-

-[Illustration:_Three matchlock muskets. From left to right: An Italian

-musket, 1580-1610 believed to have been used at Plymouth before 1637

-when it was sold to a nearby garrison house; German musket, 1600-1630;

-German musket, 1640-1670._]

-

-[Illustration: _Soldier blowing on his match to make the coal glow well

-before firing. From De Gheyn._]

-

-From this it may be seen that the matchlock was in many ways inferior

-to the Indian’s bow. Its chief advantage lay in the panic produced

-by the flash, smoke, smell and noise of the explosion of the charge.

-Also, a gun could be loaded with several bullets and wound a number of

-enemies at one time. The ball from a matchlock musket was superior to

-an arrow in the size of the hole it tore, the bones it smashed, and

-the amount of blood it spilled. The bow was superior in accuracy and

-rapidity of fire. Moreover, it was light and easy to carry while the

-gun was heavy and clumsy. The bow was constantly ready for use except

-perhaps during a long rain, while the slow-match required, in the best

-of weather, constant attention to keep it burning; and in dampness,

-rain, and wind, it was useless. The light from the match also prevented

-ambush at night, and the smell forestalled a surprise attack in the day

-time unless the foe happened to be up-wind.

-

-Although matchlocks were the dominant type of weapon brought over on

-the _Mayflower_, there were also a few flint arms. Modern authorities

-differentiate between the true flintlock and its more primitive or

-regional forms, the snaphaunce, the English lock, the so-called “dog”

-lock, the Baltic lock, and the miquelet. These distinctions are purely

-modern, however. The contemporary writers called all firearms which

-ignited the powder by striking flint against steel “snaphances.” Thus

-it is impossible to determine at this date exactly what form of flint

-arm is referred to in a given instance, and so a generic term must be

-used.

-

-Flint arms were much more efficient than matchlocks. They were faster,

-more dependable, and less cumbersome. The powder in the priming pan

-was ignited by striking a piece of flint held by the cock against a

-piece of steel, called the frizzen or battery. The frizzen was poised

-directly over the pan so that the sparks produced by the contact of the

-flint and steel would drop into the powder. Flint arms could function

-in ordinary dampness and even in a light rain. There was no match to

-light and keep free from ash in advance of any expected action. And

-since there was no match, there was no light or smell to betray an

-ambush.

-

-It is difficult to determine exactly when flint arms superseded

-matchlocks as the standard military firearm at Plymouth. There were a

-few flint arms in the _Mayflower_ in 1620, for flints are specifically

-mentioned among the military stores on board. Miles Standish, a

-professional soldier, naturally had the best weapon available. Edward

-Winslow, in describing the first encounter between the colonists and

-the Indians, noted that Standish with his “snaphance” and one or two

-other Pilgrims, who were apparently equipped with flint arms, fired

-at the Indians and held them at bay while a brand from the fire was

-carried to the others so they could light their matches.

-

-For the first ten years the supremacy of the matchlock was probably not

-seriously threatened. From 1630 until the outbreak of King Philip’s

-War in 1675, however, the change is plainly visible. There are more

-references to matches than to flints in inventories and court records

-until the beginning of the Pequot War, but the tales of snap-shooting

-increase, and during the war the stories of ambushes and surprise

-attacks throughout New England indicate that flint arms were becoming

-more plentiful. In 1643 the Plymouth General Court ordered that every

-soldier should be supplied with either a matchlock or a “snaphance.” By

-1645 Governor William Bradford could report that the Plymouth troops

-had been sent to a muster at Seacunk “well armed all with snaphance

-peeces.” In 1645, also, while matchlocks were allowed for private arms,

-the Plymouth General Court allowed only “snaphances” or “firelocks” for

-Town arms.

-

-With the coming of King Philip’s War, the era of the matchlock at

-Plymouth was definitely past. The campaigns of that war, forays into

-the wilderness, night attacks, ambushes, battles in the rain, and

-encounters between individuals which required snap-shooting indicate

-clearly that the “snaphance” was the principal weapon. In 1677, towards

-the end of the war, the Plymouth General Court outlawed the matchlock

-completely as an acceptable weapon. In abandoning matchlocks at this

-time, Plymouth was years ahead of Europe where the clumsy firearm

-persisted until after 1700.

-

-In addition to the matchlock and flint arms in general use, there were

-undoubtedly a few wheel lock arms in Plymouth. The wheel lock was the

-second ignition system chronologically, having been developed shortly

-after 1500. It was an efficient system, operating much like a modern

-cigarette lighter with the spark produced by holding a piece of pyrites

-against a revolving rough-edged wheel. The wheel lock, however, was an

-expensive weapon, costing twice as much as a matchlock and half as much

-again as a flint arm. This did not necessarily preclude its purchase

-by the Pilgrims since those colonists were not so apt to economize

-on something which affected their life expectancy as closely as did

-their firearms. There are no records which state positively that there

-were wheel locks at Plymouth, and no authentic wheel lock used there

-has survived. The term “firelock” which is used occasionally in the

-documents very often was used to denote a wheel lock, and in the case

-of the 1646 order mentioned above, it almost certainly had that meaning.

-

-The Pilgrims also brought two other principal kinds of hand firearms

-with them, the fowling piece and the pistol. The fowling piece, or

-birding piece as it was often called, was usually a huge gun. In 1621

-Edward Winslow wrote from Plymouth to prospective colonists in England

-and advised them concerning their needs. Regarding these fowlers, he

-counseled, “Let your piece be long in the barrel; and fear not the

-weight of it, for most of our shooting is from stands.” This was in

-keeping with the best contemporary sporting theory which contended

-that barrels five and a half or six feet long would increase the range

-of the gun and produce a flatter trajectory for the bullet. Such guns

-were almost always flint arms, although there may have been a few wheel

-locks.

-

-[Illustration:_A flint musket with the so-called dog lock, about 1637;

-a later flintlock musket, about 1690; a wheel lock musket, 1620-1650;

-the long fowler which belonged to John Thompson._]

-

-[Illustration: _John Thompson’s “dog lock” pistol._]

-

-Fortunately one such fowling piece which belonged to a Plymouth

-settler, John Thompson, has survived, and is preserved in the Old

-Colony Historical Society Museum at Taunton, Massachusetts. It is

-88½ inches long with a 73½ inch barrel of .84 caliber. The lock is a

-primitive form of flintlock known to collectors today as an “English

-lock.” The stock is oak and was undoubtedly made in this country.

-

-In addition to their long guns, the Plymouth settlers also brought

-some pistols. Inventories of their estates contain listings of such

-hand guns, including one “double pistol.” All the pistols would have

-been either wheel locks or flint arms. The matchlock was almost never

-used for pistols by Europeans, although it is frequently found on

-Oriental hand guns. Once more it is a weapon of John Thompson that has

-survived to show what at least one of the Plymouth pistols looked like.

-Preserved in Pilgrim Hall, it is a most interesting weapon. Many of the

-pieces are missing from the lock, but enough survive to indicate it

-was the type of flintlock that is often called a “dog lock” by modern

-collectors because of the little dog catch which held the cock in

-the half-cock position. The barrel is brass with interesting moulded

-decorations, and the wooden stock has a butt closely resembling those

-found on many wheel lock pistols of the first quarter of the 17th

-century.

-

-These were the kinds of firearms which the Plymouth colonists used

-in the years from 1620 till 1690. Before leaving the subject, however,

-it would be well to mention one form which was not used but which

-has become intimately associated with the Pilgrims in popular

-imagination—the blunderbuss. This colorful weapon with the flaring

-muzzle was developed on the Continent of Europe about the middle of

-the 17th century, some thirty years after the _Mayflower_ landed

-at Plymouth. It was some years later before it reached England.

-As a weapon, it was a highly specialized arm. The flared muzzle

-was designed to spread the shot in a wide pattern and thus do as

-much damage as possible to a closely packed group of enemies at

-comparatively short range. It was of no use against scattered foes at a

-distance. Actually, it was the direct ancestor of the modern riot gun

-or the shot gun used by prison guards. It was not popular in America

-until about 1700 when the growth of cities and increasing population

-created here the conditions under which it was effective.

-

-

-AMMUNITION AND EQUIPMENT

-

-The ammunition which the colonists fired from their guns consisted of

-round balls of lead propelled by charges of black powder. The powder

-was weak by modern standards and thus comparatively large loads were

-used. When it was ignited it gave off clouds of white smoke which

-smelled strongly of sulphur. Usually for military purposes a single

-ball was used, but sometimes, especially for hunting, a number of small

-shot, much like present day buck shot, were used. These were called

-swan shot by the men who used them.

-

-There were several ways of carrying this ammunition. The powder was

-normally either in a flask or bandolier; the shot in a soft leather

-pouch. When going into action, a soldier often took his bullets from

-his pouch and put them in his mouth so he could spit them into the

-barrel of his gun and save time in loading.

-

-[Illustration: _Powder flasks._]

-

-[Illustration]

-

-The flask was usually a box of wood, often covered with leather and

-bound with iron. Normally it was either roughly triangular or shaped

-like a flattened horn. There was a nozzle at the end with two valves,

-one at the base and one at the end. This enabled the user to measure

-out one nozzle-full of powder at a time, and the nozzle was calculated

-to hold just about enough powder for a normal load. Usually two flasks

-were used, a large one for the propelling charge within the gun, and a

-small one holding finer powder for use in the priming pan.

-

-A bandolier was a somewhat more complicated piece of equipment. It

-consisted of a leather belt worn over the shoulder from which were

-suspended little cylinders of wood, metal or hard leather. Each of

-these cylinders held enough powder for one charge. Also attached to the

-belt were a bullet pouch and often a small flask for priming powder.

-

-Theoretically the bandolier afforded a faster and more convenient

-method of carrying ammunition. Actually, it had many disadvantages.

-The cylinders rattled against each other, making so much noise it was

-sometimes impossible to hear commands. Occasionally the musket would

-become tangled in the loops. And worst of all, hanging in front as they

-did, they would sometimes ignite from the musket discharge and the

-whole string of charges would explode, which was most unpleasant and

-disconcerting to the wearer to say the least. Despite these drawbacks,

-bandoliers were quite popular at Plymouth, and they are frequently

-mentioned in wills and inventories.

-

-As the 17th century wore on, there came two other developments in the

-means of carrying ammunition. The use of flasks made of cows’ horns

-increased in popularity as the cattle population grew. Such horn flasks

-had been used to some extent by the poorer classes in Europe, but in

-America they became very popular because they could be made locally and

-did not require great skill or craftsmanship. By the beginning of the

-18th century such horn flasks or powder horns as they were then called

-completely dominated the flask picture. The other development was the

-practice of wrapping charges of powder in cylinders of paper which

-could be carried in a pouch. These were the first true cartridges.

-They had been used in Europe primarily for mounted troops for several

-decades before the Pilgrims landed. Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden is

-credited with having been the first general to supply his infantry with

-them early in the 17th century. However this may be, paper cartridges

-began to appear at Plymouth sometime after 1637, and by the beginning

-of King Philip’s War in 1675, they were fairly common. They were not

-widely used by European infantry until after 1700.

-

-[Illustration: _Musketeer wearing a bandolier. Note how he pours the

-charge from one cylinder down the muzzle. From De Gheyn._]

-

-[Illustration: _Full scale model of a sakeret mounted in Plimoth

-Plantation’s reconstruction of the first fort._]

-

-

-CANNON[1]

-

-In addition to their small arms, the Pilgrims also brought some heavy

-ordnance. On a commanding hill overlooking the bay and landing site,

-they built a meeting house and fort with places for their cannon on an

-upper deck. On February 21, 1621, William Bradford and Edward Winslow

-relate how “the Master came on shore, with many of his saylors, and

-brought with him one of the great peeces, called a Minion, and helped

-us to draw it up the hill, with another peece that lay on shore, and

-mounted them, and a Saker and two Bases.” In 1627 Isaak De Rasieres

-visited Plymouth and noted that the Pilgrims had six cannon of

-unspecified types in their fort and four “patreros” mounted in front of

-the governor’s house at the intersection of the two streets of the town.

-

-[1] In the preparation of this section I am much indebted to Mr. Edwin

-N. Rich of Wellfleet, Mass., a life-long student of early artillery who

-prepared the drawings from which the cannon in the reconstructed fort

-were made.

-

-These guns were probably not new, and they may well have been part

-of the armament of the _Mayflower_ itself. The largest of the cannon

-mentioned by name was a minion. This would have been a brass gun, which

-weighed between 800 and 1200 pounds. It would have had a bore of about

-2.9 inches diameter and fired an iron ball weighing 3½ pounds for

-distances up to 1600 yards. The saker was slightly smaller, probably

-weighing 650 to 800 pounds. It would have had a bore of about 2.7

-inches in diameter and shot a 2¾ pound ball up to 1700 yards. Since

-cannon designations were used rather loosely by the artillerists of the

-time, there is room for considerable differences in these dimensions.

-On Burial Hill in Plymouth are two early English cannons, one a minion

-and the other a small saker or sakeret. These guns were used as the

-models for those mounted in Plimoth Plantation’s reconstruction of the

-original fort. Since it is presumed that the Pilgrims’ guns came from

-the armament of the _Mayflower_ and since they were dragged up the hill

-and mounted immediately, it has been assumed that they were placed on

-carriages from the ship, and so naval carriages of the period have been

-reproduced for the reconstructed fort.

-

-[Illustration: _Full scale model of a minion in Plimoth Plantation’s

-reconstruction of the first fort._]

-

-The loading and firing of one of these cannon was a complicated

-procedure, requiring the assistance of several men. The recoil from the

-discharge would normally drive the piece back away from the gun port.

-If it did not roll back far enough, the crew would seize the ropes

-or “training tackle” and haul it into a position that would permit

-them to load it. First a wet sponge on the end of a long handle was

-run down the barrel to put out any sparks that might remain from the

-previous shot. Then came the powder which was handled in one of two

-ways. Sometimes the proper amount was fastened ready-to-use in a cloth

-bag or cartridge. At other times it was brought loose to the cannon in

-a wooden bucket with a purse-like leather top closed by a drawstring.

-From this “budge barrel,” as it was called, the powder was dipped and

-inserted into the barrel by means of a copper ladle on a long wooden

-handle. After the powder was rammed home, a wad, was inserted and

-rammed, and finally the projectile which was forced home by a rammer.

-

-This projectile might be either a solid ball or one of the more deadly

-anti-personnel missiles such as grape shot or cannister. Grape shot

-was made up of a series of small balls grouped on a wooden stand

-and wrapped with burlap or canvas. Upon firing, the stand and cloth

-disintegrated, and the balls spread out over a wide area. Cannister

-shot was based on the same principle. In this form, however, the small

-balls or other iron fragments were enclosed in a thin metal cylinder

-which came apart upon firing. Other missiles included cross bar and

-chain shot, in which spheres or hemi-spheres were joined by a bar or

-several links of chain. These were particularly useful against ships

-because they revolved in flight and cut rigging. It is doubtful if the

-Pilgrims had all of these forms of projectiles with them in 1620. Some

-of them were just then developing. But by 1690, any or all of them

-might well have been used at Plymouth.

-

-[Illustration: _Some seventeenth century artillery projectiles. From

-left to right: solid shot; fragment of shell, stand of grape shot._]

-

-Once the gun was loaded, a few more steps were necessary before it

-could be fired. It was primed by pouring powder from a flask or horn

-into the touch hole. Then the crew again seized the training tackle and

-pulled the gun back into position. The gunner aimed it by directing the

-way in which the men pulled the ropes and by shifting the position of

-the wedges under the breech of the barrel. Then he took a forked staff,

-known as a linstock, which held a length of burning match similar to

-that used in the matchlock muskets. He touched the lighted end of the

-match to the powder in the touch hole and fired his gun.

-

-[Illustration: _“Patrero” or “murderer” viewed from above. For a side

-view see title page._]

-

-[Illustration: _Side view of base._]

-

-The two bases in the fort and the four “patreros” in front of the

-governor’s house were much smaller guns. Both types were made of iron,

-and both were breech-loaders. The guns of this category were called by

-a great variety of names, and the situation is even more confused than

-with the larger pieces. The type of base used by the Pilgrims, however,

-was probably a gun some 4½ feet long, which weighed about 200 pounds.

-It would have had a bore about 1¼ inches in diameter and fired either a

-lead ball weighing 5 ounces or an iron one weighing 3 ounces. In order

-to load it, the ball was placed in the breech end of the barrel, and a

-separate chamber filled with powder was placed behind it and fastened

-securely with a wedge. The “patreros” were probably of the type known

-also as “murderers.” These differed from the bases in that the bore

-expanded in diameter from breech to muzzle. Instead of a single ball,

-these guns were normally loaded with small shot, short lengths of iron

-bar, or broken pieces of iron and stone. The expanding bore helped

-spread these projectiles as they left the muzzle and thus made the

-murderer a vicious anti-personnel weapon at short ranges. Both the base

-and the murder were mounted in forked swivels of iron set in a wooden

-pedestal.

-

-[Illustration: _Base viewed from above._]

-

-[Illustration: _The first fort as reconstructed by Plimoth Plantation

-contains a collection of arms and armor of the period. Woodcut by

-Thomas Nason._]

-

-These were the weapons which the Pilgrims brought from Europe to win

-their new home. They came without sufficient arms “... nor every man a

-sword to his side; wanting many muskets, much armour, &c.” Once in this

-country, however, the need not only for enough weapons but also for

-good weapons was soon felt. Forced by their dependence on their arms,

-the settlers soon threw away their armour and their pikes, discarded

-their matchlocks for more efficient guns, and began to use paper

-cartridges well before these innovations were generally adopted in

-Europe.

-

-       *       *       *       *       *

-

-This booklet has been published by two organizations devoted to the

-study and interpretation of all aspects of Pilgrim history.

-

-

-PLIMOTH PLANTATION

-

-Plimoth Plantation was founded in 1948 as a non-profit educational

-organization to foster public understanding of the Pilgrims of

-Plymouth. To this end the corporate organization, Plimoth Plantation,

-is re-creating the Plimoth Plantation of 1627, the farming community

-from which sprang the Old Colony of New Plymouth. It is a functioning

-village, over half completed (in 1969), in which guides and hostesses

-in Pilgrim dress carry on the tasks necessary for daily living and

-sheep and chickens wander the narrow street. It is open to the public

-from April through November and is visited by more than 250,000 people

-per year.

-

-The Plantation also owns and exhibits two re-created Pilgrim houses

-near Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower II and a small sailing craft—a

-Shallop—of the type used by the Pilgrims for coastal trading.

-

-These public exhibits are backed by a strong research and publication

-program covering the European background of the Pilgrim story to the

-end of the 17th century.

-

-The Plantation seeks the support of all who wish to help perpetuate the

-Pilgrim tradition. Those interested in membership should address the

-Membership Director, Box 1620, Plymouth, Mass. 02360.

-

-

-THE PILGRIM SOCIETY

-

-The Pilgrim Society, Plymouth, Massachusetts, was organized in 1820.

-Its main purposes have been to insure a universal appreciation of

-the Pilgrims and their contributions to the American heritage. In

-Pilgrim Hall, one of the oldest museums in the country, there is

-displayed a collection of Pilgrim relics and material bearing on the

-history of Plimoth Colony. Every effort is made to enlarge and improve

-this collection and to preserve in the library of Pilgrim Hall a

-comprehensive history of the Pilgrims and the colony they founded. The

-Society supplies its members with “Pilgrim Society Notes” containing

-articles which would otherwise remain undiscovered among the papers of

-the students of Pilgrim and Colonial history.

-

-The Society was, in its earlier years, responsible for the erection

-of the Forefathers Monument, which stands on a hill behind the Town

-overlooking Plymouth Bay; and for preserving as a park the area

-directly behind Plymouth Rock, known as Cole’s Hill, which served the

-Pilgrims as a burying ground during the first precarious winter in the

-settlement. Today the Society is custodian of these memorials and of

-others erected by various societies in the Town of Plymouth to honor

-the Pilgrim Fathers.

-

-Annually on Forefathers Day, December 21st, the Society celebrates the

-Landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth with a suitable observance of the

-occasion at the Annual Meeting of the Society which many of the members

-attend.

-

-Those interested in applying for membership are invited to communicate

-with the Secretary of the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth. Dues are $5.00

-per year, and the money thus attained, together with admission fees to

-Pilgrim Hall and a modest endowment supply the funds for the activities

-of the Society.

-

-  _Those interested in a documented and more detailed study of arms

-  and armor in all the colonies should see the author’s book_, Arms

-  and Armor in Colonial America, 1526-1783, _the Stackpole Company.

-  Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1956._

-

-*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARMS AND ARMOR OF THE PILGRIMS,

-1620-1692 ***

-

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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 65335 ***
+
+Transcriber’s Notes:
+
+  Underscores “_” before and after a word or phrase indicate _italics_
+    in the original text.
+  Illustrations have been moved so they do not break up paragraphs.
+  Old or antiquated spellings have been preserved.
+  Typographical and punctuation errors have been silently corrected.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Fotoset and Lithographed by COLORTONE PRESS, Washington 9, D. C.
+
+
+
+
+                            ARMS AND ARMOR
+                                OF THE
+                          PILGRIMS 1620-1692
+
+
+                                  by
+                          Harold L. Peterson
+
+                [Illustration: Patrero or “murderer”]
+
+    Published by Plimoth Plantation, Inc. and the Pilgrim Society,
+                             Plymouth 1957
+
+[Illustration: _A seventeenth century musketeer ready to fire his
+matchlock. From Jacques de Gheyn_, Maniement d’Armes, _1608_.]
+
+The average colonist landing on the wild shores of North America in the
+early 1600’s set great store by his arms and armor. The Pilgrims were
+no exception. They were strangers in a vast and largely unknown land,
+inhabited by wild beasts and peopled by savages who were frequently
+hostile. Greatly outnumbered by known enemies and possibly facing
+dangers of which they were not yet aware, these Englishmen placed
+their main hope for survival on the possession of superior weapons and
+protective armor. On the more peaceful side, their firearms were also
+valuable, for they provided fresh meat for the table and furs for sale
+back home.
+
+Because the colonist was so dependent on his arms he soon learned to
+select the most efficient kinds that he could obtain. In so doing he
+pushed the evolution of military materiel far ahead of contemporary
+Europe and developed a high degree of skill, particularly in the use of
+firearms.
+
+The military supplies which the Pilgrims brought with them may be
+divided into three major categories: defensive armor, edged weapons,
+and projectile weapons. A completely armed man, especially in the first
+years, was usually equipped with one or more articles from each of the
+three groups, usually a helmet and corselet, a sword, and a musket.
+
+
+ARMOR
+
+Of all the pieces of defensive armor, the most popular was the helmet.
+Almost everyone wore one when he prepared for trouble. Most of those
+worn at Plymouth were undoubtedly open helmets which left the face
+uncovered, although it is possible that a few completely closed
+helmets were also used. These open helmets were of three principal
+types: the cabasset, the morion, and the burgonet. The cabasset was
+a simple, narrow brimmed helmet with a keeled bowl and a tiny apical
+peak pointing to the rear. The morion had a larger crescentic brim
+pointed at the front and back and a high comb along the center-line
+of the bowl. The better specimens of both these helmets were forged
+from a single billet of steel, and both were very efficient defenses.
+The curving lines of the bowls caused most blows to glance off without
+imparting their full impact, and the comb of the morion presented an
+extra buffer of metal through which a sword would have to cut before
+it reached the bowl. Inside each helmet was a quilted lining held in
+place by a row of rivets around the base of the crown which acted much
+like the modern helmet liner in holding the steel shell away from the
+wearer’s head.
+
+[Illustration: _Cabasset._]
+
+[Illustration: _Morion._]
+
+The burgonet was a slightly more complicated helmet than the morion or
+cabasset, and it was made in a variety of styles. Basically, it was an
+open-faced helmet which covered more of the head than the other two.
+Usually it had a peak or umbril somewhat like the visor of a modern cap
+over the eyes, a comb on the bowl, and movable plates to protect the
+cheeks and ears. Often there was a defense for the face in the form of
+a single adjustable bar which passed through a hole in the umbril or by
+three bars fashioned like a muzzle and attached to the umbril which was
+pivoted at the sides so it could be raised or lowered. One form of the
+burgonet which became popular in the second quarter of the 17th century
+was known as the lobster tail burgonet because the wearer’s neck was
+protected by a series of overlapping plates which somewhat resembled
+those on a lobster’s abdomen or “tail.”
+
+A fourth and final type of helmet was known as a “pikeman’s pot.” This
+greatly resembled the morion, but had a broad flat brim instead of a
+narrow crescentic one. As its name indicates, it was worn primarily
+by pikemen in conjunction with a specific type of corselet which was
+generally designated pikeman’s armor.
+
+This armor consisted of five elements in addition to the helmet. There
+was a gorget to protect the neck and to support the weight of a back
+plate and a breastplate which were fastened together by straps which
+passed over the shoulders and attached by hooks at the front and by a
+belt that passed around the waist. At the lower edge of the breastplate
+were fastened two hinged plates called tassets which protected the
+thighs. Although each of these plates was made from a single sheet of
+metal they were embossed to resemble a series of overlapping plates,
+complete with false rivets.
+
+Of all the forms of body armor worn in America during the early
+1600’s, the pikeman’s suit was undoubtedly the most popular. There
+are numerous references to it in the contemporary documents. A
+tasset from such a suit was found behind the fireplace in the John
+Howland house near Plymouth and is now preserved in Pilgrim Hall. In
+the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston there are a helmet, a
+back plate and a tasset from another suit which belonged to an early
+colonist, and portions of similar suits have been found in Pennsylvania
+and at Jamestown, Virginia.
+
+Men armed with muskets might sometimes wear pikeman’s armor, but
+more often they wore simpler corselets consisting only of breast and
+back-plates. With these corselets they wore either a cabasset, a morion
+or a burgonet.
+
+The weight of the corselets worn by the Pilgrims depended largely on
+the quality of the breastplate. The helmets and other pieces were
+sufficient to stop a sword blow or turn an Indian’s arrow but still
+quite light. Breastplates, however, were made according to three
+standards depending on what weapons they were supposed to offer
+protection against. The lightest forms were labeled pike proof or
+high pike proof; the next heavier were called pistol proof, and the
+heaviest were musket proof. The musket proof breastplates are quite
+scarce. Often they are ⅜ of an inch thick and bear a dent caused by a
+bullet fired at them as a test when they were made. Pistol proof plates
+are much lighter and are much more plentiful. They also often bear a
+testing dent and sometimes the letter “P” as a proof mark.
+
+[Illustration: _Burgonet_]
+
+[Illustration: _Lobstertail burgonet._]
+
+Most modern Americans tend to think of armor in terms of brightly
+polished steel. Sometimes it was finished bright, but by the 17th
+century it was more often black, brown, or dark blue. This was
+especially true of those suits destined for active service in the
+field. A brightly polished piece of armor needed constant care to
+guard it from rust and maintain a good appearance. Blacking, russeting
+or bluing it helped protect it and made it easier to maintain. The
+black finishes were sometimes obtained through the use of soot and
+oil, sometimes by paint. The russet and blue finishes were produced by
+artificial oxidation.
+
+[Illustration:_English pikeman’s armor bearing the cypher of James I
+(1603-1625). The waist belt is now missing._]
+
+[Illustration: _Simple corselet with a bullet proof breastplate._]
+
+This defensive armor, though popular at first, was soon discarded by
+the Pilgrims. The men who set out on the first exploring expedition
+when the _Mayflower_ touched at Cape Cod were all armed with corselets.
+They found them efficient protection against the arrows of the Indians,
+but when they at length discovered a quantity of Indian corn, they were
+so encumbered and weary from the weight of their arms that they could
+not carry back as much of the booty as they desired. Soon they found
+that they could usually dodge arrows unless taken by surprise, and so
+gradually they began to decide in favor of freer movement and less
+weight. The corselet retained its popularity for the first ten years,
+but a compromise in the form of a heavy buff leather or quilted coat
+began to make its appearance. By the time of the Pequot War in 1637,
+the presence of “unarmed” men, as those without armor were called,
+became more and more frequent. The helmet was the last piece of plate
+armor to be discarded, but following King Philip’s War (1675-1678) that
+too was abandoned, and plate armor disappeared from the scene except
+for ceremonial occasions.
+
+[Illustration: _Capt. Miles Standish’s rapier and scabbard._]
+
+
+EDGED WEAPONS
+
+The edged weapons brought to America by the Pilgrims were of four
+principal types, swords, daggers, pikes and halberds. The bayonet was
+almost unknown on this continent at the time. Of all these arms, swords
+were by far the most plentiful. Every soldier, whether he was armed
+with a musket, pike or halberd or served a cannon, was required to
+carry a sword. Thus, since almost every able-bodied man was supposed to
+perform military service, all had to be familiar with the weapon, and a
+large supply was necessary.
+
+Both thrusting and cutting swords were used. The thrusting swords,
+known as rapiers, had long straight blades, diamond-shaped in cross
+section, with sharp points and only rudimentary edges. Some had guards
+fashioned of numerous bars bent in graceful curves and loops, and these
+are called swept-hilted rapiers. Others had a solid cup-shaped plate
+between the hand and the blade augmented by extra bars and branches.
+These are called cup-hilted rapiers.
+
+Fortunately, one of the cup-hilted rapiers used by the Pilgrims has
+survived. It belonged to Captain Miles Standish, the doughty military
+advisor of the colony, and it is now preserved in Pilgrim Hall. It
+is a very good example of the Dutch-English style of cup hilt, the
+shallow iron cup and supplementary branches, the knuckle-bow, and the
+pommel are decorated with crudely incised designs of leaves and masks.
+The grips are covered with black leather. Originally they were wound
+with twisted wire in the spiral grooves, but the wire is now missing.
+The scabbard also has been preserved, and that is most unusual for
+swords of this period. It is made of wood, almost cylindrical, covered
+with black leather. There is an iron ferrule at the throat (which
+has now slipped several inches down the scabbard) and an iron tip.
+Interestingly, Standish is known to have been a short man whose enemies
+sometimes called him “Captain Shrimp,” and this sword is about six
+inches shorter than the average rapier, which would have made it easier
+to handle for a small man.
+
+Probably even more plentiful than the rapiers were the cutting
+swords. Most of these were shorter weapons with single-edged blades,
+sometimes straight and sometimes slightly curved. Two of these weapons
+have survived and are preserved in Pilgrim Hall. The older and more
+spectacular of these belonged to Gov. John Carver and was made near the
+beginning of the century. It has a massive hilt with guard and pommel
+of iron encrusted with floral decorations of silver. The decoration and
+workmanship are typically English. The blade is straight with a single
+edge and a narrow fuller or groove along the back. The second sword
+is considerably smaller and later. It came from the Brewster family
+and may have belonged to Elder William Brewster, although he must
+have purchased it late in life. It has a lighter iron guard without
+ornamentation and a slightly curved singled-edged blade, also with a
+narrow fuller at the back. This sword, too, is typically English.
+
+[Illustration: _Detail of the Standish rapier hilt._]
+
+[Illustration: _Swept-hilted rapier excavated at Jamestown. Those used
+at Plymouth would have been similar_. National Park Service.]
+
+[Illustration: _The cutting swords of Governor Carver, Elder Brewster
+and John Thompson._]
+
+[Illustration: _Quillon or left-hand dagger._]
+
+A third surviving cutting sword preserved at Pilgrim Hall is a
+broad-sword which belonged to John Thompson who came to Plymouth in
+1623. Like the Carver sword, this weapon also dates from the opening
+years of the 17th century. The hilt is smaller, but the metal parts
+are of iron decorated with the same typically English floral sprays in
+silver. The blade on this specimen, however, is what sets it apart. It
+is much longer and double-edged, a sword suitable for use on horseback
+as well as on foot.
+
+These swords were more than mere military decorations. They were
+highly necessary weapons. In a period when firearms were inaccurate
+and loading and firing were time-consuming operations, the outcome of
+most battles was determined largely by hand-to-hand combat. The musket,
+once it had been fired, was then of no use for it had no bayonet. At
+such times the sword became the principal weapon, and a soldier’s life
+depended upon his skill with it.
+
+There are numerous records indicating the use of swords by the
+Pilgrims. On their first expedition ashore, they used them to “hew
+and carve the ground a foot deep.” In one interesting coincidence, a
+sword’s hilt figured in the death of two persons. In 1646 a privateer
+commanded by Captain Thomas Cromwell put into Plymouth. While there,
+one of the sailors assaulted the captain who had been trying to
+restore order during a brawl. In the course of the struggle, Cromwell
+seized the man’s rapier and struck him on the head with its hilt. The
+cross guard pierced his skull and killed him. Since the man had been
+a notorious trouble-maker, Cromwell was acquitted in a trial by a
+council of war. Some three years later, however, Cromwell fell from his
+horse and landed upon the hilt of his own rapier which so injured him
+internally that he died shortly thereafter.
+
+In addition to their swords, many men also carried knives or daggers.
+Miles Standish and his followers used knives effectively in liquidating
+the trouble-makers at Wessagusset, and there are numerous other
+references to their presence at Plymouth.
+
+Unfortunately no specimens used by the Pilgrims or their 17th century
+descendants at Plymouth have survived. There is a knife that belonged
+to John Thompson in Pilgrim Hall, but it is a table or general utility
+knife, and not a weapon. In all probability the most popular form of
+dagger employed at Plymouth was the quillon or left-hand dagger. This
+weapon had a simple cross-guard or quillons, probably with a ring
+opposite the grips on one side. It had a straight blade which tapered
+evenly to a point, and it was designed to be held in the left hand
+while the rapier was held in the right.
+
+In addition to these edged weapons which were worn on the belt, there
+were also weapons with long wooden hafts, known as pole arms. Of these,
+two forms were principally used at Plymouth, the pike and the halberd.
+The pike was a spear with a simple leaf-shaped head attached by long
+straps to a wooden pole some fourteen feet long. The halberd was a
+combination of axe and spear, and its haft was much shorter, perhaps
+six or seven feet, exclusive of the head.
+
+[Illustration: _Halberd from the cellar of the John Alden house. The
+haft is modern._]
+
+[Illustration: _Pike._]
+
+In European armies pikemen played a very prominent role. Offensively
+they were used for shock tactics in charges against the enemy.
+Defensively, with the butts of their pikes driven into the ground, they
+formed movable semi-fortresses behind which musketeers could retreat in
+the face of a cavalry charge.
+
+Because of this prominence as a weapon in Europe, the Pilgrims
+brought some pikes with them to Plymouth, but they quickly found them
+disappointing. Although the pike was effective in the set tactics
+of Europe, it was of little use against an enemy who would neither
+charge nor stand against a charge and whose forces were never arranged
+in compact formation but scattered and always on the move. A weapon
+fourteen feet long was also difficult to handle in the woods where
+there was little room for maneuvering. Thus the Pilgrims first
+abandoned the full pike for the half pike, which was only six or eight
+feet long. As late as 1646 the Plymouth fathers still required one
+half pike for every four men on military duty, but after the outbreak
+of King Philip’s War in 1675, the settlers of Plymouth agreed with
+their neighbors in Massachusetts Bay “... it is found by experience
+that troopers & pikemen are of little use in the present war with the
+Indians ... all pikemen are hereby required ... to furnish themselves
+with firearms....”
+
+The history of the halberd at Plymouth is quite different from that
+of the pike. At this period it was primarily an emblem of rank, and
+as such it survived long after its usefulness in warfare ceased.
+Halberds were carried by sergeants as symbols of their authority and by
+ceremonial guards. In Virginia, for instance, Lord Delaware had fifty
+halberdiers to form his guard when he was governor. This was a vastly
+larger number than normal in America, but most colonial governors,
+including John Winthrop in Boston, had a few attendants so armed.
+Plymouth was no exception. As late as 1675 it was ordered that four
+halberds be carried before the governor on the first day of the General
+Court, and two on succeeding days. It is known also that the sergeants
+at Plymouth had them, and there is a possibility that court officials
+also carried them.
+
+At least one of the halberds from the Plymouth colony has survived and
+is now preserved in Pilgrim Hall. It was probably made about 1600-1610
+and was found in the cellar of the John Alden house. The haft is a
+modern replacement.
+
+
+FIREARMS
+
+The projectile arms of the Pilgrims were their most important weapons.
+The American Indian usually preferred to do battle against Europeans
+in loose formation and at long range, resorting to hand-to-hand combat
+only in surprise attacks or when he believed that the enemy had been
+sufficiently decimated and disorganized by his sniping tactics. In
+addition to their value in warfare, projectile arms were also important
+in providing the settlers with fresh meat. For these reasons, the
+evolution of design in such weapons was swifter and more striking than
+in any other form of military equipment.
+
+The most common type of firearm that came to America on the _Mayflower_
+was the musket. This was a smooth-bored weapon, usually slightly more
+than five feet long with a caliber ranging between .69 and .80. The
+majority of those that the original settlers brought with them were
+matchlocks. They were fired by pressing the lighted end of a slow match
+made of a loosely woven rope soaked in nitre into the powder in the
+priming pan. This was effected by fastening a length of the match to a
+forked holder known as the serpentine on the outside of the lock which
+corresponded to the hammer on a modern gun. Pressure on the trigger
+caused the serpentine to swing in an arc toward the priming pan, thus
+bringing the match into contact with the powder.
+
+Although the mechanism was simple, the loading of a matchlock was a
+long and complicated procedure. After having fired his musket, the
+first task of the soldier was to remove his match (which according to
+regulations was lighted at both ends) so that he would not accidentally
+ignite any of his powder. To do this he loosened the thumb screw
+which clamped the match in the fork of the serpentine and grasped
+the cord with his left hand, holding one of the lighted ends between
+his second and third fingers and the other end between his third and
+fourth fingers. Then, seizing the barrel of the gun with the thumb
+and forefinger of the same hand, he would hold it while he loaded.
+Having thus prepared the piece to receive the charge, he would use his
+right hand to open one of the wooden cylinders on his bandolier or the
+nozzle of his powder flask, depending on which he carried, and pour the
+contents down the barrel. Next came a ball from his pouch or from his
+mouth if it was during an action, and finally, a wad of tow or paper.
+All this was forced home with a rammer. Then he would prime the piece
+by filling the flash pan with fine-grained powder from a little flask
+which was suspended from his belt, close the pan cover, and carefully
+blow away any loose powder.
+
+The gun was then loaded, but several actions were still necessary
+before it could be fired. The match had to be returned to the serpentine
+and adjusted. The coal on its end had to be blown into activity. If
+the gunner was forced to wait any length of time before firing, he had
+to change the adjustment of the match continually to insure that it
+would strike the pan and also to prevent it from burning down to the
+serpentine and going out. If it did go out, he relighted it from the
+coal at the other end of the match which was kept burning for that
+purpose.
+
+[Illustration:_Three matchlock muskets. From left to right: An Italian
+musket, 1580-1610 believed to have been used at Plymouth before 1637
+when it was sold to a nearby garrison house; German musket, 1600-1630;
+German musket, 1640-1670._]
+
+[Illustration: _Soldier blowing on his match to make the coal glow well
+before firing. From De Gheyn._]
+
+From this it may be seen that the matchlock was in many ways inferior
+to the Indian’s bow. Its chief advantage lay in the panic produced
+by the flash, smoke, smell and noise of the explosion of the charge.
+Also, a gun could be loaded with several bullets and wound a number of
+enemies at one time. The ball from a matchlock musket was superior to
+an arrow in the size of the hole it tore, the bones it smashed, and
+the amount of blood it spilled. The bow was superior in accuracy and
+rapidity of fire. Moreover, it was light and easy to carry while the
+gun was heavy and clumsy. The bow was constantly ready for use except
+perhaps during a long rain, while the slow-match required, in the best
+of weather, constant attention to keep it burning; and in dampness,
+rain, and wind, it was useless. The light from the match also prevented
+ambush at night, and the smell forestalled a surprise attack in the day
+time unless the foe happened to be up-wind.
+
+Although matchlocks were the dominant type of weapon brought over on
+the _Mayflower_, there were also a few flint arms. Modern authorities
+differentiate between the true flintlock and its more primitive or
+regional forms, the snaphaunce, the English lock, the so-called “dog”
+lock, the Baltic lock, and the miquelet. These distinctions are purely
+modern, however. The contemporary writers called all firearms which
+ignited the powder by striking flint against steel “snaphances.” Thus
+it is impossible to determine at this date exactly what form of flint
+arm is referred to in a given instance, and so a generic term must be
+used.
+
+Flint arms were much more efficient than matchlocks. They were faster,
+more dependable, and less cumbersome. The powder in the priming pan
+was ignited by striking a piece of flint held by the cock against a
+piece of steel, called the frizzen or battery. The frizzen was poised
+directly over the pan so that the sparks produced by the contact of the
+flint and steel would drop into the powder. Flint arms could function
+in ordinary dampness and even in a light rain. There was no match to
+light and keep free from ash in advance of any expected action. And
+since there was no match, there was no light or smell to betray an
+ambush.
+
+It is difficult to determine exactly when flint arms superseded
+matchlocks as the standard military firearm at Plymouth. There were a
+few flint arms in the _Mayflower_ in 1620, for flints are specifically
+mentioned among the military stores on board. Miles Standish, a
+professional soldier, naturally had the best weapon available. Edward
+Winslow, in describing the first encounter between the colonists and
+the Indians, noted that Standish with his “snaphance” and one or two
+other Pilgrims, who were apparently equipped with flint arms, fired
+at the Indians and held them at bay while a brand from the fire was
+carried to the others so they could light their matches.
+
+For the first ten years the supremacy of the matchlock was probably not
+seriously threatened. From 1630 until the outbreak of King Philip’s
+War in 1675, however, the change is plainly visible. There are more
+references to matches than to flints in inventories and court records
+until the beginning of the Pequot War, but the tales of snap-shooting
+increase, and during the war the stories of ambushes and surprise
+attacks throughout New England indicate that flint arms were becoming
+more plentiful. In 1643 the Plymouth General Court ordered that every
+soldier should be supplied with either a matchlock or a “snaphance.” By
+1645 Governor William Bradford could report that the Plymouth troops
+had been sent to a muster at Seacunk “well armed all with snaphance
+peeces.” In 1645, also, while matchlocks were allowed for private arms,
+the Plymouth General Court allowed only “snaphances” or “firelocks” for
+Town arms.
+
+With the coming of King Philip’s War, the era of the matchlock at
+Plymouth was definitely past. The campaigns of that war, forays into
+the wilderness, night attacks, ambushes, battles in the rain, and
+encounters between individuals which required snap-shooting indicate
+clearly that the “snaphance” was the principal weapon. In 1677, towards
+the end of the war, the Plymouth General Court outlawed the matchlock
+completely as an acceptable weapon. In abandoning matchlocks at this
+time, Plymouth was years ahead of Europe where the clumsy firearm
+persisted until after 1700.
+
+In addition to the matchlock and flint arms in general use, there were
+undoubtedly a few wheel lock arms in Plymouth. The wheel lock was the
+second ignition system chronologically, having been developed shortly
+after 1500. It was an efficient system, operating much like a modern
+cigarette lighter with the spark produced by holding a piece of pyrites
+against a revolving rough-edged wheel. The wheel lock, however, was an
+expensive weapon, costing twice as much as a matchlock and half as much
+again as a flint arm. This did not necessarily preclude its purchase
+by the Pilgrims since those colonists were not so apt to economize
+on something which affected their life expectancy as closely as did
+their firearms. There are no records which state positively that there
+were wheel locks at Plymouth, and no authentic wheel lock used there
+has survived. The term “firelock” which is used occasionally in the
+documents very often was used to denote a wheel lock, and in the case
+of the 1646 order mentioned above, it almost certainly had that meaning.
+
+The Pilgrims also brought two other principal kinds of hand firearms
+with them, the fowling piece and the pistol. The fowling piece, or
+birding piece as it was often called, was usually a huge gun. In 1621
+Edward Winslow wrote from Plymouth to prospective colonists in England
+and advised them concerning their needs. Regarding these fowlers, he
+counseled, “Let your piece be long in the barrel; and fear not the
+weight of it, for most of our shooting is from stands.” This was in
+keeping with the best contemporary sporting theory which contended
+that barrels five and a half or six feet long would increase the range
+of the gun and produce a flatter trajectory for the bullet. Such guns
+were almost always flint arms, although there may have been a few wheel
+locks.
+
+[Illustration:_A flint musket with the so-called dog lock, about 1637;
+a later flintlock musket, about 1690; a wheel lock musket, 1620-1650;
+the long fowler which belonged to John Thompson._]
+
+[Illustration: _John Thompson’s “dog lock” pistol._]
+
+Fortunately one such fowling piece which belonged to a Plymouth
+settler, John Thompson, has survived, and is preserved in the Old
+Colony Historical Society Museum at Taunton, Massachusetts. It is
+88½ inches long with a 73½ inch barrel of .84 caliber. The lock is a
+primitive form of flintlock known to collectors today as an “English
+lock.” The stock is oak and was undoubtedly made in this country.
+
+In addition to their long guns, the Plymouth settlers also brought
+some pistols. Inventories of their estates contain listings of such
+hand guns, including one “double pistol.” All the pistols would have
+been either wheel locks or flint arms. The matchlock was almost never
+used for pistols by Europeans, although it is frequently found on
+Oriental hand guns. Once more it is a weapon of John Thompson that has
+survived to show what at least one of the Plymouth pistols looked like.
+Preserved in Pilgrim Hall, it is a most interesting weapon. Many of the
+pieces are missing from the lock, but enough survive to indicate it
+was the type of flintlock that is often called a “dog lock” by modern
+collectors because of the little dog catch which held the cock in
+the half-cock position. The barrel is brass with interesting moulded
+decorations, and the wooden stock has a butt closely resembling those
+found on many wheel lock pistols of the first quarter of the 17th
+century.
+
+These were the kinds of firearms which the Plymouth colonists used
+in the years from 1620 till 1690. Before leaving the subject, however,
+it would be well to mention one form which was not used but which
+has become intimately associated with the Pilgrims in popular
+imagination—the blunderbuss. This colorful weapon with the flaring
+muzzle was developed on the Continent of Europe about the middle of
+the 17th century, some thirty years after the _Mayflower_ landed
+at Plymouth. It was some years later before it reached England.
+As a weapon, it was a highly specialized arm. The flared muzzle
+was designed to spread the shot in a wide pattern and thus do as
+much damage as possible to a closely packed group of enemies at
+comparatively short range. It was of no use against scattered foes at a
+distance. Actually, it was the direct ancestor of the modern riot gun
+or the shot gun used by prison guards. It was not popular in America
+until about 1700 when the growth of cities and increasing population
+created here the conditions under which it was effective.
+
+
+AMMUNITION AND EQUIPMENT
+
+The ammunition which the colonists fired from their guns consisted of
+round balls of lead propelled by charges of black powder. The powder
+was weak by modern standards and thus comparatively large loads were
+used. When it was ignited it gave off clouds of white smoke which
+smelled strongly of sulphur. Usually for military purposes a single
+ball was used, but sometimes, especially for hunting, a number of small
+shot, much like present day buck shot, were used. These were called
+swan shot by the men who used them.
+
+There were several ways of carrying this ammunition. The powder was
+normally either in a flask or bandolier; the shot in a soft leather
+pouch. When going into action, a soldier often took his bullets from
+his pouch and put them in his mouth so he could spit them into the
+barrel of his gun and save time in loading.
+
+[Illustration: _Powder flasks._]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The flask was usually a box of wood, often covered with leather and
+bound with iron. Normally it was either roughly triangular or shaped
+like a flattened horn. There was a nozzle at the end with two valves,
+one at the base and one at the end. This enabled the user to measure
+out one nozzle-full of powder at a time, and the nozzle was calculated
+to hold just about enough powder for a normal load. Usually two flasks
+were used, a large one for the propelling charge within the gun, and a
+small one holding finer powder for use in the priming pan.
+
+A bandolier was a somewhat more complicated piece of equipment. It
+consisted of a leather belt worn over the shoulder from which were
+suspended little cylinders of wood, metal or hard leather. Each of
+these cylinders held enough powder for one charge. Also attached to the
+belt were a bullet pouch and often a small flask for priming powder.
+
+Theoretically the bandolier afforded a faster and more convenient
+method of carrying ammunition. Actually, it had many disadvantages.
+The cylinders rattled against each other, making so much noise it was
+sometimes impossible to hear commands. Occasionally the musket would
+become tangled in the loops. And worst of all, hanging in front as they
+did, they would sometimes ignite from the musket discharge and the
+whole string of charges would explode, which was most unpleasant and
+disconcerting to the wearer to say the least. Despite these drawbacks,
+bandoliers were quite popular at Plymouth, and they are frequently
+mentioned in wills and inventories.
+
+As the 17th century wore on, there came two other developments in the
+means of carrying ammunition. The use of flasks made of cows’ horns
+increased in popularity as the cattle population grew. Such horn flasks
+had been used to some extent by the poorer classes in Europe, but in
+America they became very popular because they could be made locally and
+did not require great skill or craftsmanship. By the beginning of the
+18th century such horn flasks or powder horns as they were then called
+completely dominated the flask picture. The other development was the
+practice of wrapping charges of powder in cylinders of paper which
+could be carried in a pouch. These were the first true cartridges.
+They had been used in Europe primarily for mounted troops for several
+decades before the Pilgrims landed. Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden is
+credited with having been the first general to supply his infantry with
+them early in the 17th century. However this may be, paper cartridges
+began to appear at Plymouth sometime after 1637, and by the beginning
+of King Philip’s War in 1675, they were fairly common. They were not
+widely used by European infantry until after 1700.
+
+[Illustration: _Musketeer wearing a bandolier. Note how he pours the
+charge from one cylinder down the muzzle. From De Gheyn._]
+
+[Illustration: _Full scale model of a sakeret mounted in Plimoth
+Plantation’s reconstruction of the first fort._]
+
+
+CANNON[1]
+
+In addition to their small arms, the Pilgrims also brought some heavy
+ordnance. On a commanding hill overlooking the bay and landing site,
+they built a meeting house and fort with places for their cannon on an
+upper deck. On February 21, 1621, William Bradford and Edward Winslow
+relate how “the Master came on shore, with many of his saylors, and
+brought with him one of the great peeces, called a Minion, and helped
+us to draw it up the hill, with another peece that lay on shore, and
+mounted them, and a Saker and two Bases.” In 1627 Isaak De Rasieres
+visited Plymouth and noted that the Pilgrims had six cannon of
+unspecified types in their fort and four “patreros” mounted in front of
+the governor’s house at the intersection of the two streets of the town.
+
+[1] In the preparation of this section I am much indebted to Mr. Edwin
+N. Rich of Wellfleet, Mass., a life-long student of early artillery who
+prepared the drawings from which the cannon in the reconstructed fort
+were made.
+
+These guns were probably not new, and they may well have been part
+of the armament of the _Mayflower_ itself. The largest of the cannon
+mentioned by name was a minion. This would have been a brass gun, which
+weighed between 800 and 1200 pounds. It would have had a bore of about
+2.9 inches diameter and fired an iron ball weighing 3½ pounds for
+distances up to 1600 yards. The saker was slightly smaller, probably
+weighing 650 to 800 pounds. It would have had a bore of about 2.7
+inches in diameter and shot a 2¾ pound ball up to 1700 yards. Since
+cannon designations were used rather loosely by the artillerists of the
+time, there is room for considerable differences in these dimensions.
+On Burial Hill in Plymouth are two early English cannons, one a minion
+and the other a small saker or sakeret. These guns were used as the
+models for those mounted in Plimoth Plantation’s reconstruction of the
+original fort. Since it is presumed that the Pilgrims’ guns came from
+the armament of the _Mayflower_ and since they were dragged up the hill
+and mounted immediately, it has been assumed that they were placed on
+carriages from the ship, and so naval carriages of the period have been
+reproduced for the reconstructed fort.
+
+[Illustration: _Full scale model of a minion in Plimoth Plantation’s
+reconstruction of the first fort._]
+
+The loading and firing of one of these cannon was a complicated
+procedure, requiring the assistance of several men. The recoil from the
+discharge would normally drive the piece back away from the gun port.
+If it did not roll back far enough, the crew would seize the ropes
+or “training tackle” and haul it into a position that would permit
+them to load it. First a wet sponge on the end of a long handle was
+run down the barrel to put out any sparks that might remain from the
+previous shot. Then came the powder which was handled in one of two
+ways. Sometimes the proper amount was fastened ready-to-use in a cloth
+bag or cartridge. At other times it was brought loose to the cannon in
+a wooden bucket with a purse-like leather top closed by a drawstring.
+From this “budge barrel,” as it was called, the powder was dipped and
+inserted into the barrel by means of a copper ladle on a long wooden
+handle. After the powder was rammed home, a wad, was inserted and
+rammed, and finally the projectile which was forced home by a rammer.
+
+This projectile might be either a solid ball or one of the more deadly
+anti-personnel missiles such as grape shot or cannister. Grape shot
+was made up of a series of small balls grouped on a wooden stand
+and wrapped with burlap or canvas. Upon firing, the stand and cloth
+disintegrated, and the balls spread out over a wide area. Cannister
+shot was based on the same principle. In this form, however, the small
+balls or other iron fragments were enclosed in a thin metal cylinder
+which came apart upon firing. Other missiles included cross bar and
+chain shot, in which spheres or hemi-spheres were joined by a bar or
+several links of chain. These were particularly useful against ships
+because they revolved in flight and cut rigging. It is doubtful if the
+Pilgrims had all of these forms of projectiles with them in 1620. Some
+of them were just then developing. But by 1690, any or all of them
+might well have been used at Plymouth.
+
+[Illustration: _Some seventeenth century artillery projectiles. From
+left to right: solid shot; fragment of shell, stand of grape shot._]
+
+Once the gun was loaded, a few more steps were necessary before it
+could be fired. It was primed by pouring powder from a flask or horn
+into the touch hole. Then the crew again seized the training tackle and
+pulled the gun back into position. The gunner aimed it by directing the
+way in which the men pulled the ropes and by shifting the position of
+the wedges under the breech of the barrel. Then he took a forked staff,
+known as a linstock, which held a length of burning match similar to
+that used in the matchlock muskets. He touched the lighted end of the
+match to the powder in the touch hole and fired his gun.
+
+[Illustration: _“Patrero” or “murderer” viewed from above. For a side
+view see title page._]
+
+[Illustration: _Side view of base._]
+
+The two bases in the fort and the four “patreros” in front of the
+governor’s house were much smaller guns. Both types were made of iron,
+and both were breech-loaders. The guns of this category were called by
+a great variety of names, and the situation is even more confused than
+with the larger pieces. The type of base used by the Pilgrims, however,
+was probably a gun some 4½ feet long, which weighed about 200 pounds.
+It would have had a bore about 1¼ inches in diameter and fired either a
+lead ball weighing 5 ounces or an iron one weighing 3 ounces. In order
+to load it, the ball was placed in the breech end of the barrel, and a
+separate chamber filled with powder was placed behind it and fastened
+securely with a wedge. The “patreros” were probably of the type known
+also as “murderers.” These differed from the bases in that the bore
+expanded in diameter from breech to muzzle. Instead of a single ball,
+these guns were normally loaded with small shot, short lengths of iron
+bar, or broken pieces of iron and stone. The expanding bore helped
+spread these projectiles as they left the muzzle and thus made the
+murderer a vicious anti-personnel weapon at short ranges. Both the base
+and the murder were mounted in forked swivels of iron set in a wooden
+pedestal.
+
+[Illustration: _Base viewed from above._]
+
+[Illustration: _The first fort as reconstructed by Plimoth Plantation
+contains a collection of arms and armor of the period. Woodcut by
+Thomas Nason._]
+
+These were the weapons which the Pilgrims brought from Europe to win
+their new home. They came without sufficient arms “... nor every man a
+sword to his side; wanting many muskets, much armour, &c.” Once in this
+country, however, the need not only for enough weapons but also for
+good weapons was soon felt. Forced by their dependence on their arms,
+the settlers soon threw away their armour and their pikes, discarded
+their matchlocks for more efficient guns, and began to use paper
+cartridges well before these innovations were generally adopted in
+Europe.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+This booklet has been published by two organizations devoted to the
+study and interpretation of all aspects of Pilgrim history.
+
+
+PLIMOTH PLANTATION
+
+Plimoth Plantation was founded in 1948 as a non-profit educational
+organization to foster public understanding of the Pilgrims of
+Plymouth. To this end the corporate organization, Plimoth Plantation,
+is re-creating the Plimoth Plantation of 1627, the farming community
+from which sprang the Old Colony of New Plymouth. It is a functioning
+village, over half completed (in 1969), in which guides and hostesses
+in Pilgrim dress carry on the tasks necessary for daily living and
+sheep and chickens wander the narrow street. It is open to the public
+from April through November and is visited by more than 250,000 people
+per year.
+
+The Plantation also owns and exhibits two re-created Pilgrim houses
+near Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower II and a small sailing craft—a
+Shallop—of the type used by the Pilgrims for coastal trading.
+
+These public exhibits are backed by a strong research and publication
+program covering the European background of the Pilgrim story to the
+end of the 17th century.
+
+The Plantation seeks the support of all who wish to help perpetuate the
+Pilgrim tradition. Those interested in membership should address the
+Membership Director, Box 1620, Plymouth, Mass. 02360.
+
+
+THE PILGRIM SOCIETY
+
+The Pilgrim Society, Plymouth, Massachusetts, was organized in 1820.
+Its main purposes have been to insure a universal appreciation of
+the Pilgrims and their contributions to the American heritage. In
+Pilgrim Hall, one of the oldest museums in the country, there is
+displayed a collection of Pilgrim relics and material bearing on the
+history of Plimoth Colony. Every effort is made to enlarge and improve
+this collection and to preserve in the library of Pilgrim Hall a
+comprehensive history of the Pilgrims and the colony they founded. The
+Society supplies its members with “Pilgrim Society Notes” containing
+articles which would otherwise remain undiscovered among the papers of
+the students of Pilgrim and Colonial history.
+
+The Society was, in its earlier years, responsible for the erection
+of the Forefathers Monument, which stands on a hill behind the Town
+overlooking Plymouth Bay; and for preserving as a park the area
+directly behind Plymouth Rock, known as Cole’s Hill, which served the
+Pilgrims as a burying ground during the first precarious winter in the
+settlement. Today the Society is custodian of these memorials and of
+others erected by various societies in the Town of Plymouth to honor
+the Pilgrim Fathers.
+
+Annually on Forefathers Day, December 21st, the Society celebrates the
+Landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth with a suitable observance of the
+occasion at the Annual Meeting of the Society which many of the members
+attend.
+
+Those interested in applying for membership are invited to communicate
+with the Secretary of the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth. Dues are $5.00
+per year, and the money thus attained, together with admission fees to
+Pilgrim Hall and a modest endowment supply the funds for the activities
+of the Society.
+
+  _Those interested in a documented and more detailed study of arms
+  and armor in all the colonies should see the author’s book_, Arms
+  and Armor in Colonial America, 1526-1783, _the Stackpole Company.
+  Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1956._
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 65335 ***
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-<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Arms and Armor of the Pilgrims, 1620-1692</div>

-

-<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Harold L. Peterson</div>

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-<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARMS AND ARMOR OF THE PILGRIMS, 1620-1692 ***</div>

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p class="center">Copyright 1957 by Plimoth Plantation, Inc. and the Pilgrim Society</p>

-<p class="center">Fotoset and Lithographed by COLORTONE PRESS, Washington 9, D. C.</p>

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_1"></a>[Pg 1]</span></p>

-<h1>ARMS AND ARMOR<br />OF&emsp;THE<br />PILGRIMS 1620-1692</h1>

-

-<p class="f120">by<br />Harold L. Peterson</p>

-

-<div class="figcenter">

-    <img id="PATRERO" src="images/i001.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="225" />

-    <p class="f120">Patrero or “murderer”</p>

-</div>

-

-<p class="center space-above2">Published by Plimoth Plantation, Inc. and the Pilgrim Society,</p>

-<p class="center">Plymouth 1957</p>

-<hr class="chap" />

-

-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_2"></a>[Pg 2]</span></p>

-

-<div class="figcenter">

-    <img src="images/i002.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="560" />

-    <div class="blockquot">

-    <p class="center"><i>A seventeenth century musketeer ready to fire his

-        matchlock.<br /> From Jacques de Gheyn</i>, Maniement d’Armes, <i>1608</i>.</p>

-</div></div>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3"></a>[Pg 3]</span>

-The average colonist landing on the wild shores of North America in the

-early 1600’s set great store by his arms and armor. The Pilgrims were

-no exception. They were strangers in a vast and largely unknown land,

-inhabited by wild beasts and peopled by savages who were frequently

-hostile. Greatly outnumbered by known enemies and possibly facing

-dangers of which they were not yet aware, these Englishmen placed

-their main hope for survival on the possession of superior weapons and

-protective armor. On the more peaceful side, their firearms were also

-valuable, for they provided fresh meat for the table and furs for sale

-back home.</p>

-

-<p>Because the colonist was so dependent on his arms he soon learned to

-select the most efficient kinds that he could obtain. In so doing he

-pushed the evolution of military materiel far ahead of contemporary

-Europe and developed a high degree of skill, particularly in the use of

-firearms.</p>

-

-<p>The military supplies which the Pilgrims brought with them may be

-divided into three major categories: defensive armor, edged weapons,

-and projectile weapons. A completely armed man, especially in the first

-years, was usually equipped with one or more articles from each of the

-three groups, usually a helmet and corselet, a sword, and a musket.</p>

-

-<div class="chapter">

-  <h2 class="nobreak">ARMOR</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p>Of all the pieces of defensive armor, the most popular was the helmet.

-Almost everyone wore one when he prepared for trouble. Most of those

-worn at Plymouth were undoubtedly open helmets which left the face

-uncovered, although it is possible that a few completely closed

-helmets were also used. These open helmets were of three principal

-types: the cabasset, the morion, and the burgonet. The cabasset was

-a simple, narrow brimmed helmet with a keeled bowl and a tiny apical

-peak pointing to the rear. The morion had a larger crescentic brim

-pointed at the front and back and a high comb along the center-line

-of the bowl. The better specimens of both these helmets were forged

-from a single billet of steel, and both were very efficient defenses.

-The curving lines of the bowls caused most blows to glance off without

-imparting their full impact, and the comb of the morion presented an

-extra buffer of metal through which a sword would have to cut before

-it reached the bowl. Inside each helmet was a quilted lining held in

-place by a row of rivets around the base of the crown which acted much

-like the modern helmet liner in holding the steel shell away from the

-wearer’s head.

-<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4"></a>[Pg 4]</span></p>

-

-<div class="figcontainer">

-  <div class="figsub">

-   <img src="images/i004a.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="256" />

-   <p class="f120"><i>Cabasset.</i></p>

-  </div>

-

-  <div class="figsub">

-   <img  src="images/i004b.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="247" />

-   <p class="f120"><i>Morion.</i></p>

-   </div>

-</div>

-

-<p>The burgonet was a slightly more complicated helmet than the morion or

-cabasset, and it was made in a variety of styles. Basically, it was an

-open-faced helmet which covered more of the head than the other two.

-Usually it had a peak or umbril somewhat like the visor of a modern cap

-over the eyes, a comb on the bowl, and movable plates to protect the

-cheeks and ears. Often there was a defense for the face in the form of

-a single adjustable bar which passed through a hole in the umbril or by

-three bars fashioned like a muzzle and attached to the umbril which was

-pivoted at the sides so it could be raised or lowered. One form of the

-burgonet which became popular in the second quarter of the 17th century

-was known as the lobster tail burgonet because the wearer’s neck was

-protected by a series of overlapping plates which somewhat resembled

-those on a lobster’s abdomen or “tail.”</p>

-

-<p>A fourth and final type of helmet was known as a “pikeman’s pot.” This

-greatly resembled the morion, but had a broad flat brim instead of a

-narrow crescentic one. As its name indicates, it was worn primarily

-by pikemen in conjunction with a specific type of corselet which was

-generally designated pikeman’s armor.</p>

-

-<p>This armor consisted of five elements in addition to the helmet. There

-was a gorget to protect the neck and to support the weight of a back

-plate and a breastplate which were fastened together by straps which

-passed over the shoulders and attached by hooks at the front and by a

-belt that passed around the waist. At the lower edge of the breastplate

-were fastened two hinged plates called tassets which protected the

-thighs. Although each of these plates was made from a single sheet of

-metal they were embossed to resemble a series of overlapping plates,

-complete with false rivets.</p>

-

-<p>Of all the forms of body armor worn in America during the early 1600’s,

-the pikeman’s suit was undoubtedly the most popular. There are numerous

-references to it in the contemporary documents. A tasset from such a

-<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[Pg 5]</span>

-suit was found behind the fireplace in the John Howland house near

-Plymouth and is now preserved in Pilgrim Hall. In the Massachusetts

-Historical Society in Boston there are a helmet, a back plate and a

-tasset from another suit which belonged to an early colonist, and

-portions of similar suits have been found in Pennsylvania and at

-Jamestown, Virginia.</p>

-

-<p>Men armed with muskets might sometimes wear pikeman’s armor, but

-more often they wore simpler corselets consisting only of breast and

-back-plates. With these corselets they wore either a cabasset, a morion

-or a burgonet.</p>

-

-<p>The weight of the corselets worn by the Pilgrims depended largely on

-the quality of the breastplate. The helmets and other pieces were

-sufficient to stop a sword blow or turn an Indian’s arrow but still

-quite light. Breastplates, however, were made according to three

-standards depending on what weapons they were supposed to offer

-protection against. The lightest forms were labeled pike proof or

-high pike proof; the next heavier were called pistol proof, and the

-heaviest were musket proof. The musket proof breastplates are quite

-scarce. Often they are ⅜ of an inch thick and bear a dent caused by a

-bullet fired at them as a test when they were made. Pistol proof plates

-are much lighter and are much more plentiful. They also often bear a

-testing dent and sometimes the letter “P” as a proof mark.</p>

-

-<div class="figcontainer">

-  <div class="figsub">

-   <img src="images/i005a.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="313" />

-   <p class="f120"><i>Burgonet</i></p>

-  </div>

-

-  <div class="figsub">

-   <p class="space-below2">&nbsp;</p>

-   <img  src="images/i005b.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="243" />

-   <p class="f120"><i>Lobstertail burgonet.</i></p>

-   </div>

-</div>

-

-<p>Most modern Americans tend to think of armor in terms of brightly

-polished steel. Sometimes it was finished bright, but by the 17th

-century it was more often black, brown, or dark blue. This was

-especially true of those suits destined for active service in the

-field. A brightly polished piece of armor needed constant care to

-guard it from rust and maintain a good appearance. Blacking, russeting

-or bluing it helped protect it and made it easier to maintain. The

-black finishes were sometimes obtained through the use of soot and

-oil, sometimes by paint. The russet and blue finishes were produced by

-artificial oxidation.

-<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[Pg 6]</span></p>

-

-<div class="figcenter">

-    <img src="images/i006.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="628" />

-    <div class="blockquot">

-    <p class="center"><i>English pikeman’s armor bearing the cypher of

-          James I (1603-1625).<br /> The waist belt is now missing.</i></p>

-</div></div>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[Pg 7]</span></p>

-

-<div class="figcontainer">

-  <div class="figsub">

-   <img src="images/i007a.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="346" />

-  </div>

-

-  <div class="figsub">

-   <p class="space-below2">&nbsp;</p>

-   <img  src="images/i007b.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="302" />

-   </div>

-   <p class="center space-below2"><i>Simple corselet with a bullet proof breastplate.</i></p>

-</div>

-

-<p>This defensive armor, though popular at first, was soon discarded by

-the Pilgrims. The men who set out on the first exploring expedition

-when the <i>Mayflower</i> touched at Cape Cod were all armed with

-corselets. They found them efficient protection against the arrows of

-the Indians, but when they at length discovered a quantity of Indian

-corn, they were so encumbered and weary from the weight of their arms

-that they could not carry back as much of the booty as they desired.

-Soon they found that they could usually dodge arrows unless taken by

-surprise, and so gradually they began to decide in favor of freer

-movement and less weight. The corselet retained its popularity for the

-first ten years, but a compromise in the form of a heavy buff leather

-or quilted coat began to make its appearance. By the time of the Pequot

-War in 1637, the presence of “unarmed” men, as those without armor were

-called, became more and more frequent. The helmet was the last piece

-of plate armor to be discarded, but following King Philip’s War

-(1675-1678) that too was abandoned, and plate armor disappeared from

-the scene except for ceremonial occasions.

-<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[Pg 8]</span></p>

-

-<div class="figcenter">

-    <img src="images/i008.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="232" />

-    <div class="blockquot">

-    <p class="center"><i>Capt. Miles Standish’s rapier and scabbard.</i></p>

-</div></div>

-

-<div class="chapter">

-  <h2 class="nobreak">EDGED WEAPONS</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p>The edged weapons brought to America by the Pilgrims were of four

-principal types, swords, daggers, pikes and halberds. The bayonet was

-almost unknown on this continent at the time. Of all these arms, swords

-were by far the most plentiful. Every soldier, whether he was armed

-with a musket, pike or halberd or served a cannon, was required to

-carry a sword. Thus, since almost every able-bodied man was supposed to

-perform military service, all had to be familiar with the weapon, and a

-large supply was necessary.</p>

-

-<p>Both thrusting and cutting swords were used. The thrusting swords,

-known as rapiers, had long straight blades, diamond-shaped in cross

-section, with sharp points and only rudimentary edges. Some had guards

-fashioned of numerous bars bent in graceful curves and loops, and these

-are called swept-hilted rapiers. Others had a solid cup-shaped plate

-between the hand and the blade augmented by extra bars and branches.

-These are called cup-hilted rapiers.</p>

-

-<p>Fortunately, one of the cup-hilted rapiers used by the Pilgrims has

-survived. It belonged to Captain Miles Standish, the doughty military

-advisor of the colony, and it is now preserved in Pilgrim Hall. It is a

-very good example of the Dutch-English style of cup hilt, the shallow

-iron cup and supplementary branches, the knuckle-bow, and the pommel

-are decorated with crudely incised designs of leaves and masks. The

-grips are covered with black leather. Originally they were wound with

-twisted wire in the spiral grooves, but the wire is now missing. The

-scabbard also has been preserved, and that is most unusual for swords

-of this period. It is made of wood, almost cylindrical, covered with

-black leather. There is an iron ferrule at the throat (which has

-<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[Pg 9]</span>

-now slipped several inches down the scabbard) and an iron tip.

-Interestingly, Standish is known to have been a short man whose enemies

-sometimes called him “Captain Shrimp,” and this sword is about six

-inches shorter than the average rapier, which would have made it easier

-to handle for a small man.</p>

-

-<p>Probably even more plentiful than the rapiers were the cutting

-swords. Most of these were shorter weapons with single-edged blades,

-sometimes straight and sometimes slightly curved. Two of these weapons

-have survived and are preserved in Pilgrim Hall. The older and more

-spectacular of these belonged to Gov. John Carver and was made near the

-beginning of the century. It has a massive hilt with guard and pommel

-of iron encrusted with floral decorations of silver. The decoration and

-workmanship are typically English. The blade is straight with a single

-edge and a narrow fuller or groove along the back. The second sword

-is considerably smaller and later. It came from the Brewster family

-and may have belonged to Elder William Brewster, although he must

-have purchased it late in life. It has a lighter iron guard without

-ornamentation and a slightly curved singled-edged blade, also with a

-narrow fuller at the back. This sword, too, is typically English.</p>

-

-<div class="figcontainer">

-  <div class="figsub">

-   <p class="f120 space-above2 space-below2"><i>Detail of the Standish rapier hilt.</i></p>

-   <img src="images/i009a.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="339" />

-  </div>

-

-  <div class="figsub">

-   <p class="f120"><i>Swept-hilted rapier excavated at Jamestown.<br /> Those

-       used at Plymouth would have been similar</i>.<br /> National Park Service.</p>

-   <p class="space-below2">&nbsp;</p>

-   <img  src="images/i009b.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="341" />

-   </div>

-</div>

-<hr class="chap" />

-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[Pg 10]</span></p>

-

-<div class="figcenter">

-    <img src="images/i010a.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="490" />

-    <div class="blockquot">

-    <p class="center"><i>The cutting swords of Governor Carver,

-                    Elder Brewster and John Thompson.</i></p>

-    </div>

-    <p class="center space-above2"><i>Quillon or left-hand dagger.</i></p>

-    <img src="images/i010b.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="181" />

-</div>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[Pg 11]</span>

-A third surviving cutting sword preserved at Pilgrim Hall is a

-broad-sword which belonged to John Thompson who came to Plymouth in

-1623. Like the Carver sword, this weapon also dates from the opening

-years of the 17th century. The hilt is smaller, but the metal parts

-are of iron decorated with the same typically English floral sprays in

-silver. The blade on this specimen, however, is what sets it apart. It

-is much longer and double-edged, a sword suitable for use on horseback

-as well as on foot.</p>

-

-<p>These swords were more than mere military decorations. They were

-highly necessary weapons. In a period when firearms were inaccurate

-and loading and firing were time-consuming operations, the outcome of

-most battles was determined largely by hand-to-hand combat. The musket,

-once it had been fired, was then of no use for it had no bayonet. At

-such times the sword became the principal weapon, and a soldier’s life

-depended upon his skill with it.</p>

-

-<p>There are numerous records indicating the use of swords by the

-Pilgrims. On their first expedition ashore, they used them to “hew

-and carve the ground a foot deep.” In one interesting coincidence, a

-sword’s hilt figured in the death of two persons. In 1646 a privateer

-commanded by Captain Thomas Cromwell put into Plymouth. While there,

-one of the sailors assaulted the captain who had been trying to

-restore order during a brawl. In the course of the struggle, Cromwell

-seized the man’s rapier and struck him on the head with its hilt. The

-cross guard pierced his skull and killed him. Since the man had been

-a notorious trouble-maker, Cromwell was acquitted in a trial by a

-council of war. Some three years later, however, Cromwell fell from his

-horse and landed upon the hilt of his own rapier which so injured him

-internally that he died shortly thereafter.</p>

-

-<p>In addition to their swords, many men also carried knives or daggers.

-Miles Standish and his followers used knives effectively in liquidating

-the trouble-makers at Wessagusset, and there are numerous other

-references to their presence at Plymouth.</p>

-

-<p>Unfortunately no specimens used by the Pilgrims or their 17th century

-descendants at Plymouth have survived. There is a knife that belonged

-to John Thompson in Pilgrim Hall, but it is a table or general utility

-knife, and not a weapon. In all probability the most popular form of

-dagger employed at Plymouth was the quillon or left-hand dagger. This

-weapon had a simple cross-guard or quillons, probably with a ring

-opposite the grips on one side. It had a straight blade which tapered

-evenly to a point, and it was designed to be held in the left hand

-while the rapier was held in the right.

-<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[Pg 12]</span></p>

-

-<p>In addition to these edged weapons which were worn on the belt, there

-were also weapons with long wooden hafts, known as pole arms. Of these,

-two forms were principally used at Plymouth, the pike and the halberd.

-The pike was a spear with a simple leaf-shaped head attached by long

-straps to a wooden pole some fourteen feet long. The halberd was a

-combination of axe and spear, and its haft was much shorter, perhaps

-six or seven feet, exclusive of the head.</p>

-

-<div class="figcontainer">

-  <div class="figsub">

-   <img src="images/i012a.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="511" />

-   <p class="center"><i>Halberd from the cellar of the<br /> John Alden house.<br />

-           The haft is modern.</i></p>

-  </div>

-

-  <div class="figsub">

-   <img  src="images/i012b.jpg" alt="" width="135" height="516" />

-   <p class="f120"><i>Pike.</i></p>

-   </div>

-</div>

-

-<p>In European armies pikemen played a very prominent role. Offensively

-they were used for shock tactics in charges against the enemy.

-Defensively, with the butts of their pikes driven into the ground, they

-formed movable semi-fortresses behind which musketeers could retreat in

-the face of a cavalry charge.

-<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[Pg 13]</span></p>

-

-<p>Because of this prominence as a weapon in Europe, the Pilgrims

-brought some pikes with them to Plymouth, but they quickly found them

-disappointing. Although the pike was effective in the set tactics

-of Europe, it was of little use against an enemy who would neither

-charge nor stand against a charge and whose forces were never arranged

-in compact formation but scattered and always on the move. A weapon

-fourteen feet long was also difficult to handle in the woods where

-there was little room for maneuvering. Thus the Pilgrims first

-abandoned the full pike for the half pike, which was only six or eight

-feet long. As late as 1646 the Plymouth fathers still required one

-half pike for every four men on military duty, but after the outbreak

-of King Philip’s War in 1675, the settlers of Plymouth agreed with

-their neighbors in Massachusetts Bay “... it is found by experience

-that troopers &amp; pikemen are of little use in the present war with the

-Indians ... all pikemen are hereby required ... to furnish themselves

-with firearms....”</p>

-

-<p>The history of the halberd at Plymouth is quite different from that

-of the pike. At this period it was primarily an emblem of rank, and

-as such it survived long after its usefulness in warfare ceased.

-Halberds were carried by sergeants as symbols of their authority and by

-ceremonial guards. In Virginia, for instance, Lord Delaware had fifty

-halberdiers to form his guard when he was governor. This was a vastly

-larger number than normal in America, but most colonial governors,

-including John Winthrop in Boston, had a few attendants so armed.

-Plymouth was no exception. As late as 1675 it was ordered that four

-halberds be carried before the governor on the first day of the General

-Court, and two on succeeding days. It is known also that the sergeants

-at Plymouth had them, and there is a possibility that court officials

-also carried them.</p>

-

-<p>At least one of the halberds from the Plymouth colony has survived and

-is now preserved in Pilgrim Hall. It was probably made about 1600-1610

-and was found in the cellar of the John Alden house. The haft is a

-modern replacement.</p>

-

-<div class="chapter">

-  <h2 class="nobreak">FIREARMS</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p>The projectile arms of the Pilgrims were their most important weapons.

-The American Indian usually preferred to do battle against Europeans

-in loose formation and at long range, resorting to hand-to-hand combat

-only in surprise attacks or when he believed that the enemy had been

-sufficiently decimated and disorganized by his sniping tactics. In

-addition to their value in warfare, projectile arms were also important

-in providing the settlers with fresh meat. For these reasons, the

-evolution of design in such weapons was swifter and more striking than

-in any other form of military equipment.

-<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[Pg 14]</span></p>

-

-<p>The most common type of firearm that came to America on the

-<i>Mayflower</i> was the musket. This was a smooth-bored weapon,

-usually slightly more than five feet long with a caliber ranging

-between .69 and .80. The majority of those that the original settlers

-brought with them were matchlocks. They were fired by pressing the

-lighted end of a slow match made of a loosely woven rope soaked

-in nitre into the powder in the priming pan. This was effected by

-fastening a length of the match to a forked holder known as the

-serpentine on the outside of the lock which corresponded to the hammer

-on a modern gun. Pressure on the trigger caused the serpentine to swing

-in an arc toward the priming pan, thus bringing the match into contact

-with the powder.</p>

-

-<p>Although the mechanism was simple, the loading of a matchlock was a

-long and complicated procedure. After having fired his musket, the

-first task of the soldier was to remove his match (which according to

-regulations was lighted at both ends) so that he would not accidentally

-ignite any of his powder. To do this he loosened the thumb screw

-which clamped the match in the fork of the serpentine and grasped

-the cord with his left hand, holding one of the lighted ends between

-his second and third fingers and the other end between his third and

-fourth fingers. Then, seizing the barrel of the gun with the thumb

-and forefinger of the same hand, he would hold it while he loaded.

-Having thus prepared the piece to receive the charge, he would use his

-right hand to open one of the wooden cylinders on his bandolier or the

-nozzle of his powder flask, depending on which he carried, and pour the

-contents down the barrel. Next came a ball from his pouch or from his

-mouth if it was during an action, and finally, a wad of tow or paper.

-All this was forced home with a rammer. Then he would prime the piece

-by filling the flash pan with fine-grained powder from a little flask

-which was suspended from his belt, close the pan cover, and carefully

-blow away any loose powder.</p>

-

-<p>The gun was then loaded, but several actions were still necessary

-before it could be fired. The match had to be returned to the

-serpentine and adjusted. The coal on its end had to be blown into

-activity. If the gunner was forced to wait any length of time before

-firing, he had to change the adjustment of the match continually to

-insure that it would strike the pan and also to prevent it from burning

-down to the serpentine and going out. If it did go out, he relighted it

-from the coal at the other end of the match which was kept burning for

-that purpose.

-<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[Pg 15]</span></p>

-

-<div class="figcenter">

-    <img src="images/i015.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="625" />

-    <div class="blockquot">

-    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Three matchlock muskets. From left to right: An

-         Italian musket, 1580-1610 believed to have been used at Plymouth before

-         1637 when it was sold to a nearby garrison house; German musket,

-         1600-1630; German musket, 1640-1670.</i></p>

-</div></div>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[Pg 16]</span></p>

-

-<div class="figcenter">

-    <img src="images/i016.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="541" />

-    <div class="blockquot">

-    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Soldier blowing on his match to make the coal glow

-             well before firing.<br /> From De Gheyn.</i></p>

-</div></div>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[Pg 17]</span>

-From this it may be seen that the matchlock was in many ways inferior

-to the Indian’s bow. Its chief advantage lay in the panic produced

-by the flash, smoke, smell and noise of the explosion of the charge.

-Also, a gun could be loaded with several bullets and wound a number of

-enemies at one time. The ball from a matchlock musket was superior to

-an arrow in the size of the hole it tore, the bones it smashed, and

-the amount of blood it spilled. The bow was superior in accuracy and

-rapidity of fire. Moreover, it was light and easy to carry while the

-gun was heavy and clumsy. The bow was constantly ready for use except

-perhaps during a long rain, while the slow-match required, in the best

-of weather, constant attention to keep it burning; and in dampness,

-rain, and wind, it was useless. The light from the match also prevented

-ambush at night, and the smell forestalled a surprise attack in the day

-time unless the foe happened to be up-wind.</p>

-

-<p>Although matchlocks were the dominant type of weapon brought over

-on the <i>Mayflower</i>, there were also a few flint arms. Modern

-authorities differentiate between the true flintlock and its more

-primitive or regional forms, the snaphaunce, the English lock, the

-so-called “dog” lock, the Baltic lock, and the miquelet. These

-distinctions are purely modern, however. The contemporary writers

-called all firearms which ignited the powder by striking flint against

-steel “snaphances.” Thus it is impossible to determine at this date

-exactly what form of flint arm is referred to in a given instance, and

-so a generic term must be used.</p>

-

-<p>Flint arms were much more efficient than matchlocks. They were faster,

-more dependable, and less cumbersome. The powder in the priming pan

-was ignited by striking a piece of flint held by the cock against a

-piece of steel, called the frizzen or battery. The frizzen was poised

-directly over the pan so that the sparks produced by the contact of the

-flint and steel would drop into the powder. Flint arms could function

-in ordinary dampness and even in a light rain. There was no match to

-light and keep free from ash in advance of any expected action. And

-since there was no match, there was no light or smell to betray an

-ambush.</p>

-

-<p>It is difficult to determine exactly when flint arms superseded

-matchlocks as the standard military firearm at Plymouth. There were

-a few flint arms in the <i>Mayflower</i> in 1620, for flints are

-specifically mentioned among the military stores on board. Miles

-Standish, a professional soldier, naturally had the best weapon

-available. Edward Winslow, in describing the first encounter between

-the colonists and the Indians, noted that Standish with his “snaphance”

-and one or two other Pilgrims, who were apparently equipped with flint

-arms, fired at the Indians and held them at bay while a brand from the

-fire was carried to the others so they could light their matches.</p>

-

-<p>For the first ten years the supremacy of the matchlock was probably not

-seriously threatened. From 1630 until the outbreak of King Philip’s

-War in 1675, however, the change is plainly visible. There are more

-references to matches than to flints in inventories and court records

-until the beginning of the Pequot War, but the tales of snap-shooting

-<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[Pg 18]</span>

-increase, and during the war the stories of ambushes and surprise

-attacks throughout New England indicate that flint arms were becoming

-more plentiful. In 1643 the Plymouth General Court ordered that every

-soldier should be supplied with either a matchlock or a “snaphance.” By

-1645 Governor William Bradford could report that the Plymouth troops

-had been sent to a muster at Seacunk “well armed all with snaphance

-peeces.” In 1645, also, while matchlocks were allowed for private arms,

-the Plymouth General Court allowed only “snaphances” or “firelocks” for

-Town arms.</p>

-

-<p>With the coming of King Philip’s War, the era of the matchlock at

-Plymouth was definitely past. The campaigns of that war, forays into

-the wilderness, night attacks, ambushes, battles in the rain, and

-encounters between individuals which required snap-shooting indicate

-clearly that the “snaphance” was the principal weapon. In 1677, towards

-the end of the war, the Plymouth General Court outlawed the matchlock

-completely as an acceptable weapon. In abandoning matchlocks at this

-time, Plymouth was years ahead of Europe where the clumsy firearm

-persisted until after 1700.</p>

-

-<p>In addition to the matchlock and flint arms in general use, there were

-undoubtedly a few wheel lock arms in Plymouth. The wheel lock was the

-second ignition system chronologically, having been developed shortly

-after 1500. It was an efficient system, operating much like a modern

-cigarette lighter with the spark produced by holding a piece of pyrites

-against a revolving rough-edged wheel. The wheel lock, however, was an

-expensive weapon, costing twice as much as a matchlock and half as much

-again as a flint arm. This did not necessarily preclude its purchase

-by the Pilgrims since those colonists were not so apt to economize

-on something which affected their life expectancy as closely as did

-their firearms. There are no records which state positively that there

-were wheel locks at Plymouth, and no authentic wheel lock used there

-has survived. The term “firelock” which is used occasionally in the

-documents very often was used to denote a wheel lock, and in the case

-of the 1646 order mentioned above, it almost certainly had that meaning.</p>

-

-<p>The Pilgrims also brought two other principal kinds of hand firearms

-with them, the fowling piece and the pistol. The fowling piece, or

-birding piece as it was often called, was usually a huge gun. In 1621

-Edward Winslow wrote from Plymouth to prospective colonists in England

-and advised them concerning their needs. Regarding these fowlers, he

-counseled, “Let your piece be long in the barrel; and fear not the

-weight of it, for most of our shooting is from stands.” This was in

-keeping with the best contemporary sporting theory which contended

-that barrels five and a half or six feet long would increase the range

-of the gun and produce a flatter trajectory for the bullet. Such guns

-were almost always flint arms, although there may have been a few wheel locks.

-<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[Pg 19]</span></p>

-

-<div class="figcenter">

-    <img src="images/i019.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="663" />

-    <div class="blockquot">

-    <p class="center space-below2"><i>A flint musket with the so-called dog lock, about

-           1637; a later flintlock musket, about 1690; a wheel lock musket,

-            1620-1650; the long fowler which belonged to John Thompson.</i></p>

-</div></div>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[Pg 20]</span></p>

-

-<div class="figcenter">

-    <img src="images/i020.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="189" />

-    <p class="f120 space-below2"><i>John Thompson’s “dog lock” pistol.</i></p>

-</div>

-

-<p>Fortunately one such fowling piece which belonged to a Plymouth

-settler, John Thompson, has survived, and is preserved in the Old

-Colony Historical Society Museum at Taunton, Massachusetts. It is

-88½ inches long with a 73½ inch barrel of .84 caliber. The lock is a

-primitive form of flintlock known to collectors today as an “English

-lock.” The stock is oak and was undoubtedly made in this country.</p>

-

-<p>In addition to their long guns, the Plymouth settlers also brought

-some pistols. Inventories of their estates contain listings of such

-hand guns, including one “double pistol.” All the pistols would have

-been either wheel locks or flint arms. The matchlock was almost never

-used for pistols by Europeans, although it is frequently found on

-Oriental hand guns. Once more it is a weapon of John Thompson that has

-survived to show what at least one of the Plymouth pistols looked like.

-Preserved in Pilgrim Hall, it is a most interesting weapon. Many of the

-pieces are missing from the lock, but enough survive to indicate it

-was the type of flintlock that is often called a “dog lock” by modern

-collectors because of the little dog catch which held the cock in

-the half-cock position. The barrel is brass with interesting moulded

-decorations, and the wooden stock has a butt closely resembling those

-found on many wheel lock pistols of the first quarter of the 17th century.</p>

-

-<p>These were the kinds of firearms which the Plymouth colonists used

-in the years from 1620 till 1690. Before leaving the subject, however,

-it would be well to mention one form which was not used but which

-has become intimately associated with the Pilgrims in popular

-imagination—the blunderbuss. This colorful weapon with the flaring

-muzzle was developed on the Continent of Europe about the middle of

-the 17th century, some thirty years after the <i>Mayflower</i> landed

-at Plymouth. It was some years later before it reached England.

-As a weapon, it was a highly specialized arm. The flared muzzle

-<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[Pg 21]</span>

-was designed to spread the shot in a wide pattern and thus do as

-much damage as possible to a closely packed group of enemies at

-comparatively short range. It was of no use against scattered foes at a

-distance. Actually, it was the direct ancestor of the modern riot gun

-or the shot gun used by prison guards. It was not popular in America

-until about 1700 when the growth of cities and increasing population

-created here the conditions under which it was effective.</p>

-

-<div class="chapter">

-  <h2 class="nobreak">AMMUNITION AND EQUIPMENT</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p>The ammunition which the colonists fired from their guns consisted of

-round balls of lead propelled by charges of black powder. The powder

-was weak by modern standards and thus comparatively large loads were

-used. When it was ignited it gave off clouds of white smoke which

-smelled strongly of sulphur. Usually for military purposes a single

-ball was used, but sometimes, especially for hunting, a number of small

-shot, much like present day buck shot, were used. These were called

-swan shot by the men who used them.</p>

-

-<p>There were several ways of carrying this ammunition. The powder was

-normally either in a flask or bandolier; the shot in a soft leather

-pouch. When going into action, a soldier often took his bullets from

-his pouch and put them in his mouth so he could spit them into the

-barrel of his gun and save time in loading.</p>

-

-<div class="figcontainer">

-  <p class="f120 space-above2"><i>Powder flasks.</i></p>

-  <div class="figsub">

-   <img src="images/i021a.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="374" />

-  </div>

-  <div class="figsub">

-   <img  src="images/i021b.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="352" />

-   </div>

-</div>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[Pg 22]</span>

-The flask was usually a box of wood, often covered with leather and

-bound with iron. Normally it was either roughly triangular or shaped

-like a flattened horn. There was a nozzle at the end with two valves,

-one at the base and one at the end. This enabled the user to measure

-out one nozzle-full of powder at a time, and the nozzle was calculated

-to hold just about enough powder for a normal load. Usually two flasks

-were used, a large one for the propelling charge within the gun, and a

-small one holding finer powder for use in the priming pan.</p>

-

-<p>A bandolier was a somewhat more complicated piece of equipment. It

-consisted of a leather belt worn over the shoulder from which were

-suspended little cylinders of wood, metal or hard leather. Each of

-these cylinders held enough powder for one charge. Also attached to the

-belt were a bullet pouch and often a small flask for priming powder.</p>

-

-<p>Theoretically the bandolier afforded a faster and more convenient

-method of carrying ammunition. Actually, it had many disadvantages.

-The cylinders rattled against each other, making so much noise it was

-sometimes impossible to hear commands. Occasionally the musket would

-become tangled in the loops. And worst of all, hanging in front as they

-did, they would sometimes ignite from the musket discharge and the

-whole string of charges would explode, which was most unpleasant and

-disconcerting to the wearer to say the least. Despite these drawbacks,

-bandoliers were quite popular at Plymouth, and they are frequently

-mentioned in wills and inventories.</p>

-

-<p>As the 17th century wore on, there came two other developments in the

-means of carrying ammunition. The use of flasks made of cows’ horns

-increased in popularity as the cattle population grew. Such horn flasks

-had been used to some extent by the poorer classes in Europe, but in

-America they became very popular because they could be made locally and

-did not require great skill or craftsmanship. By the beginning of the

-18th century such horn flasks or powder horns as they were then called

-completely dominated the flask picture. The other development was the

-practice of wrapping charges of powder in cylinders of paper which

-could be carried in a pouch. These were the first true cartridges.

-They had been used in Europe primarily for mounted troops for several

-decades before the Pilgrims landed. Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden is

-credited with having been the first general to supply his infantry with

-them early in the 17th century. However this may be, paper cartridges

-began to appear at Plymouth sometime after 1637, and by the beginning

-of King Philip’s War in 1675, they were fairly common. They were not

-widely used by European infantry until after 1700.

-<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[Pg 23]</span></p>

-

-<div class="figcenter">

-    <img src="images/i023.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="615" />

-    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Musketeer wearing a bandolier.<br /> Note how he pours the

-             charge from one cylinder down the muzzle.<br /> From De Gheyn.</i></p>

-</div>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[Pg 24]</span></p>

-

-<div class="figcenter">

-    <img src="images/i024.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="250" />

-    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Full scale model of a sakeret mounted in Plimoth

-           Plantation’s reconstruction of the first fort.</i></p>

-</div>

-

-<div class="chapter">

-  <h2 class="nobreak">CANNON<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor"><small>[1]</small></a></h2>

-</div>

-

-<p>In addition to their small arms, the Pilgrims also brought some heavy

-ordnance. On a commanding hill overlooking the bay and landing site,

-they built a meeting house and fort with places for their cannon on an

-upper deck. On February 21, 1621, William Bradford and Edward Winslow

-relate how “the Master came on shore, with many of his saylors, and

-brought with him one of the great peeces, called a Minion, and helped

-us to draw it up the hill, with another peece that lay on shore, and

-mounted them, and a Saker and two Bases.” In 1627 Isaak De Rasieres

-visited Plymouth and noted that the Pilgrims had six cannon of

-unspecified types in their fort and four “patreros” mounted in front of

-the governor’s house at the intersection of the two streets of the town.</p>

-

-<div class="footnote"><p>

-<a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a>

-In the preparation of this section I am much indebted to

-Mr. Edwin N. Rich of Wellfleet, Mass., a life-long student of early

-artillery who prepared the drawings from which the cannon in the

-reconstructed fort were made.</p></div>

-

-<p>These guns were probably not new, and they may well have been part

-of the armament of the <i>Mayflower</i> itself. The largest of the

-cannon mentioned by name was a minion. This would have been a brass

-gun, which weighed between 800 and 1200 pounds. It would have had a

-bore of about 2.9 inches diameter and fired an iron ball weighing 3½

-pounds for distances up to 1600 yards. The saker was slightly smaller,

-probably weighing 650 to 800 pounds. It would have had a bore of about

-2.7 inches in diameter and shot a 2¾ pound ball up to 1700 yards. Since

-cannon designations were used rather loosely by the artillerists of the

-time, there is room for considerable differences in these dimensions.

-On Burial Hill in Plymouth are two early English cannons, one a minion

-<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[Pg 25]</span>

-and the other a small saker or sakeret. These guns were used as the

-models for those mounted in Plimoth Plantation’s reconstruction of the

-original fort. Since it is presumed that the Pilgrims’ guns came from

-the armament of the <i>Mayflower</i> and since they were dragged up the

-hill and mounted immediately, it has been assumed that they were placed

-on carriages from the ship, and so naval carriages of the period have

-been reproduced for the reconstructed fort.</p>

-

-<div class="figcenter">

-    <img src="images/i025.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="283" />

-    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Full scale model of a minion in Plimoth Plantation’s

-               reconstruction of the first fort.</i></p>

-</div>

-

-<p>The loading and firing of one of these cannon was a complicated

-procedure, requiring the assistance of several men. The recoil from the

-discharge would normally drive the piece back away from the gun port.

-If it did not roll back far enough, the crew would seize the ropes

-or “training tackle” and haul it into a position that would permit

-them to load it. First a wet sponge on the end of a long handle was

-run down the barrel to put out any sparks that might remain from the

-previous shot. Then came the powder which was handled in one of two

-ways. Sometimes the proper amount was fastened ready-to-use in a cloth

-bag or cartridge. At other times it was brought loose to the cannon in

-a wooden bucket with a purse-like leather top closed by a drawstring.

-From this “budge barrel,” as it was called, the powder was dipped and

-inserted into the barrel by means of a copper ladle on a long wooden

-handle. After the powder was rammed home, a wad, was inserted and

-rammed, and finally the projectile which was forced home by a rammer.</p>

-

-<p>This projectile might be either a solid ball or one of the more deadly

-anti-personnel missiles such as grape shot or cannister. Grape shot

-was made up of a series of small balls grouped on a wooden stand

-and wrapped with burlap or canvas. Upon firing, the stand and cloth

-disintegrated, and the balls spread out over a wide area. Cannister

-<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[Pg 26]</span>

-shot was based on the same principle. In this form, however, the small

-balls or other iron fragments were enclosed in a thin metal cylinder

-which came apart upon firing. Other missiles included cross bar and

-chain shot, in which spheres or hemi-spheres were joined by a bar or

-several links of chain. These were particularly useful against ships

-because they revolved in flight and cut rigging. It is doubtful if the

-Pilgrims had all of these forms of projectiles with them in 1620. Some

-of them were just then developing. But by 1690, any or all of them

-might well have been used at Plymouth.</p>

-

-<div class="figcenter">

-    <img src="images/i026a.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="287" />

-    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Some seventeenth century artillery projectiles.<br />

-             From left to right: solid shot; fragment of shell, stand of grape shot.</i></p>

-</div>

-

-<p>Once the gun was loaded, a few more steps were necessary before it

-could be fired. It was primed by pouring powder from a flask or horn

-into the touch hole. Then the crew again seized the training tackle and

-pulled the gun back into position. The gunner aimed it by directing the

-way in which the men pulled the ropes and by shifting the position of

-the wedges under the breech of the barrel. Then he took a forked staff,

-known as a linstock, which held a length of burning match similar to

-that used in the matchlock muskets. He touched the lighted end of the

-match to the powder in the touch hole and fired his gun.</p>

-

-<div class="figcenter">

-    <img src="images/i026b.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="135" />

-    <p class="center space-below2"><i>“Patrero” or “murderer” viewed from above.<br />

-            <a href="#PATRERO">For a side view see title page</a>.</i></p>

-</div>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[Pg 27]</span></p>

-

-<div class="figcenter">

-    <img src="images/i027a.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="455" />

-    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Side view of base.</i></p>

-</div>

-

-<p>The two bases in the fort and the four “patreros” in front of the

-governor’s house were much smaller guns. Both types were made of iron,

-and both were breech-loaders. The guns of this category were called by

-a great variety of names, and the situation is even more confused than

-with the larger pieces. The type of base used by the Pilgrims, however,

-was probably a gun some 4½ feet long, which weighed about 200 pounds.

-It would have had a bore about 1¼ inches in diameter and fired either a

-lead ball weighing 5 ounces or an iron one weighing 3 ounces. In order

-to load it, the ball was placed in the breech end of the barrel, and a

-separate chamber filled with powder was placed behind it and fastened

-securely with a wedge. The “patreros” were probably of the type known

-also as “murderers.” These differed from the bases in that the bore

-expanded in diameter from breech to muzzle. Instead of a single ball,

-these guns were normally loaded with small shot, short lengths of iron

-bar, or broken pieces of iron and stone. The expanding bore helped

-spread these projectiles as they left the muzzle and thus made the

-murderer a vicious anti-personnel weapon at short ranges. Both the base and

-the murder were mounted in forked swivels of iron set in a wooden pedestal.</p>

-

-<div class="figcenter">

-    <img src="images/i027b.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="83" />

-    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Base viewed from above.</i></p>

-</div>

-

-<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[Pg 28]</span></p>

-

-<div class="figcenter">

-    <img src="images/i028.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="422" />

-    <p class="center space-below2"><i>The first fort as reconstructed

-         by Plimoth Plantation contains a collection of arms and armor

-         of the period.<br /> Woodcut by Thomas Nason.</i></p>

-</div>

-

-<p>These were the weapons which the Pilgrims brought from Europe to win

-their new home. They came without sufficient arms “... nor every man a

-sword to his side; wanting many muskets, much armour, &amp;c.” Once in this

-country, however, the need not only for enough weapons but also for

-good weapons was soon felt. Forced by their dependence on their arms,

-the settlers soon threw away their armour and their pikes, discarded

-their matchlocks for more efficient guns, and began to use paper cartridges

-well before these innovations were generally adopted in Europe.</p>

-

-<hr class="tb" />

-

-<p>This booklet has been published by two organizations devoted to the

-study and interpretation of all aspects of Pilgrim history.</p>

-

-<div class="chapter">

-  <h2 class="nobreak">PLIMOTH PLANTATION</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p>Plimoth Plantation was founded in 1948 as a non-profit educational

-organization to foster public understanding of the Pilgrims of

-Plymouth. To this end the corporate organization, Plimoth Plantation,

-is re-creating the Plimoth Plantation of 1627, the farming community

-from which sprang the Old Colony of New Plymouth. It is a functioning

-village, over half completed (in 1969), in which guides and hostesses

-in Pilgrim dress carry on the tasks necessary for daily living and

-<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[Pg 29]</span>

-sheep and chickens wander the narrow street. It is open to the public

-from April through November and is visited by more than 250,000 people

-per year.</p>

-

-<p>The Plantation also owns and exhibits two re-created Pilgrim houses

-near Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower II and a small sailing craft—a

-Shallop—of the type used by the Pilgrims for coastal trading.</p>

-

-<p>These public exhibits are backed by a strong research and publication

-program covering the European background of the Pilgrim story to the

-end of the 17th century.</p>

-

-<p>The Plantation seeks the support of all who wish to help perpetuate the

-Pilgrim tradition. Those interested in membership should address the

-Membership Director, Box 1620, Plymouth, Mass. 02360.</p>

-

-<div class="chapter">

-  <h2 class="nobreak">THE PILGRIM SOCIETY</h2>

-</div>

-

-<p>The Pilgrim Society, Plymouth, Massachusetts, was organized in 1820.

-Its main purposes have been to insure a universal appreciation of

-the Pilgrims and their contributions to the American heritage. In

-Pilgrim Hall, one of the oldest museums in the country, there is

-displayed a collection of Pilgrim relics and material bearing on the

-history of Plimoth Colony. Every effort is made to enlarge and improve

-this collection and to preserve in the library of Pilgrim Hall a

-comprehensive history of the Pilgrims and the colony they founded. The

-Society supplies its members with “Pilgrim Society Notes” containing

-articles which would otherwise remain undiscovered among the papers of

-the students of Pilgrim and Colonial history.</p>

-

-<p>The Society was, in its earlier years, responsible for the erection

-of the Forefathers Monument, which stands on a hill behind the Town

-overlooking Plymouth Bay; and for preserving as a park the area

-directly behind Plymouth Rock, known as Cole’s Hill, which served the

-Pilgrims as a burying ground during the first precarious winter in the

-settlement. Today the Society is custodian of these memorials and of

-others erected by various societies in the Town of Plymouth to honor

-the Pilgrim Fathers.</p>

-

-<p>Annually on Forefathers Day, December 21st, the Society celebrates the

-Landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth with a suitable observance of the

-occasion at the Annual Meeting of the Society which many of the members

-attend.</p>

-

-<p>Those interested in applying for membership are invited to communicate

-with the Secretary of the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth. Dues are $5.00

-per year, and the money thus attained, together with admission fees to

-Pilgrim Hall and a modest endowment supply the funds for the activities

-of the Society.</p>

-

-<div class="blockquot">

-<p class="center space-above2 space-below2"> <i>Those interested in

-a documented and more detailed study of arms and armor in all the

-colonies should see the author’s book</i>, Arms and Armor in Colonial

-America, 1526-1783, <i>the Stackpole Company. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1956.</i></p>

-</div>

-

-<div class="transnote bbox space-above2">

-<p class="f120 space-above1">Transcriber’s Notes:</p>

-<hr class="r5" />

-<p>The illustrations have been moved so that they do not break up

-                  paragraphs and so that they are next to the text they illustrate.</p>

-<p>Typographical and punctuation errors have been silently corrected.</p>

-</div>

-<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARMS AND ARMOR OF THE PILGRIMS, 1620-1692 ***</div>

-<div style='text-align:left'>

-

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+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" />
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" />
+    <title>
+      Arms and Armor of the Pilgrims 1620-1692, by Harold L. Peterson&mdash;A Project Gutenberg eBook
+    </title>
+    <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" />
+    <style type="text/css">
+
+body { margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; }
+
+h1,h2 { text-align: center; clear: both; }
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+div.figsub { display: inline-block; margin: 1em 1em; vertical-align: top; max-width: 100%; text-align: center; }
+
+.figcenter {
+    margin: auto;
+    text-align: center;
+    page-break-inside: avoid;
+    max-width: 100%;
+}
+
+.footnote         {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;}
+.footnote .label  {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;}
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+    vertical-align: super;
+    font-size: .8em;
+    text-decoration:
+    none;
+}
+
+.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA;
+    color: black;
+     font-size:smaller;
+     padding:0.5em;
+     margin-bottom:5em;
+     font-family:sans-serif, serif; }
+
+    </style>
+  </head>
+<body>
+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 65335 ***</div>
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p class="center">Copyright 1957 by Plimoth Plantation, Inc. and the Pilgrim Society</p>
+<p class="center">Fotoset and Lithographed by COLORTONE PRESS, Washington 9, D. C.</p>
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_1"></a>[Pg 1]</span></p>
+<h1>ARMS AND ARMOR<br />OF&emsp;THE<br />PILGRIMS 1620-1692</h1>
+
+<p class="f120">by<br />Harold L. Peterson</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img id="PATRERO" src="images/i001.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="225" />
+    <p class="f120">Patrero or “murderer”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center space-above2">Published by Plimoth Plantation, Inc. and the Pilgrim Society,</p>
+<p class="center">Plymouth 1957</p>
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_2"></a>[Pg 2]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i002.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="560" />
+    <div class="blockquot">
+    <p class="center"><i>A seventeenth century musketeer ready to fire his
+        matchlock.<br /> From Jacques de Gheyn</i>, Maniement d’Armes, <i>1608</i>.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3"></a>[Pg 3]</span>
+The average colonist landing on the wild shores of North America in the
+early 1600’s set great store by his arms and armor. The Pilgrims were
+no exception. They were strangers in a vast and largely unknown land,
+inhabited by wild beasts and peopled by savages who were frequently
+hostile. Greatly outnumbered by known enemies and possibly facing
+dangers of which they were not yet aware, these Englishmen placed
+their main hope for survival on the possession of superior weapons and
+protective armor. On the more peaceful side, their firearms were also
+valuable, for they provided fresh meat for the table and furs for sale
+back home.</p>
+
+<p>Because the colonist was so dependent on his arms he soon learned to
+select the most efficient kinds that he could obtain. In so doing he
+pushed the evolution of military materiel far ahead of contemporary
+Europe and developed a high degree of skill, particularly in the use of
+firearms.</p>
+
+<p>The military supplies which the Pilgrims brought with them may be
+divided into three major categories: defensive armor, edged weapons,
+and projectile weapons. A completely armed man, especially in the first
+years, was usually equipped with one or more articles from each of the
+three groups, usually a helmet and corselet, a sword, and a musket.</p>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak">ARMOR</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>Of all the pieces of defensive armor, the most popular was the helmet.
+Almost everyone wore one when he prepared for trouble. Most of those
+worn at Plymouth were undoubtedly open helmets which left the face
+uncovered, although it is possible that a few completely closed
+helmets were also used. These open helmets were of three principal
+types: the cabasset, the morion, and the burgonet. The cabasset was
+a simple, narrow brimmed helmet with a keeled bowl and a tiny apical
+peak pointing to the rear. The morion had a larger crescentic brim
+pointed at the front and back and a high comb along the center-line
+of the bowl. The better specimens of both these helmets were forged
+from a single billet of steel, and both were very efficient defenses.
+The curving lines of the bowls caused most blows to glance off without
+imparting their full impact, and the comb of the morion presented an
+extra buffer of metal through which a sword would have to cut before
+it reached the bowl. Inside each helmet was a quilted lining held in
+place by a row of rivets around the base of the crown which acted much
+like the modern helmet liner in holding the steel shell away from the
+wearer’s head.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4"></a>[Pg 4]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcontainer">
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <img src="images/i004a.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="256" />
+   <p class="f120"><i>Cabasset.</i></p>
+  </div>
+
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <img  src="images/i004b.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="247" />
+   <p class="f120"><i>Morion.</i></p>
+   </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The burgonet was a slightly more complicated helmet than the morion or
+cabasset, and it was made in a variety of styles. Basically, it was an
+open-faced helmet which covered more of the head than the other two.
+Usually it had a peak or umbril somewhat like the visor of a modern cap
+over the eyes, a comb on the bowl, and movable plates to protect the
+cheeks and ears. Often there was a defense for the face in the form of
+a single adjustable bar which passed through a hole in the umbril or by
+three bars fashioned like a muzzle and attached to the umbril which was
+pivoted at the sides so it could be raised or lowered. One form of the
+burgonet which became popular in the second quarter of the 17th century
+was known as the lobster tail burgonet because the wearer’s neck was
+protected by a series of overlapping plates which somewhat resembled
+those on a lobster’s abdomen or “tail.”</p>
+
+<p>A fourth and final type of helmet was known as a “pikeman’s pot.” This
+greatly resembled the morion, but had a broad flat brim instead of a
+narrow crescentic one. As its name indicates, it was worn primarily
+by pikemen in conjunction with a specific type of corselet which was
+generally designated pikeman’s armor.</p>
+
+<p>This armor consisted of five elements in addition to the helmet. There
+was a gorget to protect the neck and to support the weight of a back
+plate and a breastplate which were fastened together by straps which
+passed over the shoulders and attached by hooks at the front and by a
+belt that passed around the waist. At the lower edge of the breastplate
+were fastened two hinged plates called tassets which protected the
+thighs. Although each of these plates was made from a single sheet of
+metal they were embossed to resemble a series of overlapping plates,
+complete with false rivets.</p>
+
+<p>Of all the forms of body armor worn in America during the early 1600’s,
+the pikeman’s suit was undoubtedly the most popular. There are numerous
+references to it in the contemporary documents. A tasset from such a
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[Pg 5]</span>
+suit was found behind the fireplace in the John Howland house near
+Plymouth and is now preserved in Pilgrim Hall. In the Massachusetts
+Historical Society in Boston there are a helmet, a back plate and a
+tasset from another suit which belonged to an early colonist, and
+portions of similar suits have been found in Pennsylvania and at
+Jamestown, Virginia.</p>
+
+<p>Men armed with muskets might sometimes wear pikeman’s armor, but
+more often they wore simpler corselets consisting only of breast and
+back-plates. With these corselets they wore either a cabasset, a morion
+or a burgonet.</p>
+
+<p>The weight of the corselets worn by the Pilgrims depended largely on
+the quality of the breastplate. The helmets and other pieces were
+sufficient to stop a sword blow or turn an Indian’s arrow but still
+quite light. Breastplates, however, were made according to three
+standards depending on what weapons they were supposed to offer
+protection against. The lightest forms were labeled pike proof or
+high pike proof; the next heavier were called pistol proof, and the
+heaviest were musket proof. The musket proof breastplates are quite
+scarce. Often they are ⅜ of an inch thick and bear a dent caused by a
+bullet fired at them as a test when they were made. Pistol proof plates
+are much lighter and are much more plentiful. They also often bear a
+testing dent and sometimes the letter “P” as a proof mark.</p>
+
+<div class="figcontainer">
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <img src="images/i005a.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="313" />
+   <p class="f120"><i>Burgonet</i></p>
+  </div>
+
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <p class="space-below2">&nbsp;</p>
+   <img  src="images/i005b.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="243" />
+   <p class="f120"><i>Lobstertail burgonet.</i></p>
+   </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Most modern Americans tend to think of armor in terms of brightly
+polished steel. Sometimes it was finished bright, but by the 17th
+century it was more often black, brown, or dark blue. This was
+especially true of those suits destined for active service in the
+field. A brightly polished piece of armor needed constant care to
+guard it from rust and maintain a good appearance. Blacking, russeting
+or bluing it helped protect it and made it easier to maintain. The
+black finishes were sometimes obtained through the use of soot and
+oil, sometimes by paint. The russet and blue finishes were produced by
+artificial oxidation.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[Pg 6]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i006.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="628" />
+    <div class="blockquot">
+    <p class="center"><i>English pikeman’s armor bearing the cypher of
+          James I (1603-1625).<br /> The waist belt is now missing.</i></p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[Pg 7]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcontainer">
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <img src="images/i007a.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="346" />
+  </div>
+
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <p class="space-below2">&nbsp;</p>
+   <img  src="images/i007b.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="302" />
+   </div>
+   <p class="center space-below2"><i>Simple corselet with a bullet proof breastplate.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>This defensive armor, though popular at first, was soon discarded by
+the Pilgrims. The men who set out on the first exploring expedition
+when the <i>Mayflower</i> touched at Cape Cod were all armed with
+corselets. They found them efficient protection against the arrows of
+the Indians, but when they at length discovered a quantity of Indian
+corn, they were so encumbered and weary from the weight of their arms
+that they could not carry back as much of the booty as they desired.
+Soon they found that they could usually dodge arrows unless taken by
+surprise, and so gradually they began to decide in favor of freer
+movement and less weight. The corselet retained its popularity for the
+first ten years, but a compromise in the form of a heavy buff leather
+or quilted coat began to make its appearance. By the time of the Pequot
+War in 1637, the presence of “unarmed” men, as those without armor were
+called, became more and more frequent. The helmet was the last piece
+of plate armor to be discarded, but following King Philip’s War
+(1675-1678) that too was abandoned, and plate armor disappeared from
+the scene except for ceremonial occasions.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[Pg 8]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i008.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="232" />
+    <div class="blockquot">
+    <p class="center"><i>Capt. Miles Standish’s rapier and scabbard.</i></p>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak">EDGED WEAPONS</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>The edged weapons brought to America by the Pilgrims were of four
+principal types, swords, daggers, pikes and halberds. The bayonet was
+almost unknown on this continent at the time. Of all these arms, swords
+were by far the most plentiful. Every soldier, whether he was armed
+with a musket, pike or halberd or served a cannon, was required to
+carry a sword. Thus, since almost every able-bodied man was supposed to
+perform military service, all had to be familiar with the weapon, and a
+large supply was necessary.</p>
+
+<p>Both thrusting and cutting swords were used. The thrusting swords,
+known as rapiers, had long straight blades, diamond-shaped in cross
+section, with sharp points and only rudimentary edges. Some had guards
+fashioned of numerous bars bent in graceful curves and loops, and these
+are called swept-hilted rapiers. Others had a solid cup-shaped plate
+between the hand and the blade augmented by extra bars and branches.
+These are called cup-hilted rapiers.</p>
+
+<p>Fortunately, one of the cup-hilted rapiers used by the Pilgrims has
+survived. It belonged to Captain Miles Standish, the doughty military
+advisor of the colony, and it is now preserved in Pilgrim Hall. It is a
+very good example of the Dutch-English style of cup hilt, the shallow
+iron cup and supplementary branches, the knuckle-bow, and the pommel
+are decorated with crudely incised designs of leaves and masks. The
+grips are covered with black leather. Originally they were wound with
+twisted wire in the spiral grooves, but the wire is now missing. The
+scabbard also has been preserved, and that is most unusual for swords
+of this period. It is made of wood, almost cylindrical, covered with
+black leather. There is an iron ferrule at the throat (which has
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[Pg 9]</span>
+now slipped several inches down the scabbard) and an iron tip.
+Interestingly, Standish is known to have been a short man whose enemies
+sometimes called him “Captain Shrimp,” and this sword is about six
+inches shorter than the average rapier, which would have made it easier
+to handle for a small man.</p>
+
+<p>Probably even more plentiful than the rapiers were the cutting
+swords. Most of these were shorter weapons with single-edged blades,
+sometimes straight and sometimes slightly curved. Two of these weapons
+have survived and are preserved in Pilgrim Hall. The older and more
+spectacular of these belonged to Gov. John Carver and was made near the
+beginning of the century. It has a massive hilt with guard and pommel
+of iron encrusted with floral decorations of silver. The decoration and
+workmanship are typically English. The blade is straight with a single
+edge and a narrow fuller or groove along the back. The second sword
+is considerably smaller and later. It came from the Brewster family
+and may have belonged to Elder William Brewster, although he must
+have purchased it late in life. It has a lighter iron guard without
+ornamentation and a slightly curved singled-edged blade, also with a
+narrow fuller at the back. This sword, too, is typically English.</p>
+
+<div class="figcontainer">
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <p class="f120 space-above2 space-below2"><i>Detail of the Standish rapier hilt.</i></p>
+   <img src="images/i009a.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="339" />
+  </div>
+
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <p class="f120"><i>Swept-hilted rapier excavated at Jamestown.<br /> Those
+       used at Plymouth would have been similar</i>.<br /> National Park Service.</p>
+   <p class="space-below2">&nbsp;</p>
+   <img  src="images/i009b.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="341" />
+   </div>
+</div>
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[Pg 10]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i010a.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="490" />
+    <div class="blockquot">
+    <p class="center"><i>The cutting swords of Governor Carver,
+                    Elder Brewster and John Thompson.</i></p>
+    </div>
+    <p class="center space-above2"><i>Quillon or left-hand dagger.</i></p>
+    <img src="images/i010b.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="181" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[Pg 11]</span>
+A third surviving cutting sword preserved at Pilgrim Hall is a
+broad-sword which belonged to John Thompson who came to Plymouth in
+1623. Like the Carver sword, this weapon also dates from the opening
+years of the 17th century. The hilt is smaller, but the metal parts
+are of iron decorated with the same typically English floral sprays in
+silver. The blade on this specimen, however, is what sets it apart. It
+is much longer and double-edged, a sword suitable for use on horseback
+as well as on foot.</p>
+
+<p>These swords were more than mere military decorations. They were
+highly necessary weapons. In a period when firearms were inaccurate
+and loading and firing were time-consuming operations, the outcome of
+most battles was determined largely by hand-to-hand combat. The musket,
+once it had been fired, was then of no use for it had no bayonet. At
+such times the sword became the principal weapon, and a soldier’s life
+depended upon his skill with it.</p>
+
+<p>There are numerous records indicating the use of swords by the
+Pilgrims. On their first expedition ashore, they used them to “hew
+and carve the ground a foot deep.” In one interesting coincidence, a
+sword’s hilt figured in the death of two persons. In 1646 a privateer
+commanded by Captain Thomas Cromwell put into Plymouth. While there,
+one of the sailors assaulted the captain who had been trying to
+restore order during a brawl. In the course of the struggle, Cromwell
+seized the man’s rapier and struck him on the head with its hilt. The
+cross guard pierced his skull and killed him. Since the man had been
+a notorious trouble-maker, Cromwell was acquitted in a trial by a
+council of war. Some three years later, however, Cromwell fell from his
+horse and landed upon the hilt of his own rapier which so injured him
+internally that he died shortly thereafter.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to their swords, many men also carried knives or daggers.
+Miles Standish and his followers used knives effectively in liquidating
+the trouble-makers at Wessagusset, and there are numerous other
+references to their presence at Plymouth.</p>
+
+<p>Unfortunately no specimens used by the Pilgrims or their 17th century
+descendants at Plymouth have survived. There is a knife that belonged
+to John Thompson in Pilgrim Hall, but it is a table or general utility
+knife, and not a weapon. In all probability the most popular form of
+dagger employed at Plymouth was the quillon or left-hand dagger. This
+weapon had a simple cross-guard or quillons, probably with a ring
+opposite the grips on one side. It had a straight blade which tapered
+evenly to a point, and it was designed to be held in the left hand
+while the rapier was held in the right.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[Pg 12]</span></p>
+
+<p>In addition to these edged weapons which were worn on the belt, there
+were also weapons with long wooden hafts, known as pole arms. Of these,
+two forms were principally used at Plymouth, the pike and the halberd.
+The pike was a spear with a simple leaf-shaped head attached by long
+straps to a wooden pole some fourteen feet long. The halberd was a
+combination of axe and spear, and its haft was much shorter, perhaps
+six or seven feet, exclusive of the head.</p>
+
+<div class="figcontainer">
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <img src="images/i012a.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="511" />
+   <p class="center"><i>Halberd from the cellar of the<br /> John Alden house.<br />
+           The haft is modern.</i></p>
+  </div>
+
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <img  src="images/i012b.jpg" alt="" width="135" height="516" />
+   <p class="f120"><i>Pike.</i></p>
+   </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>In European armies pikemen played a very prominent role. Offensively
+they were used for shock tactics in charges against the enemy.
+Defensively, with the butts of their pikes driven into the ground, they
+formed movable semi-fortresses behind which musketeers could retreat in
+the face of a cavalry charge.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[Pg 13]</span></p>
+
+<p>Because of this prominence as a weapon in Europe, the Pilgrims
+brought some pikes with them to Plymouth, but they quickly found them
+disappointing. Although the pike was effective in the set tactics
+of Europe, it was of little use against an enemy who would neither
+charge nor stand against a charge and whose forces were never arranged
+in compact formation but scattered and always on the move. A weapon
+fourteen feet long was also difficult to handle in the woods where
+there was little room for maneuvering. Thus the Pilgrims first
+abandoned the full pike for the half pike, which was only six or eight
+feet long. As late as 1646 the Plymouth fathers still required one
+half pike for every four men on military duty, but after the outbreak
+of King Philip’s War in 1675, the settlers of Plymouth agreed with
+their neighbors in Massachusetts Bay “... it is found by experience
+that troopers &amp; pikemen are of little use in the present war with the
+Indians ... all pikemen are hereby required ... to furnish themselves
+with firearms....”</p>
+
+<p>The history of the halberd at Plymouth is quite different from that
+of the pike. At this period it was primarily an emblem of rank, and
+as such it survived long after its usefulness in warfare ceased.
+Halberds were carried by sergeants as symbols of their authority and by
+ceremonial guards. In Virginia, for instance, Lord Delaware had fifty
+halberdiers to form his guard when he was governor. This was a vastly
+larger number than normal in America, but most colonial governors,
+including John Winthrop in Boston, had a few attendants so armed.
+Plymouth was no exception. As late as 1675 it was ordered that four
+halberds be carried before the governor on the first day of the General
+Court, and two on succeeding days. It is known also that the sergeants
+at Plymouth had them, and there is a possibility that court officials
+also carried them.</p>
+
+<p>At least one of the halberds from the Plymouth colony has survived and
+is now preserved in Pilgrim Hall. It was probably made about 1600-1610
+and was found in the cellar of the John Alden house. The haft is a
+modern replacement.</p>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak">FIREARMS</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>The projectile arms of the Pilgrims were their most important weapons.
+The American Indian usually preferred to do battle against Europeans
+in loose formation and at long range, resorting to hand-to-hand combat
+only in surprise attacks or when he believed that the enemy had been
+sufficiently decimated and disorganized by his sniping tactics. In
+addition to their value in warfare, projectile arms were also important
+in providing the settlers with fresh meat. For these reasons, the
+evolution of design in such weapons was swifter and more striking than
+in any other form of military equipment.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[Pg 14]</span></p>
+
+<p>The most common type of firearm that came to America on the
+<i>Mayflower</i> was the musket. This was a smooth-bored weapon,
+usually slightly more than five feet long with a caliber ranging
+between .69 and .80. The majority of those that the original settlers
+brought with them were matchlocks. They were fired by pressing the
+lighted end of a slow match made of a loosely woven rope soaked
+in nitre into the powder in the priming pan. This was effected by
+fastening a length of the match to a forked holder known as the
+serpentine on the outside of the lock which corresponded to the hammer
+on a modern gun. Pressure on the trigger caused the serpentine to swing
+in an arc toward the priming pan, thus bringing the match into contact
+with the powder.</p>
+
+<p>Although the mechanism was simple, the loading of a matchlock was a
+long and complicated procedure. After having fired his musket, the
+first task of the soldier was to remove his match (which according to
+regulations was lighted at both ends) so that he would not accidentally
+ignite any of his powder. To do this he loosened the thumb screw
+which clamped the match in the fork of the serpentine and grasped
+the cord with his left hand, holding one of the lighted ends between
+his second and third fingers and the other end between his third and
+fourth fingers. Then, seizing the barrel of the gun with the thumb
+and forefinger of the same hand, he would hold it while he loaded.
+Having thus prepared the piece to receive the charge, he would use his
+right hand to open one of the wooden cylinders on his bandolier or the
+nozzle of his powder flask, depending on which he carried, and pour the
+contents down the barrel. Next came a ball from his pouch or from his
+mouth if it was during an action, and finally, a wad of tow or paper.
+All this was forced home with a rammer. Then he would prime the piece
+by filling the flash pan with fine-grained powder from a little flask
+which was suspended from his belt, close the pan cover, and carefully
+blow away any loose powder.</p>
+
+<p>The gun was then loaded, but several actions were still necessary
+before it could be fired. The match had to be returned to the
+serpentine and adjusted. The coal on its end had to be blown into
+activity. If the gunner was forced to wait any length of time before
+firing, he had to change the adjustment of the match continually to
+insure that it would strike the pan and also to prevent it from burning
+down to the serpentine and going out. If it did go out, he relighted it
+from the coal at the other end of the match which was kept burning for
+that purpose.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[Pg 15]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i015.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="625" />
+    <div class="blockquot">
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Three matchlock muskets. From left to right: An
+         Italian musket, 1580-1610 believed to have been used at Plymouth before
+         1637 when it was sold to a nearby garrison house; German musket,
+         1600-1630; German musket, 1640-1670.</i></p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[Pg 16]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i016.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="541" />
+    <div class="blockquot">
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Soldier blowing on his match to make the coal glow
+             well before firing.<br /> From De Gheyn.</i></p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[Pg 17]</span>
+From this it may be seen that the matchlock was in many ways inferior
+to the Indian’s bow. Its chief advantage lay in the panic produced
+by the flash, smoke, smell and noise of the explosion of the charge.
+Also, a gun could be loaded with several bullets and wound a number of
+enemies at one time. The ball from a matchlock musket was superior to
+an arrow in the size of the hole it tore, the bones it smashed, and
+the amount of blood it spilled. The bow was superior in accuracy and
+rapidity of fire. Moreover, it was light and easy to carry while the
+gun was heavy and clumsy. The bow was constantly ready for use except
+perhaps during a long rain, while the slow-match required, in the best
+of weather, constant attention to keep it burning; and in dampness,
+rain, and wind, it was useless. The light from the match also prevented
+ambush at night, and the smell forestalled a surprise attack in the day
+time unless the foe happened to be up-wind.</p>
+
+<p>Although matchlocks were the dominant type of weapon brought over
+on the <i>Mayflower</i>, there were also a few flint arms. Modern
+authorities differentiate between the true flintlock and its more
+primitive or regional forms, the snaphaunce, the English lock, the
+so-called “dog” lock, the Baltic lock, and the miquelet. These
+distinctions are purely modern, however. The contemporary writers
+called all firearms which ignited the powder by striking flint against
+steel “snaphances.” Thus it is impossible to determine at this date
+exactly what form of flint arm is referred to in a given instance, and
+so a generic term must be used.</p>
+
+<p>Flint arms were much more efficient than matchlocks. They were faster,
+more dependable, and less cumbersome. The powder in the priming pan
+was ignited by striking a piece of flint held by the cock against a
+piece of steel, called the frizzen or battery. The frizzen was poised
+directly over the pan so that the sparks produced by the contact of the
+flint and steel would drop into the powder. Flint arms could function
+in ordinary dampness and even in a light rain. There was no match to
+light and keep free from ash in advance of any expected action. And
+since there was no match, there was no light or smell to betray an
+ambush.</p>
+
+<p>It is difficult to determine exactly when flint arms superseded
+matchlocks as the standard military firearm at Plymouth. There were
+a few flint arms in the <i>Mayflower</i> in 1620, for flints are
+specifically mentioned among the military stores on board. Miles
+Standish, a professional soldier, naturally had the best weapon
+available. Edward Winslow, in describing the first encounter between
+the colonists and the Indians, noted that Standish with his “snaphance”
+and one or two other Pilgrims, who were apparently equipped with flint
+arms, fired at the Indians and held them at bay while a brand from the
+fire was carried to the others so they could light their matches.</p>
+
+<p>For the first ten years the supremacy of the matchlock was probably not
+seriously threatened. From 1630 until the outbreak of King Philip’s
+War in 1675, however, the change is plainly visible. There are more
+references to matches than to flints in inventories and court records
+until the beginning of the Pequot War, but the tales of snap-shooting
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[Pg 18]</span>
+increase, and during the war the stories of ambushes and surprise
+attacks throughout New England indicate that flint arms were becoming
+more plentiful. In 1643 the Plymouth General Court ordered that every
+soldier should be supplied with either a matchlock or a “snaphance.” By
+1645 Governor William Bradford could report that the Plymouth troops
+had been sent to a muster at Seacunk “well armed all with snaphance
+peeces.” In 1645, also, while matchlocks were allowed for private arms,
+the Plymouth General Court allowed only “snaphances” or “firelocks” for
+Town arms.</p>
+
+<p>With the coming of King Philip’s War, the era of the matchlock at
+Plymouth was definitely past. The campaigns of that war, forays into
+the wilderness, night attacks, ambushes, battles in the rain, and
+encounters between individuals which required snap-shooting indicate
+clearly that the “snaphance” was the principal weapon. In 1677, towards
+the end of the war, the Plymouth General Court outlawed the matchlock
+completely as an acceptable weapon. In abandoning matchlocks at this
+time, Plymouth was years ahead of Europe where the clumsy firearm
+persisted until after 1700.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the matchlock and flint arms in general use, there were
+undoubtedly a few wheel lock arms in Plymouth. The wheel lock was the
+second ignition system chronologically, having been developed shortly
+after 1500. It was an efficient system, operating much like a modern
+cigarette lighter with the spark produced by holding a piece of pyrites
+against a revolving rough-edged wheel. The wheel lock, however, was an
+expensive weapon, costing twice as much as a matchlock and half as much
+again as a flint arm. This did not necessarily preclude its purchase
+by the Pilgrims since those colonists were not so apt to economize
+on something which affected their life expectancy as closely as did
+their firearms. There are no records which state positively that there
+were wheel locks at Plymouth, and no authentic wheel lock used there
+has survived. The term “firelock” which is used occasionally in the
+documents very often was used to denote a wheel lock, and in the case
+of the 1646 order mentioned above, it almost certainly had that meaning.</p>
+
+<p>The Pilgrims also brought two other principal kinds of hand firearms
+with them, the fowling piece and the pistol. The fowling piece, or
+birding piece as it was often called, was usually a huge gun. In 1621
+Edward Winslow wrote from Plymouth to prospective colonists in England
+and advised them concerning their needs. Regarding these fowlers, he
+counseled, “Let your piece be long in the barrel; and fear not the
+weight of it, for most of our shooting is from stands.” This was in
+keeping with the best contemporary sporting theory which contended
+that barrels five and a half or six feet long would increase the range
+of the gun and produce a flatter trajectory for the bullet. Such guns
+were almost always flint arms, although there may have been a few wheel locks.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[Pg 19]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i019.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="663" />
+    <div class="blockquot">
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>A flint musket with the so-called dog lock, about
+           1637; a later flintlock musket, about 1690; a wheel lock musket,
+            1620-1650; the long fowler which belonged to John Thompson.</i></p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[Pg 20]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i020.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="189" />
+    <p class="f120 space-below2"><i>John Thompson’s “dog lock” pistol.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Fortunately one such fowling piece which belonged to a Plymouth
+settler, John Thompson, has survived, and is preserved in the Old
+Colony Historical Society Museum at Taunton, Massachusetts. It is
+88½ inches long with a 73½ inch barrel of .84 caliber. The lock is a
+primitive form of flintlock known to collectors today as an “English
+lock.” The stock is oak and was undoubtedly made in this country.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to their long guns, the Plymouth settlers also brought
+some pistols. Inventories of their estates contain listings of such
+hand guns, including one “double pistol.” All the pistols would have
+been either wheel locks or flint arms. The matchlock was almost never
+used for pistols by Europeans, although it is frequently found on
+Oriental hand guns. Once more it is a weapon of John Thompson that has
+survived to show what at least one of the Plymouth pistols looked like.
+Preserved in Pilgrim Hall, it is a most interesting weapon. Many of the
+pieces are missing from the lock, but enough survive to indicate it
+was the type of flintlock that is often called a “dog lock” by modern
+collectors because of the little dog catch which held the cock in
+the half-cock position. The barrel is brass with interesting moulded
+decorations, and the wooden stock has a butt closely resembling those
+found on many wheel lock pistols of the first quarter of the 17th century.</p>
+
+<p>These were the kinds of firearms which the Plymouth colonists used
+in the years from 1620 till 1690. Before leaving the subject, however,
+it would be well to mention one form which was not used but which
+has become intimately associated with the Pilgrims in popular
+imagination—the blunderbuss. This colorful weapon with the flaring
+muzzle was developed on the Continent of Europe about the middle of
+the 17th century, some thirty years after the <i>Mayflower</i> landed
+at Plymouth. It was some years later before it reached England.
+As a weapon, it was a highly specialized arm. The flared muzzle
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[Pg 21]</span>
+was designed to spread the shot in a wide pattern and thus do as
+much damage as possible to a closely packed group of enemies at
+comparatively short range. It was of no use against scattered foes at a
+distance. Actually, it was the direct ancestor of the modern riot gun
+or the shot gun used by prison guards. It was not popular in America
+until about 1700 when the growth of cities and increasing population
+created here the conditions under which it was effective.</p>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak">AMMUNITION AND EQUIPMENT</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>The ammunition which the colonists fired from their guns consisted of
+round balls of lead propelled by charges of black powder. The powder
+was weak by modern standards and thus comparatively large loads were
+used. When it was ignited it gave off clouds of white smoke which
+smelled strongly of sulphur. Usually for military purposes a single
+ball was used, but sometimes, especially for hunting, a number of small
+shot, much like present day buck shot, were used. These were called
+swan shot by the men who used them.</p>
+
+<p>There were several ways of carrying this ammunition. The powder was
+normally either in a flask or bandolier; the shot in a soft leather
+pouch. When going into action, a soldier often took his bullets from
+his pouch and put them in his mouth so he could spit them into the
+barrel of his gun and save time in loading.</p>
+
+<div class="figcontainer">
+  <p class="f120 space-above2"><i>Powder flasks.</i></p>
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <img src="images/i021a.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="374" />
+  </div>
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <img  src="images/i021b.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="352" />
+   </div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[Pg 22]</span>
+The flask was usually a box of wood, often covered with leather and
+bound with iron. Normally it was either roughly triangular or shaped
+like a flattened horn. There was a nozzle at the end with two valves,
+one at the base and one at the end. This enabled the user to measure
+out one nozzle-full of powder at a time, and the nozzle was calculated
+to hold just about enough powder for a normal load. Usually two flasks
+were used, a large one for the propelling charge within the gun, and a
+small one holding finer powder for use in the priming pan.</p>
+
+<p>A bandolier was a somewhat more complicated piece of equipment. It
+consisted of a leather belt worn over the shoulder from which were
+suspended little cylinders of wood, metal or hard leather. Each of
+these cylinders held enough powder for one charge. Also attached to the
+belt were a bullet pouch and often a small flask for priming powder.</p>
+
+<p>Theoretically the bandolier afforded a faster and more convenient
+method of carrying ammunition. Actually, it had many disadvantages.
+The cylinders rattled against each other, making so much noise it was
+sometimes impossible to hear commands. Occasionally the musket would
+become tangled in the loops. And worst of all, hanging in front as they
+did, they would sometimes ignite from the musket discharge and the
+whole string of charges would explode, which was most unpleasant and
+disconcerting to the wearer to say the least. Despite these drawbacks,
+bandoliers were quite popular at Plymouth, and they are frequently
+mentioned in wills and inventories.</p>
+
+<p>As the 17th century wore on, there came two other developments in the
+means of carrying ammunition. The use of flasks made of cows’ horns
+increased in popularity as the cattle population grew. Such horn flasks
+had been used to some extent by the poorer classes in Europe, but in
+America they became very popular because they could be made locally and
+did not require great skill or craftsmanship. By the beginning of the
+18th century such horn flasks or powder horns as they were then called
+completely dominated the flask picture. The other development was the
+practice of wrapping charges of powder in cylinders of paper which
+could be carried in a pouch. These were the first true cartridges.
+They had been used in Europe primarily for mounted troops for several
+decades before the Pilgrims landed. Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden is
+credited with having been the first general to supply his infantry with
+them early in the 17th century. However this may be, paper cartridges
+began to appear at Plymouth sometime after 1637, and by the beginning
+of King Philip’s War in 1675, they were fairly common. They were not
+widely used by European infantry until after 1700.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[Pg 23]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i023.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="615" />
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Musketeer wearing a bandolier.<br /> Note how he pours the
+             charge from one cylinder down the muzzle.<br /> From De Gheyn.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[Pg 24]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i024.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="250" />
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Full scale model of a sakeret mounted in Plimoth
+           Plantation’s reconstruction of the first fort.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak">CANNON<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor"><small>[1]</small></a></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>In addition to their small arms, the Pilgrims also brought some heavy
+ordnance. On a commanding hill overlooking the bay and landing site,
+they built a meeting house and fort with places for their cannon on an
+upper deck. On February 21, 1621, William Bradford and Edward Winslow
+relate how “the Master came on shore, with many of his saylors, and
+brought with him one of the great peeces, called a Minion, and helped
+us to draw it up the hill, with another peece that lay on shore, and
+mounted them, and a Saker and two Bases.” In 1627 Isaak De Rasieres
+visited Plymouth and noted that the Pilgrims had six cannon of
+unspecified types in their fort and four “patreros” mounted in front of
+the governor’s house at the intersection of the two streets of the town.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p>
+<a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a>
+In the preparation of this section I am much indebted to
+Mr. Edwin N. Rich of Wellfleet, Mass., a life-long student of early
+artillery who prepared the drawings from which the cannon in the
+reconstructed fort were made.</p></div>
+
+<p>These guns were probably not new, and they may well have been part
+of the armament of the <i>Mayflower</i> itself. The largest of the
+cannon mentioned by name was a minion. This would have been a brass
+gun, which weighed between 800 and 1200 pounds. It would have had a
+bore of about 2.9 inches diameter and fired an iron ball weighing 3½
+pounds for distances up to 1600 yards. The saker was slightly smaller,
+probably weighing 650 to 800 pounds. It would have had a bore of about
+2.7 inches in diameter and shot a 2¾ pound ball up to 1700 yards. Since
+cannon designations were used rather loosely by the artillerists of the
+time, there is room for considerable differences in these dimensions.
+On Burial Hill in Plymouth are two early English cannons, one a minion
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[Pg 25]</span>
+and the other a small saker or sakeret. These guns were used as the
+models for those mounted in Plimoth Plantation’s reconstruction of the
+original fort. Since it is presumed that the Pilgrims’ guns came from
+the armament of the <i>Mayflower</i> and since they were dragged up the
+hill and mounted immediately, it has been assumed that they were placed
+on carriages from the ship, and so naval carriages of the period have
+been reproduced for the reconstructed fort.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i025.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="283" />
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Full scale model of a minion in Plimoth Plantation’s
+               reconstruction of the first fort.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The loading and firing of one of these cannon was a complicated
+procedure, requiring the assistance of several men. The recoil from the
+discharge would normally drive the piece back away from the gun port.
+If it did not roll back far enough, the crew would seize the ropes
+or “training tackle” and haul it into a position that would permit
+them to load it. First a wet sponge on the end of a long handle was
+run down the barrel to put out any sparks that might remain from the
+previous shot. Then came the powder which was handled in one of two
+ways. Sometimes the proper amount was fastened ready-to-use in a cloth
+bag or cartridge. At other times it was brought loose to the cannon in
+a wooden bucket with a purse-like leather top closed by a drawstring.
+From this “budge barrel,” as it was called, the powder was dipped and
+inserted into the barrel by means of a copper ladle on a long wooden
+handle. After the powder was rammed home, a wad, was inserted and
+rammed, and finally the projectile which was forced home by a rammer.</p>
+
+<p>This projectile might be either a solid ball or one of the more deadly
+anti-personnel missiles such as grape shot or cannister. Grape shot
+was made up of a series of small balls grouped on a wooden stand
+and wrapped with burlap or canvas. Upon firing, the stand and cloth
+disintegrated, and the balls spread out over a wide area. Cannister
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[Pg 26]</span>
+shot was based on the same principle. In this form, however, the small
+balls or other iron fragments were enclosed in a thin metal cylinder
+which came apart upon firing. Other missiles included cross bar and
+chain shot, in which spheres or hemi-spheres were joined by a bar or
+several links of chain. These were particularly useful against ships
+because they revolved in flight and cut rigging. It is doubtful if the
+Pilgrims had all of these forms of projectiles with them in 1620. Some
+of them were just then developing. But by 1690, any or all of them
+might well have been used at Plymouth.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i026a.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="287" />
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Some seventeenth century artillery projectiles.<br />
+             From left to right: solid shot; fragment of shell, stand of grape shot.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Once the gun was loaded, a few more steps were necessary before it
+could be fired. It was primed by pouring powder from a flask or horn
+into the touch hole. Then the crew again seized the training tackle and
+pulled the gun back into position. The gunner aimed it by directing the
+way in which the men pulled the ropes and by shifting the position of
+the wedges under the breech of the barrel. Then he took a forked staff,
+known as a linstock, which held a length of burning match similar to
+that used in the matchlock muskets. He touched the lighted end of the
+match to the powder in the touch hole and fired his gun.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i026b.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="135" />
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>“Patrero” or “murderer” viewed from above.<br />
+            <a href="#PATRERO">For a side view see title page</a>.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[Pg 27]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i027a.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="455" />
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Side view of base.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The two bases in the fort and the four “patreros” in front of the
+governor’s house were much smaller guns. Both types were made of iron,
+and both were breech-loaders. The guns of this category were called by
+a great variety of names, and the situation is even more confused than
+with the larger pieces. The type of base used by the Pilgrims, however,
+was probably a gun some 4½ feet long, which weighed about 200 pounds.
+It would have had a bore about 1¼ inches in diameter and fired either a
+lead ball weighing 5 ounces or an iron one weighing 3 ounces. In order
+to load it, the ball was placed in the breech end of the barrel, and a
+separate chamber filled with powder was placed behind it and fastened
+securely with a wedge. The “patreros” were probably of the type known
+also as “murderers.” These differed from the bases in that the bore
+expanded in diameter from breech to muzzle. Instead of a single ball,
+these guns were normally loaded with small shot, short lengths of iron
+bar, or broken pieces of iron and stone. The expanding bore helped
+spread these projectiles as they left the muzzle and thus made the
+murderer a vicious anti-personnel weapon at short ranges. Both the base and
+the murder were mounted in forked swivels of iron set in a wooden pedestal.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i027b.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="83" />
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Base viewed from above.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[Pg 28]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i028.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="422" />
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>The first fort as reconstructed
+         by Plimoth Plantation contains a collection of arms and armor
+         of the period.<br /> Woodcut by Thomas Nason.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>These were the weapons which the Pilgrims brought from Europe to win
+their new home. They came without sufficient arms “... nor every man a
+sword to his side; wanting many muskets, much armour, &amp;c.” Once in this
+country, however, the need not only for enough weapons but also for
+good weapons was soon felt. Forced by their dependence on their arms,
+the settlers soon threw away their armour and their pikes, discarded
+their matchlocks for more efficient guns, and began to use paper cartridges
+well before these innovations were generally adopted in Europe.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p>This booklet has been published by two organizations devoted to the
+study and interpretation of all aspects of Pilgrim history.</p>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak">PLIMOTH PLANTATION</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>Plimoth Plantation was founded in 1948 as a non-profit educational
+organization to foster public understanding of the Pilgrims of
+Plymouth. To this end the corporate organization, Plimoth Plantation,
+is re-creating the Plimoth Plantation of 1627, the farming community
+from which sprang the Old Colony of New Plymouth. It is a functioning
+village, over half completed (in 1969), in which guides and hostesses
+in Pilgrim dress carry on the tasks necessary for daily living and
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[Pg 29]</span>
+sheep and chickens wander the narrow street. It is open to the public
+from April through November and is visited by more than 250,000 people
+per year.</p>
+
+<p>The Plantation also owns and exhibits two re-created Pilgrim houses
+near Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower II and a small sailing craft—a
+Shallop—of the type used by the Pilgrims for coastal trading.</p>
+
+<p>These public exhibits are backed by a strong research and publication
+program covering the European background of the Pilgrim story to the
+end of the 17th century.</p>
+
+<p>The Plantation seeks the support of all who wish to help perpetuate the
+Pilgrim tradition. Those interested in membership should address the
+Membership Director, Box 1620, Plymouth, Mass. 02360.</p>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak">THE PILGRIM SOCIETY</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Pilgrim Society, Plymouth, Massachusetts, was organized in 1820.
+Its main purposes have been to insure a universal appreciation of
+the Pilgrims and their contributions to the American heritage. In
+Pilgrim Hall, one of the oldest museums in the country, there is
+displayed a collection of Pilgrim relics and material bearing on the
+history of Plimoth Colony. Every effort is made to enlarge and improve
+this collection and to preserve in the library of Pilgrim Hall a
+comprehensive history of the Pilgrims and the colony they founded. The
+Society supplies its members with “Pilgrim Society Notes” containing
+articles which would otherwise remain undiscovered among the papers of
+the students of Pilgrim and Colonial history.</p>
+
+<p>The Society was, in its earlier years, responsible for the erection
+of the Forefathers Monument, which stands on a hill behind the Town
+overlooking Plymouth Bay; and for preserving as a park the area
+directly behind Plymouth Rock, known as Cole’s Hill, which served the
+Pilgrims as a burying ground during the first precarious winter in the
+settlement. Today the Society is custodian of these memorials and of
+others erected by various societies in the Town of Plymouth to honor
+the Pilgrim Fathers.</p>
+
+<p>Annually on Forefathers Day, December 21st, the Society celebrates the
+Landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth with a suitable observance of the
+occasion at the Annual Meeting of the Society which many of the members
+attend.</p>
+
+<p>Those interested in applying for membership are invited to communicate
+with the Secretary of the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth. Dues are $5.00
+per year, and the money thus attained, together with admission fees to
+Pilgrim Hall and a modest endowment supply the funds for the activities
+of the Society.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="center space-above2 space-below2"> <i>Those interested in
+a documented and more detailed study of arms and armor in all the
+colonies should see the author’s book</i>, Arms and Armor in Colonial
+America, 1526-1783, <i>the Stackpole Company. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1956.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="transnote bbox space-above2">
+<p class="f120 space-above1">Transcriber’s Notes:</p>
+<hr class="r5" />
+<p>The illustrations have been moved so that they do not break up
+                  paragraphs and so that they are next to the text they illustrate.</p>
+<p>Typographical and punctuation errors have been silently corrected.</p>
+</div>
+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 65335 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook of Arms and Armor of the Pilgrims, 1620-1692,
+by Harold L. Peterson
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
+of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
+www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you
+will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
+using this eBook.
+
+Title: Arms and Armor of the Pilgrims, 1620-1692
+
+Author: Harold L. Peterson
+
+Release Date: May 13, 2021 [eBook #65335]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+Produced by: Steve Mattern and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+             https://www.pgdp.net
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARMS AND ARMOR OF THE PILGRIMS,
+1620-1692 ***
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber’s Notes:
+
+  Underscores “_” before and after a word or phrase indicate _italics_
+    in the original text.
+  Illustrations have been moved so they do not break up paragraphs.
+  Old or antiquated spellings have been preserved.
+  Typographical and punctuation errors have been silently corrected.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Fotoset and Lithographed by COLORTONE PRESS, Washington 9, D. C.
+
+
+
+
+                            ARMS AND ARMOR
+                                OF THE
+                          PILGRIMS 1620-1692
+
+
+                                  by
+                          Harold L. Peterson
+
+                [Illustration: Patrero or “murderer”]
+
+    Published by Plimoth Plantation, Inc. and the Pilgrim Society,
+                             Plymouth 1957
+
+[Illustration: _A seventeenth century musketeer ready to fire his
+matchlock. From Jacques de Gheyn_, Maniement d’Armes, _1608_.]
+
+The average colonist landing on the wild shores of North America in the
+early 1600’s set great store by his arms and armor. The Pilgrims were
+no exception. They were strangers in a vast and largely unknown land,
+inhabited by wild beasts and peopled by savages who were frequently
+hostile. Greatly outnumbered by known enemies and possibly facing
+dangers of which they were not yet aware, these Englishmen placed
+their main hope for survival on the possession of superior weapons and
+protective armor. On the more peaceful side, their firearms were also
+valuable, for they provided fresh meat for the table and furs for sale
+back home.
+
+Because the colonist was so dependent on his arms he soon learned to
+select the most efficient kinds that he could obtain. In so doing he
+pushed the evolution of military materiel far ahead of contemporary
+Europe and developed a high degree of skill, particularly in the use of
+firearms.
+
+The military supplies which the Pilgrims brought with them may be
+divided into three major categories: defensive armor, edged weapons,
+and projectile weapons. A completely armed man, especially in the first
+years, was usually equipped with one or more articles from each of the
+three groups, usually a helmet and corselet, a sword, and a musket.
+
+
+ARMOR
+
+Of all the pieces of defensive armor, the most popular was the helmet.
+Almost everyone wore one when he prepared for trouble. Most of those
+worn at Plymouth were undoubtedly open helmets which left the face
+uncovered, although it is possible that a few completely closed
+helmets were also used. These open helmets were of three principal
+types: the cabasset, the morion, and the burgonet. The cabasset was
+a simple, narrow brimmed helmet with a keeled bowl and a tiny apical
+peak pointing to the rear. The morion had a larger crescentic brim
+pointed at the front and back and a high comb along the center-line
+of the bowl. The better specimens of both these helmets were forged
+from a single billet of steel, and both were very efficient defenses.
+The curving lines of the bowls caused most blows to glance off without
+imparting their full impact, and the comb of the morion presented an
+extra buffer of metal through which a sword would have to cut before
+it reached the bowl. Inside each helmet was a quilted lining held in
+place by a row of rivets around the base of the crown which acted much
+like the modern helmet liner in holding the steel shell away from the
+wearer’s head.
+
+[Illustration: _Cabasset._]
+
+[Illustration: _Morion._]
+
+The burgonet was a slightly more complicated helmet than the morion or
+cabasset, and it was made in a variety of styles. Basically, it was an
+open-faced helmet which covered more of the head than the other two.
+Usually it had a peak or umbril somewhat like the visor of a modern cap
+over the eyes, a comb on the bowl, and movable plates to protect the
+cheeks and ears. Often there was a defense for the face in the form of
+a single adjustable bar which passed through a hole in the umbril or by
+three bars fashioned like a muzzle and attached to the umbril which was
+pivoted at the sides so it could be raised or lowered. One form of the
+burgonet which became popular in the second quarter of the 17th century
+was known as the lobster tail burgonet because the wearer’s neck was
+protected by a series of overlapping plates which somewhat resembled
+those on a lobster’s abdomen or “tail.”
+
+A fourth and final type of helmet was known as a “pikeman’s pot.” This
+greatly resembled the morion, but had a broad flat brim instead of a
+narrow crescentic one. As its name indicates, it was worn primarily
+by pikemen in conjunction with a specific type of corselet which was
+generally designated pikeman’s armor.
+
+This armor consisted of five elements in addition to the helmet. There
+was a gorget to protect the neck and to support the weight of a back
+plate and a breastplate which were fastened together by straps which
+passed over the shoulders and attached by hooks at the front and by a
+belt that passed around the waist. At the lower edge of the breastplate
+were fastened two hinged plates called tassets which protected the
+thighs. Although each of these plates was made from a single sheet of
+metal they were embossed to resemble a series of overlapping plates,
+complete with false rivets.
+
+Of all the forms of body armor worn in America during the early
+1600’s, the pikeman’s suit was undoubtedly the most popular. There
+are numerous references to it in the contemporary documents. A
+tasset from such a suit was found behind the fireplace in the John
+Howland house near Plymouth and is now preserved in Pilgrim Hall. In
+the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston there are a helmet, a
+back plate and a tasset from another suit which belonged to an early
+colonist, and portions of similar suits have been found in Pennsylvania
+and at Jamestown, Virginia.
+
+Men armed with muskets might sometimes wear pikeman’s armor, but
+more often they wore simpler corselets consisting only of breast and
+back-plates. With these corselets they wore either a cabasset, a morion
+or a burgonet.
+
+The weight of the corselets worn by the Pilgrims depended largely on
+the quality of the breastplate. The helmets and other pieces were
+sufficient to stop a sword blow or turn an Indian’s arrow but still
+quite light. Breastplates, however, were made according to three
+standards depending on what weapons they were supposed to offer
+protection against. The lightest forms were labeled pike proof or
+high pike proof; the next heavier were called pistol proof, and the
+heaviest were musket proof. The musket proof breastplates are quite
+scarce. Often they are ⅜ of an inch thick and bear a dent caused by a
+bullet fired at them as a test when they were made. Pistol proof plates
+are much lighter and are much more plentiful. They also often bear a
+testing dent and sometimes the letter “P” as a proof mark.
+
+[Illustration: _Burgonet_]
+
+[Illustration: _Lobstertail burgonet._]
+
+Most modern Americans tend to think of armor in terms of brightly
+polished steel. Sometimes it was finished bright, but by the 17th
+century it was more often black, brown, or dark blue. This was
+especially true of those suits destined for active service in the
+field. A brightly polished piece of armor needed constant care to
+guard it from rust and maintain a good appearance. Blacking, russeting
+or bluing it helped protect it and made it easier to maintain. The
+black finishes were sometimes obtained through the use of soot and
+oil, sometimes by paint. The russet and blue finishes were produced by
+artificial oxidation.
+
+[Illustration:_English pikeman’s armor bearing the cypher of James I
+(1603-1625). The waist belt is now missing._]
+
+[Illustration: _Simple corselet with a bullet proof breastplate._]
+
+This defensive armor, though popular at first, was soon discarded by
+the Pilgrims. The men who set out on the first exploring expedition
+when the _Mayflower_ touched at Cape Cod were all armed with corselets.
+They found them efficient protection against the arrows of the Indians,
+but when they at length discovered a quantity of Indian corn, they were
+so encumbered and weary from the weight of their arms that they could
+not carry back as much of the booty as they desired. Soon they found
+that they could usually dodge arrows unless taken by surprise, and so
+gradually they began to decide in favor of freer movement and less
+weight. The corselet retained its popularity for the first ten years,
+but a compromise in the form of a heavy buff leather or quilted coat
+began to make its appearance. By the time of the Pequot War in 1637,
+the presence of “unarmed” men, as those without armor were called,
+became more and more frequent. The helmet was the last piece of plate
+armor to be discarded, but following King Philip’s War (1675-1678) that
+too was abandoned, and plate armor disappeared from the scene except
+for ceremonial occasions.
+
+[Illustration: _Capt. Miles Standish’s rapier and scabbard._]
+
+
+EDGED WEAPONS
+
+The edged weapons brought to America by the Pilgrims were of four
+principal types, swords, daggers, pikes and halberds. The bayonet was
+almost unknown on this continent at the time. Of all these arms, swords
+were by far the most plentiful. Every soldier, whether he was armed
+with a musket, pike or halberd or served a cannon, was required to
+carry a sword. Thus, since almost every able-bodied man was supposed to
+perform military service, all had to be familiar with the weapon, and a
+large supply was necessary.
+
+Both thrusting and cutting swords were used. The thrusting swords,
+known as rapiers, had long straight blades, diamond-shaped in cross
+section, with sharp points and only rudimentary edges. Some had guards
+fashioned of numerous bars bent in graceful curves and loops, and these
+are called swept-hilted rapiers. Others had a solid cup-shaped plate
+between the hand and the blade augmented by extra bars and branches.
+These are called cup-hilted rapiers.
+
+Fortunately, one of the cup-hilted rapiers used by the Pilgrims has
+survived. It belonged to Captain Miles Standish, the doughty military
+advisor of the colony, and it is now preserved in Pilgrim Hall. It
+is a very good example of the Dutch-English style of cup hilt, the
+shallow iron cup and supplementary branches, the knuckle-bow, and the
+pommel are decorated with crudely incised designs of leaves and masks.
+The grips are covered with black leather. Originally they were wound
+with twisted wire in the spiral grooves, but the wire is now missing.
+The scabbard also has been preserved, and that is most unusual for
+swords of this period. It is made of wood, almost cylindrical, covered
+with black leather. There is an iron ferrule at the throat (which
+has now slipped several inches down the scabbard) and an iron tip.
+Interestingly, Standish is known to have been a short man whose enemies
+sometimes called him “Captain Shrimp,” and this sword is about six
+inches shorter than the average rapier, which would have made it easier
+to handle for a small man.
+
+Probably even more plentiful than the rapiers were the cutting
+swords. Most of these were shorter weapons with single-edged blades,
+sometimes straight and sometimes slightly curved. Two of these weapons
+have survived and are preserved in Pilgrim Hall. The older and more
+spectacular of these belonged to Gov. John Carver and was made near the
+beginning of the century. It has a massive hilt with guard and pommel
+of iron encrusted with floral decorations of silver. The decoration and
+workmanship are typically English. The blade is straight with a single
+edge and a narrow fuller or groove along the back. The second sword
+is considerably smaller and later. It came from the Brewster family
+and may have belonged to Elder William Brewster, although he must
+have purchased it late in life. It has a lighter iron guard without
+ornamentation and a slightly curved singled-edged blade, also with a
+narrow fuller at the back. This sword, too, is typically English.
+
+[Illustration: _Detail of the Standish rapier hilt._]
+
+[Illustration: _Swept-hilted rapier excavated at Jamestown. Those used
+at Plymouth would have been similar_. National Park Service.]
+
+[Illustration: _The cutting swords of Governor Carver, Elder Brewster
+and John Thompson._]
+
+[Illustration: _Quillon or left-hand dagger._]
+
+A third surviving cutting sword preserved at Pilgrim Hall is a
+broad-sword which belonged to John Thompson who came to Plymouth in
+1623. Like the Carver sword, this weapon also dates from the opening
+years of the 17th century. The hilt is smaller, but the metal parts
+are of iron decorated with the same typically English floral sprays in
+silver. The blade on this specimen, however, is what sets it apart. It
+is much longer and double-edged, a sword suitable for use on horseback
+as well as on foot.
+
+These swords were more than mere military decorations. They were
+highly necessary weapons. In a period when firearms were inaccurate
+and loading and firing were time-consuming operations, the outcome of
+most battles was determined largely by hand-to-hand combat. The musket,
+once it had been fired, was then of no use for it had no bayonet. At
+such times the sword became the principal weapon, and a soldier’s life
+depended upon his skill with it.
+
+There are numerous records indicating the use of swords by the
+Pilgrims. On their first expedition ashore, they used them to “hew
+and carve the ground a foot deep.” In one interesting coincidence, a
+sword’s hilt figured in the death of two persons. In 1646 a privateer
+commanded by Captain Thomas Cromwell put into Plymouth. While there,
+one of the sailors assaulted the captain who had been trying to
+restore order during a brawl. In the course of the struggle, Cromwell
+seized the man’s rapier and struck him on the head with its hilt. The
+cross guard pierced his skull and killed him. Since the man had been
+a notorious trouble-maker, Cromwell was acquitted in a trial by a
+council of war. Some three years later, however, Cromwell fell from his
+horse and landed upon the hilt of his own rapier which so injured him
+internally that he died shortly thereafter.
+
+In addition to their swords, many men also carried knives or daggers.
+Miles Standish and his followers used knives effectively in liquidating
+the trouble-makers at Wessagusset, and there are numerous other
+references to their presence at Plymouth.
+
+Unfortunately no specimens used by the Pilgrims or their 17th century
+descendants at Plymouth have survived. There is a knife that belonged
+to John Thompson in Pilgrim Hall, but it is a table or general utility
+knife, and not a weapon. In all probability the most popular form of
+dagger employed at Plymouth was the quillon or left-hand dagger. This
+weapon had a simple cross-guard or quillons, probably with a ring
+opposite the grips on one side. It had a straight blade which tapered
+evenly to a point, and it was designed to be held in the left hand
+while the rapier was held in the right.
+
+In addition to these edged weapons which were worn on the belt, there
+were also weapons with long wooden hafts, known as pole arms. Of these,
+two forms were principally used at Plymouth, the pike and the halberd.
+The pike was a spear with a simple leaf-shaped head attached by long
+straps to a wooden pole some fourteen feet long. The halberd was a
+combination of axe and spear, and its haft was much shorter, perhaps
+six or seven feet, exclusive of the head.
+
+[Illustration: _Halberd from the cellar of the John Alden house. The
+haft is modern._]
+
+[Illustration: _Pike._]
+
+In European armies pikemen played a very prominent role. Offensively
+they were used for shock tactics in charges against the enemy.
+Defensively, with the butts of their pikes driven into the ground, they
+formed movable semi-fortresses behind which musketeers could retreat in
+the face of a cavalry charge.
+
+Because of this prominence as a weapon in Europe, the Pilgrims
+brought some pikes with them to Plymouth, but they quickly found them
+disappointing. Although the pike was effective in the set tactics
+of Europe, it was of little use against an enemy who would neither
+charge nor stand against a charge and whose forces were never arranged
+in compact formation but scattered and always on the move. A weapon
+fourteen feet long was also difficult to handle in the woods where
+there was little room for maneuvering. Thus the Pilgrims first
+abandoned the full pike for the half pike, which was only six or eight
+feet long. As late as 1646 the Plymouth fathers still required one
+half pike for every four men on military duty, but after the outbreak
+of King Philip’s War in 1675, the settlers of Plymouth agreed with
+their neighbors in Massachusetts Bay “... it is found by experience
+that troopers & pikemen are of little use in the present war with the
+Indians ... all pikemen are hereby required ... to furnish themselves
+with firearms....”
+
+The history of the halberd at Plymouth is quite different from that
+of the pike. At this period it was primarily an emblem of rank, and
+as such it survived long after its usefulness in warfare ceased.
+Halberds were carried by sergeants as symbols of their authority and by
+ceremonial guards. In Virginia, for instance, Lord Delaware had fifty
+halberdiers to form his guard when he was governor. This was a vastly
+larger number than normal in America, but most colonial governors,
+including John Winthrop in Boston, had a few attendants so armed.
+Plymouth was no exception. As late as 1675 it was ordered that four
+halberds be carried before the governor on the first day of the General
+Court, and two on succeeding days. It is known also that the sergeants
+at Plymouth had them, and there is a possibility that court officials
+also carried them.
+
+At least one of the halberds from the Plymouth colony has survived and
+is now preserved in Pilgrim Hall. It was probably made about 1600-1610
+and was found in the cellar of the John Alden house. The haft is a
+modern replacement.
+
+
+FIREARMS
+
+The projectile arms of the Pilgrims were their most important weapons.
+The American Indian usually preferred to do battle against Europeans
+in loose formation and at long range, resorting to hand-to-hand combat
+only in surprise attacks or when he believed that the enemy had been
+sufficiently decimated and disorganized by his sniping tactics. In
+addition to their value in warfare, projectile arms were also important
+in providing the settlers with fresh meat. For these reasons, the
+evolution of design in such weapons was swifter and more striking than
+in any other form of military equipment.
+
+The most common type of firearm that came to America on the _Mayflower_
+was the musket. This was a smooth-bored weapon, usually slightly more
+than five feet long with a caliber ranging between .69 and .80. The
+majority of those that the original settlers brought with them were
+matchlocks. They were fired by pressing the lighted end of a slow match
+made of a loosely woven rope soaked in nitre into the powder in the
+priming pan. This was effected by fastening a length of the match to a
+forked holder known as the serpentine on the outside of the lock which
+corresponded to the hammer on a modern gun. Pressure on the trigger
+caused the serpentine to swing in an arc toward the priming pan, thus
+bringing the match into contact with the powder.
+
+Although the mechanism was simple, the loading of a matchlock was a
+long and complicated procedure. After having fired his musket, the
+first task of the soldier was to remove his match (which according to
+regulations was lighted at both ends) so that he would not accidentally
+ignite any of his powder. To do this he loosened the thumb screw
+which clamped the match in the fork of the serpentine and grasped
+the cord with his left hand, holding one of the lighted ends between
+his second and third fingers and the other end between his third and
+fourth fingers. Then, seizing the barrel of the gun with the thumb
+and forefinger of the same hand, he would hold it while he loaded.
+Having thus prepared the piece to receive the charge, he would use his
+right hand to open one of the wooden cylinders on his bandolier or the
+nozzle of his powder flask, depending on which he carried, and pour the
+contents down the barrel. Next came a ball from his pouch or from his
+mouth if it was during an action, and finally, a wad of tow or paper.
+All this was forced home with a rammer. Then he would prime the piece
+by filling the flash pan with fine-grained powder from a little flask
+which was suspended from his belt, close the pan cover, and carefully
+blow away any loose powder.
+
+The gun was then loaded, but several actions were still necessary
+before it could be fired. The match had to be returned to the serpentine
+and adjusted. The coal on its end had to be blown into activity. If
+the gunner was forced to wait any length of time before firing, he had
+to change the adjustment of the match continually to insure that it
+would strike the pan and also to prevent it from burning down to the
+serpentine and going out. If it did go out, he relighted it from the
+coal at the other end of the match which was kept burning for that
+purpose.
+
+[Illustration:_Three matchlock muskets. From left to right: An Italian
+musket, 1580-1610 believed to have been used at Plymouth before 1637
+when it was sold to a nearby garrison house; German musket, 1600-1630;
+German musket, 1640-1670._]
+
+[Illustration: _Soldier blowing on his match to make the coal glow well
+before firing. From De Gheyn._]
+
+From this it may be seen that the matchlock was in many ways inferior
+to the Indian’s bow. Its chief advantage lay in the panic produced
+by the flash, smoke, smell and noise of the explosion of the charge.
+Also, a gun could be loaded with several bullets and wound a number of
+enemies at one time. The ball from a matchlock musket was superior to
+an arrow in the size of the hole it tore, the bones it smashed, and
+the amount of blood it spilled. The bow was superior in accuracy and
+rapidity of fire. Moreover, it was light and easy to carry while the
+gun was heavy and clumsy. The bow was constantly ready for use except
+perhaps during a long rain, while the slow-match required, in the best
+of weather, constant attention to keep it burning; and in dampness,
+rain, and wind, it was useless. The light from the match also prevented
+ambush at night, and the smell forestalled a surprise attack in the day
+time unless the foe happened to be up-wind.
+
+Although matchlocks were the dominant type of weapon brought over on
+the _Mayflower_, there were also a few flint arms. Modern authorities
+differentiate between the true flintlock and its more primitive or
+regional forms, the snaphaunce, the English lock, the so-called “dog”
+lock, the Baltic lock, and the miquelet. These distinctions are purely
+modern, however. The contemporary writers called all firearms which
+ignited the powder by striking flint against steel “snaphances.” Thus
+it is impossible to determine at this date exactly what form of flint
+arm is referred to in a given instance, and so a generic term must be
+used.
+
+Flint arms were much more efficient than matchlocks. They were faster,
+more dependable, and less cumbersome. The powder in the priming pan
+was ignited by striking a piece of flint held by the cock against a
+piece of steel, called the frizzen or battery. The frizzen was poised
+directly over the pan so that the sparks produced by the contact of the
+flint and steel would drop into the powder. Flint arms could function
+in ordinary dampness and even in a light rain. There was no match to
+light and keep free from ash in advance of any expected action. And
+since there was no match, there was no light or smell to betray an
+ambush.
+
+It is difficult to determine exactly when flint arms superseded
+matchlocks as the standard military firearm at Plymouth. There were a
+few flint arms in the _Mayflower_ in 1620, for flints are specifically
+mentioned among the military stores on board. Miles Standish, a
+professional soldier, naturally had the best weapon available. Edward
+Winslow, in describing the first encounter between the colonists and
+the Indians, noted that Standish with his “snaphance” and one or two
+other Pilgrims, who were apparently equipped with flint arms, fired
+at the Indians and held them at bay while a brand from the fire was
+carried to the others so they could light their matches.
+
+For the first ten years the supremacy of the matchlock was probably not
+seriously threatened. From 1630 until the outbreak of King Philip’s
+War in 1675, however, the change is plainly visible. There are more
+references to matches than to flints in inventories and court records
+until the beginning of the Pequot War, but the tales of snap-shooting
+increase, and during the war the stories of ambushes and surprise
+attacks throughout New England indicate that flint arms were becoming
+more plentiful. In 1643 the Plymouth General Court ordered that every
+soldier should be supplied with either a matchlock or a “snaphance.” By
+1645 Governor William Bradford could report that the Plymouth troops
+had been sent to a muster at Seacunk “well armed all with snaphance
+peeces.” In 1645, also, while matchlocks were allowed for private arms,
+the Plymouth General Court allowed only “snaphances” or “firelocks” for
+Town arms.
+
+With the coming of King Philip’s War, the era of the matchlock at
+Plymouth was definitely past. The campaigns of that war, forays into
+the wilderness, night attacks, ambushes, battles in the rain, and
+encounters between individuals which required snap-shooting indicate
+clearly that the “snaphance” was the principal weapon. In 1677, towards
+the end of the war, the Plymouth General Court outlawed the matchlock
+completely as an acceptable weapon. In abandoning matchlocks at this
+time, Plymouth was years ahead of Europe where the clumsy firearm
+persisted until after 1700.
+
+In addition to the matchlock and flint arms in general use, there were
+undoubtedly a few wheel lock arms in Plymouth. The wheel lock was the
+second ignition system chronologically, having been developed shortly
+after 1500. It was an efficient system, operating much like a modern
+cigarette lighter with the spark produced by holding a piece of pyrites
+against a revolving rough-edged wheel. The wheel lock, however, was an
+expensive weapon, costing twice as much as a matchlock and half as much
+again as a flint arm. This did not necessarily preclude its purchase
+by the Pilgrims since those colonists were not so apt to economize
+on something which affected their life expectancy as closely as did
+their firearms. There are no records which state positively that there
+were wheel locks at Plymouth, and no authentic wheel lock used there
+has survived. The term “firelock” which is used occasionally in the
+documents very often was used to denote a wheel lock, and in the case
+of the 1646 order mentioned above, it almost certainly had that meaning.
+
+The Pilgrims also brought two other principal kinds of hand firearms
+with them, the fowling piece and the pistol. The fowling piece, or
+birding piece as it was often called, was usually a huge gun. In 1621
+Edward Winslow wrote from Plymouth to prospective colonists in England
+and advised them concerning their needs. Regarding these fowlers, he
+counseled, “Let your piece be long in the barrel; and fear not the
+weight of it, for most of our shooting is from stands.” This was in
+keeping with the best contemporary sporting theory which contended
+that barrels five and a half or six feet long would increase the range
+of the gun and produce a flatter trajectory for the bullet. Such guns
+were almost always flint arms, although there may have been a few wheel
+locks.
+
+[Illustration:_A flint musket with the so-called dog lock, about 1637;
+a later flintlock musket, about 1690; a wheel lock musket, 1620-1650;
+the long fowler which belonged to John Thompson._]
+
+[Illustration: _John Thompson’s “dog lock” pistol._]
+
+Fortunately one such fowling piece which belonged to a Plymouth
+settler, John Thompson, has survived, and is preserved in the Old
+Colony Historical Society Museum at Taunton, Massachusetts. It is
+88½ inches long with a 73½ inch barrel of .84 caliber. The lock is a
+primitive form of flintlock known to collectors today as an “English
+lock.” The stock is oak and was undoubtedly made in this country.
+
+In addition to their long guns, the Plymouth settlers also brought
+some pistols. Inventories of their estates contain listings of such
+hand guns, including one “double pistol.” All the pistols would have
+been either wheel locks or flint arms. The matchlock was almost never
+used for pistols by Europeans, although it is frequently found on
+Oriental hand guns. Once more it is a weapon of John Thompson that has
+survived to show what at least one of the Plymouth pistols looked like.
+Preserved in Pilgrim Hall, it is a most interesting weapon. Many of the
+pieces are missing from the lock, but enough survive to indicate it
+was the type of flintlock that is often called a “dog lock” by modern
+collectors because of the little dog catch which held the cock in
+the half-cock position. The barrel is brass with interesting moulded
+decorations, and the wooden stock has a butt closely resembling those
+found on many wheel lock pistols of the first quarter of the 17th
+century.
+
+These were the kinds of firearms which the Plymouth colonists used
+in the years from 1620 till 1690. Before leaving the subject, however,
+it would be well to mention one form which was not used but which
+has become intimately associated with the Pilgrims in popular
+imagination—the blunderbuss. This colorful weapon with the flaring
+muzzle was developed on the Continent of Europe about the middle of
+the 17th century, some thirty years after the _Mayflower_ landed
+at Plymouth. It was some years later before it reached England.
+As a weapon, it was a highly specialized arm. The flared muzzle
+was designed to spread the shot in a wide pattern and thus do as
+much damage as possible to a closely packed group of enemies at
+comparatively short range. It was of no use against scattered foes at a
+distance. Actually, it was the direct ancestor of the modern riot gun
+or the shot gun used by prison guards. It was not popular in America
+until about 1700 when the growth of cities and increasing population
+created here the conditions under which it was effective.
+
+
+AMMUNITION AND EQUIPMENT
+
+The ammunition which the colonists fired from their guns consisted of
+round balls of lead propelled by charges of black powder. The powder
+was weak by modern standards and thus comparatively large loads were
+used. When it was ignited it gave off clouds of white smoke which
+smelled strongly of sulphur. Usually for military purposes a single
+ball was used, but sometimes, especially for hunting, a number of small
+shot, much like present day buck shot, were used. These were called
+swan shot by the men who used them.
+
+There were several ways of carrying this ammunition. The powder was
+normally either in a flask or bandolier; the shot in a soft leather
+pouch. When going into action, a soldier often took his bullets from
+his pouch and put them in his mouth so he could spit them into the
+barrel of his gun and save time in loading.
+
+[Illustration: _Powder flasks._]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+The flask was usually a box of wood, often covered with leather and
+bound with iron. Normally it was either roughly triangular or shaped
+like a flattened horn. There was a nozzle at the end with two valves,
+one at the base and one at the end. This enabled the user to measure
+out one nozzle-full of powder at a time, and the nozzle was calculated
+to hold just about enough powder for a normal load. Usually two flasks
+were used, a large one for the propelling charge within the gun, and a
+small one holding finer powder for use in the priming pan.
+
+A bandolier was a somewhat more complicated piece of equipment. It
+consisted of a leather belt worn over the shoulder from which were
+suspended little cylinders of wood, metal or hard leather. Each of
+these cylinders held enough powder for one charge. Also attached to the
+belt were a bullet pouch and often a small flask for priming powder.
+
+Theoretically the bandolier afforded a faster and more convenient
+method of carrying ammunition. Actually, it had many disadvantages.
+The cylinders rattled against each other, making so much noise it was
+sometimes impossible to hear commands. Occasionally the musket would
+become tangled in the loops. And worst of all, hanging in front as they
+did, they would sometimes ignite from the musket discharge and the
+whole string of charges would explode, which was most unpleasant and
+disconcerting to the wearer to say the least. Despite these drawbacks,
+bandoliers were quite popular at Plymouth, and they are frequently
+mentioned in wills and inventories.
+
+As the 17th century wore on, there came two other developments in the
+means of carrying ammunition. The use of flasks made of cows’ horns
+increased in popularity as the cattle population grew. Such horn flasks
+had been used to some extent by the poorer classes in Europe, but in
+America they became very popular because they could be made locally and
+did not require great skill or craftsmanship. By the beginning of the
+18th century such horn flasks or powder horns as they were then called
+completely dominated the flask picture. The other development was the
+practice of wrapping charges of powder in cylinders of paper which
+could be carried in a pouch. These were the first true cartridges.
+They had been used in Europe primarily for mounted troops for several
+decades before the Pilgrims landed. Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden is
+credited with having been the first general to supply his infantry with
+them early in the 17th century. However this may be, paper cartridges
+began to appear at Plymouth sometime after 1637, and by the beginning
+of King Philip’s War in 1675, they were fairly common. They were not
+widely used by European infantry until after 1700.
+
+[Illustration: _Musketeer wearing a bandolier. Note how he pours the
+charge from one cylinder down the muzzle. From De Gheyn._]
+
+[Illustration: _Full scale model of a sakeret mounted in Plimoth
+Plantation’s reconstruction of the first fort._]
+
+
+CANNON[1]
+
+In addition to their small arms, the Pilgrims also brought some heavy
+ordnance. On a commanding hill overlooking the bay and landing site,
+they built a meeting house and fort with places for their cannon on an
+upper deck. On February 21, 1621, William Bradford and Edward Winslow
+relate how “the Master came on shore, with many of his saylors, and
+brought with him one of the great peeces, called a Minion, and helped
+us to draw it up the hill, with another peece that lay on shore, and
+mounted them, and a Saker and two Bases.” In 1627 Isaak De Rasieres
+visited Plymouth and noted that the Pilgrims had six cannon of
+unspecified types in their fort and four “patreros” mounted in front of
+the governor’s house at the intersection of the two streets of the town.
+
+[1] In the preparation of this section I am much indebted to Mr. Edwin
+N. Rich of Wellfleet, Mass., a life-long student of early artillery who
+prepared the drawings from which the cannon in the reconstructed fort
+were made.
+
+These guns were probably not new, and they may well have been part
+of the armament of the _Mayflower_ itself. The largest of the cannon
+mentioned by name was a minion. This would have been a brass gun, which
+weighed between 800 and 1200 pounds. It would have had a bore of about
+2.9 inches diameter and fired an iron ball weighing 3½ pounds for
+distances up to 1600 yards. The saker was slightly smaller, probably
+weighing 650 to 800 pounds. It would have had a bore of about 2.7
+inches in diameter and shot a 2¾ pound ball up to 1700 yards. Since
+cannon designations were used rather loosely by the artillerists of the
+time, there is room for considerable differences in these dimensions.
+On Burial Hill in Plymouth are two early English cannons, one a minion
+and the other a small saker or sakeret. These guns were used as the
+models for those mounted in Plimoth Plantation’s reconstruction of the
+original fort. Since it is presumed that the Pilgrims’ guns came from
+the armament of the _Mayflower_ and since they were dragged up the hill
+and mounted immediately, it has been assumed that they were placed on
+carriages from the ship, and so naval carriages of the period have been
+reproduced for the reconstructed fort.
+
+[Illustration: _Full scale model of a minion in Plimoth Plantation’s
+reconstruction of the first fort._]
+
+The loading and firing of one of these cannon was a complicated
+procedure, requiring the assistance of several men. The recoil from the
+discharge would normally drive the piece back away from the gun port.
+If it did not roll back far enough, the crew would seize the ropes
+or “training tackle” and haul it into a position that would permit
+them to load it. First a wet sponge on the end of a long handle was
+run down the barrel to put out any sparks that might remain from the
+previous shot. Then came the powder which was handled in one of two
+ways. Sometimes the proper amount was fastened ready-to-use in a cloth
+bag or cartridge. At other times it was brought loose to the cannon in
+a wooden bucket with a purse-like leather top closed by a drawstring.
+From this “budge barrel,” as it was called, the powder was dipped and
+inserted into the barrel by means of a copper ladle on a long wooden
+handle. After the powder was rammed home, a wad, was inserted and
+rammed, and finally the projectile which was forced home by a rammer.
+
+This projectile might be either a solid ball or one of the more deadly
+anti-personnel missiles such as grape shot or cannister. Grape shot
+was made up of a series of small balls grouped on a wooden stand
+and wrapped with burlap or canvas. Upon firing, the stand and cloth
+disintegrated, and the balls spread out over a wide area. Cannister
+shot was based on the same principle. In this form, however, the small
+balls or other iron fragments were enclosed in a thin metal cylinder
+which came apart upon firing. Other missiles included cross bar and
+chain shot, in which spheres or hemi-spheres were joined by a bar or
+several links of chain. These were particularly useful against ships
+because they revolved in flight and cut rigging. It is doubtful if the
+Pilgrims had all of these forms of projectiles with them in 1620. Some
+of them were just then developing. But by 1690, any or all of them
+might well have been used at Plymouth.
+
+[Illustration: _Some seventeenth century artillery projectiles. From
+left to right: solid shot; fragment of shell, stand of grape shot._]
+
+Once the gun was loaded, a few more steps were necessary before it
+could be fired. It was primed by pouring powder from a flask or horn
+into the touch hole. Then the crew again seized the training tackle and
+pulled the gun back into position. The gunner aimed it by directing the
+way in which the men pulled the ropes and by shifting the position of
+the wedges under the breech of the barrel. Then he took a forked staff,
+known as a linstock, which held a length of burning match similar to
+that used in the matchlock muskets. He touched the lighted end of the
+match to the powder in the touch hole and fired his gun.
+
+[Illustration: _“Patrero” or “murderer” viewed from above. For a side
+view see title page._]
+
+[Illustration: _Side view of base._]
+
+The two bases in the fort and the four “patreros” in front of the
+governor’s house were much smaller guns. Both types were made of iron,
+and both were breech-loaders. The guns of this category were called by
+a great variety of names, and the situation is even more confused than
+with the larger pieces. The type of base used by the Pilgrims, however,
+was probably a gun some 4½ feet long, which weighed about 200 pounds.
+It would have had a bore about 1¼ inches in diameter and fired either a
+lead ball weighing 5 ounces or an iron one weighing 3 ounces. In order
+to load it, the ball was placed in the breech end of the barrel, and a
+separate chamber filled with powder was placed behind it and fastened
+securely with a wedge. The “patreros” were probably of the type known
+also as “murderers.” These differed from the bases in that the bore
+expanded in diameter from breech to muzzle. Instead of a single ball,
+these guns were normally loaded with small shot, short lengths of iron
+bar, or broken pieces of iron and stone. The expanding bore helped
+spread these projectiles as they left the muzzle and thus made the
+murderer a vicious anti-personnel weapon at short ranges. Both the base
+and the murder were mounted in forked swivels of iron set in a wooden
+pedestal.
+
+[Illustration: _Base viewed from above._]
+
+[Illustration: _The first fort as reconstructed by Plimoth Plantation
+contains a collection of arms and armor of the period. Woodcut by
+Thomas Nason._]
+
+These were the weapons which the Pilgrims brought from Europe to win
+their new home. They came without sufficient arms “... nor every man a
+sword to his side; wanting many muskets, much armour, &c.” Once in this
+country, however, the need not only for enough weapons but also for
+good weapons was soon felt. Forced by their dependence on their arms,
+the settlers soon threw away their armour and their pikes, discarded
+their matchlocks for more efficient guns, and began to use paper
+cartridges well before these innovations were generally adopted in
+Europe.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+This booklet has been published by two organizations devoted to the
+study and interpretation of all aspects of Pilgrim history.
+
+
+PLIMOTH PLANTATION
+
+Plimoth Plantation was founded in 1948 as a non-profit educational
+organization to foster public understanding of the Pilgrims of
+Plymouth. To this end the corporate organization, Plimoth Plantation,
+is re-creating the Plimoth Plantation of 1627, the farming community
+from which sprang the Old Colony of New Plymouth. It is a functioning
+village, over half completed (in 1969), in which guides and hostesses
+in Pilgrim dress carry on the tasks necessary for daily living and
+sheep and chickens wander the narrow street. It is open to the public
+from April through November and is visited by more than 250,000 people
+per year.
+
+The Plantation also owns and exhibits two re-created Pilgrim houses
+near Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower II and a small sailing craft—a
+Shallop—of the type used by the Pilgrims for coastal trading.
+
+These public exhibits are backed by a strong research and publication
+program covering the European background of the Pilgrim story to the
+end of the 17th century.
+
+The Plantation seeks the support of all who wish to help perpetuate the
+Pilgrim tradition. Those interested in membership should address the
+Membership Director, Box 1620, Plymouth, Mass. 02360.
+
+
+THE PILGRIM SOCIETY
+
+The Pilgrim Society, Plymouth, Massachusetts, was organized in 1820.
+Its main purposes have been to insure a universal appreciation of
+the Pilgrims and their contributions to the American heritage. In
+Pilgrim Hall, one of the oldest museums in the country, there is
+displayed a collection of Pilgrim relics and material bearing on the
+history of Plimoth Colony. Every effort is made to enlarge and improve
+this collection and to preserve in the library of Pilgrim Hall a
+comprehensive history of the Pilgrims and the colony they founded. The
+Society supplies its members with “Pilgrim Society Notes” containing
+articles which would otherwise remain undiscovered among the papers of
+the students of Pilgrim and Colonial history.
+
+The Society was, in its earlier years, responsible for the erection
+of the Forefathers Monument, which stands on a hill behind the Town
+overlooking Plymouth Bay; and for preserving as a park the area
+directly behind Plymouth Rock, known as Cole’s Hill, which served the
+Pilgrims as a burying ground during the first precarious winter in the
+settlement. Today the Society is custodian of these memorials and of
+others erected by various societies in the Town of Plymouth to honor
+the Pilgrim Fathers.
+
+Annually on Forefathers Day, December 21st, the Society celebrates the
+Landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth with a suitable observance of the
+occasion at the Annual Meeting of the Society which many of the members
+attend.
+
+Those interested in applying for membership are invited to communicate
+with the Secretary of the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth. Dues are $5.00
+per year, and the money thus attained, together with admission fees to
+Pilgrim Hall and a modest endowment supply the funds for the activities
+of the Society.
+
+  _Those interested in a documented and more detailed study of arms
+  and armor in all the colonies should see the author’s book_, Arms
+  and Armor in Colonial America, 1526-1783, _the Stackpole Company.
+  Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1956._
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARMS AND ARMOR OF THE PILGRIMS,
+1620-1692 ***
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+
+<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Arms and Armor of the Pilgrims, 1620-1692, by Harold L. Peterson</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
+most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
+of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
+at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you
+are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the
+country where you are located before using this eBook.
+</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Arms and Armor of the Pilgrims, 1620-1692</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Harold L. Peterson</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: May 13, 2021 [eBook #65335]</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div>
+
+<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Steve Mattern and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net</div>
+
+<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARMS AND ARMOR OF THE PILGRIMS, 1620-1692 ***</div>
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p class="center">Copyright 1957 by Plimoth Plantation, Inc. and the Pilgrim Society</p>
+<p class="center">Fotoset and Lithographed by COLORTONE PRESS, Washington 9, D. C.</p>
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_1"></a>[Pg 1]</span></p>
+<h1>ARMS AND ARMOR<br />OF&emsp;THE<br />PILGRIMS 1620-1692</h1>
+
+<p class="f120">by<br />Harold L. Peterson</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img id="PATRERO" src="images/i001.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="225" />
+    <p class="f120">Patrero or “murderer”</p>
+</div>
+
+<p class="center space-above2">Published by Plimoth Plantation, Inc. and the Pilgrim Society,</p>
+<p class="center">Plymouth 1957</p>
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_2"></a>[Pg 2]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i002.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="560" />
+    <div class="blockquot">
+    <p class="center"><i>A seventeenth century musketeer ready to fire his
+        matchlock.<br /> From Jacques de Gheyn</i>, Maniement d’Armes, <i>1608</i>.</p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3"></a>[Pg 3]</span>
+The average colonist landing on the wild shores of North America in the
+early 1600’s set great store by his arms and armor. The Pilgrims were
+no exception. They were strangers in a vast and largely unknown land,
+inhabited by wild beasts and peopled by savages who were frequently
+hostile. Greatly outnumbered by known enemies and possibly facing
+dangers of which they were not yet aware, these Englishmen placed
+their main hope for survival on the possession of superior weapons and
+protective armor. On the more peaceful side, their firearms were also
+valuable, for they provided fresh meat for the table and furs for sale
+back home.</p>
+
+<p>Because the colonist was so dependent on his arms he soon learned to
+select the most efficient kinds that he could obtain. In so doing he
+pushed the evolution of military materiel far ahead of contemporary
+Europe and developed a high degree of skill, particularly in the use of
+firearms.</p>
+
+<p>The military supplies which the Pilgrims brought with them may be
+divided into three major categories: defensive armor, edged weapons,
+and projectile weapons. A completely armed man, especially in the first
+years, was usually equipped with one or more articles from each of the
+three groups, usually a helmet and corselet, a sword, and a musket.</p>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak">ARMOR</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>Of all the pieces of defensive armor, the most popular was the helmet.
+Almost everyone wore one when he prepared for trouble. Most of those
+worn at Plymouth were undoubtedly open helmets which left the face
+uncovered, although it is possible that a few completely closed
+helmets were also used. These open helmets were of three principal
+types: the cabasset, the morion, and the burgonet. The cabasset was
+a simple, narrow brimmed helmet with a keeled bowl and a tiny apical
+peak pointing to the rear. The morion had a larger crescentic brim
+pointed at the front and back and a high comb along the center-line
+of the bowl. The better specimens of both these helmets were forged
+from a single billet of steel, and both were very efficient defenses.
+The curving lines of the bowls caused most blows to glance off without
+imparting their full impact, and the comb of the morion presented an
+extra buffer of metal through which a sword would have to cut before
+it reached the bowl. Inside each helmet was a quilted lining held in
+place by a row of rivets around the base of the crown which acted much
+like the modern helmet liner in holding the steel shell away from the
+wearer’s head.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4"></a>[Pg 4]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcontainer">
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <img src="images/i004a.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="256" />
+   <p class="f120"><i>Cabasset.</i></p>
+  </div>
+
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <img  src="images/i004b.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="247" />
+   <p class="f120"><i>Morion.</i></p>
+   </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>The burgonet was a slightly more complicated helmet than the morion or
+cabasset, and it was made in a variety of styles. Basically, it was an
+open-faced helmet which covered more of the head than the other two.
+Usually it had a peak or umbril somewhat like the visor of a modern cap
+over the eyes, a comb on the bowl, and movable plates to protect the
+cheeks and ears. Often there was a defense for the face in the form of
+a single adjustable bar which passed through a hole in the umbril or by
+three bars fashioned like a muzzle and attached to the umbril which was
+pivoted at the sides so it could be raised or lowered. One form of the
+burgonet which became popular in the second quarter of the 17th century
+was known as the lobster tail burgonet because the wearer’s neck was
+protected by a series of overlapping plates which somewhat resembled
+those on a lobster’s abdomen or “tail.”</p>
+
+<p>A fourth and final type of helmet was known as a “pikeman’s pot.” This
+greatly resembled the morion, but had a broad flat brim instead of a
+narrow crescentic one. As its name indicates, it was worn primarily
+by pikemen in conjunction with a specific type of corselet which was
+generally designated pikeman’s armor.</p>
+
+<p>This armor consisted of five elements in addition to the helmet. There
+was a gorget to protect the neck and to support the weight of a back
+plate and a breastplate which were fastened together by straps which
+passed over the shoulders and attached by hooks at the front and by a
+belt that passed around the waist. At the lower edge of the breastplate
+were fastened two hinged plates called tassets which protected the
+thighs. Although each of these plates was made from a single sheet of
+metal they were embossed to resemble a series of overlapping plates,
+complete with false rivets.</p>
+
+<p>Of all the forms of body armor worn in America during the early 1600’s,
+the pikeman’s suit was undoubtedly the most popular. There are numerous
+references to it in the contemporary documents. A tasset from such a
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5"></a>[Pg 5]</span>
+suit was found behind the fireplace in the John Howland house near
+Plymouth and is now preserved in Pilgrim Hall. In the Massachusetts
+Historical Society in Boston there are a helmet, a back plate and a
+tasset from another suit which belonged to an early colonist, and
+portions of similar suits have been found in Pennsylvania and at
+Jamestown, Virginia.</p>
+
+<p>Men armed with muskets might sometimes wear pikeman’s armor, but
+more often they wore simpler corselets consisting only of breast and
+back-plates. With these corselets they wore either a cabasset, a morion
+or a burgonet.</p>
+
+<p>The weight of the corselets worn by the Pilgrims depended largely on
+the quality of the breastplate. The helmets and other pieces were
+sufficient to stop a sword blow or turn an Indian’s arrow but still
+quite light. Breastplates, however, were made according to three
+standards depending on what weapons they were supposed to offer
+protection against. The lightest forms were labeled pike proof or
+high pike proof; the next heavier were called pistol proof, and the
+heaviest were musket proof. The musket proof breastplates are quite
+scarce. Often they are ⅜ of an inch thick and bear a dent caused by a
+bullet fired at them as a test when they were made. Pistol proof plates
+are much lighter and are much more plentiful. They also often bear a
+testing dent and sometimes the letter “P” as a proof mark.</p>
+
+<div class="figcontainer">
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <img src="images/i005a.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="313" />
+   <p class="f120"><i>Burgonet</i></p>
+  </div>
+
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <p class="space-below2">&nbsp;</p>
+   <img  src="images/i005b.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="243" />
+   <p class="f120"><i>Lobstertail burgonet.</i></p>
+   </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>Most modern Americans tend to think of armor in terms of brightly
+polished steel. Sometimes it was finished bright, but by the 17th
+century it was more often black, brown, or dark blue. This was
+especially true of those suits destined for active service in the
+field. A brightly polished piece of armor needed constant care to
+guard it from rust and maintain a good appearance. Blacking, russeting
+or bluing it helped protect it and made it easier to maintain. The
+black finishes were sometimes obtained through the use of soot and
+oil, sometimes by paint. The russet and blue finishes were produced by
+artificial oxidation.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6"></a>[Pg 6]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i006.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="628" />
+    <div class="blockquot">
+    <p class="center"><i>English pikeman’s armor bearing the cypher of
+          James I (1603-1625).<br /> The waist belt is now missing.</i></p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7"></a>[Pg 7]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcontainer">
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <img src="images/i007a.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="346" />
+  </div>
+
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <p class="space-below2">&nbsp;</p>
+   <img  src="images/i007b.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="302" />
+   </div>
+   <p class="center space-below2"><i>Simple corselet with a bullet proof breastplate.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>This defensive armor, though popular at first, was soon discarded by
+the Pilgrims. The men who set out on the first exploring expedition
+when the <i>Mayflower</i> touched at Cape Cod were all armed with
+corselets. They found them efficient protection against the arrows of
+the Indians, but when they at length discovered a quantity of Indian
+corn, they were so encumbered and weary from the weight of their arms
+that they could not carry back as much of the booty as they desired.
+Soon they found that they could usually dodge arrows unless taken by
+surprise, and so gradually they began to decide in favor of freer
+movement and less weight. The corselet retained its popularity for the
+first ten years, but a compromise in the form of a heavy buff leather
+or quilted coat began to make its appearance. By the time of the Pequot
+War in 1637, the presence of “unarmed” men, as those without armor were
+called, became more and more frequent. The helmet was the last piece
+of plate armor to be discarded, but following King Philip’s War
+(1675-1678) that too was abandoned, and plate armor disappeared from
+the scene except for ceremonial occasions.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8"></a>[Pg 8]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i008.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="232" />
+    <div class="blockquot">
+    <p class="center"><i>Capt. Miles Standish’s rapier and scabbard.</i></p>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak">EDGED WEAPONS</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>The edged weapons brought to America by the Pilgrims were of four
+principal types, swords, daggers, pikes and halberds. The bayonet was
+almost unknown on this continent at the time. Of all these arms, swords
+were by far the most plentiful. Every soldier, whether he was armed
+with a musket, pike or halberd or served a cannon, was required to
+carry a sword. Thus, since almost every able-bodied man was supposed to
+perform military service, all had to be familiar with the weapon, and a
+large supply was necessary.</p>
+
+<p>Both thrusting and cutting swords were used. The thrusting swords,
+known as rapiers, had long straight blades, diamond-shaped in cross
+section, with sharp points and only rudimentary edges. Some had guards
+fashioned of numerous bars bent in graceful curves and loops, and these
+are called swept-hilted rapiers. Others had a solid cup-shaped plate
+between the hand and the blade augmented by extra bars and branches.
+These are called cup-hilted rapiers.</p>
+
+<p>Fortunately, one of the cup-hilted rapiers used by the Pilgrims has
+survived. It belonged to Captain Miles Standish, the doughty military
+advisor of the colony, and it is now preserved in Pilgrim Hall. It is a
+very good example of the Dutch-English style of cup hilt, the shallow
+iron cup and supplementary branches, the knuckle-bow, and the pommel
+are decorated with crudely incised designs of leaves and masks. The
+grips are covered with black leather. Originally they were wound with
+twisted wire in the spiral grooves, but the wire is now missing. The
+scabbard also has been preserved, and that is most unusual for swords
+of this period. It is made of wood, almost cylindrical, covered with
+black leather. There is an iron ferrule at the throat (which has
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9"></a>[Pg 9]</span>
+now slipped several inches down the scabbard) and an iron tip.
+Interestingly, Standish is known to have been a short man whose enemies
+sometimes called him “Captain Shrimp,” and this sword is about six
+inches shorter than the average rapier, which would have made it easier
+to handle for a small man.</p>
+
+<p>Probably even more plentiful than the rapiers were the cutting
+swords. Most of these were shorter weapons with single-edged blades,
+sometimes straight and sometimes slightly curved. Two of these weapons
+have survived and are preserved in Pilgrim Hall. The older and more
+spectacular of these belonged to Gov. John Carver and was made near the
+beginning of the century. It has a massive hilt with guard and pommel
+of iron encrusted with floral decorations of silver. The decoration and
+workmanship are typically English. The blade is straight with a single
+edge and a narrow fuller or groove along the back. The second sword
+is considerably smaller and later. It came from the Brewster family
+and may have belonged to Elder William Brewster, although he must
+have purchased it late in life. It has a lighter iron guard without
+ornamentation and a slightly curved singled-edged blade, also with a
+narrow fuller at the back. This sword, too, is typically English.</p>
+
+<div class="figcontainer">
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <p class="f120 space-above2 space-below2"><i>Detail of the Standish rapier hilt.</i></p>
+   <img src="images/i009a.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="339" />
+  </div>
+
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <p class="f120"><i>Swept-hilted rapier excavated at Jamestown.<br /> Those
+       used at Plymouth would have been similar</i>.<br /> National Park Service.</p>
+   <p class="space-below2">&nbsp;</p>
+   <img  src="images/i009b.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="341" />
+   </div>
+</div>
+<hr class="chap" />
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10"></a>[Pg 10]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i010a.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="490" />
+    <div class="blockquot">
+    <p class="center"><i>The cutting swords of Governor Carver,
+                    Elder Brewster and John Thompson.</i></p>
+    </div>
+    <p class="center space-above2"><i>Quillon or left-hand dagger.</i></p>
+    <img src="images/i010b.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="181" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11"></a>[Pg 11]</span>
+A third surviving cutting sword preserved at Pilgrim Hall is a
+broad-sword which belonged to John Thompson who came to Plymouth in
+1623. Like the Carver sword, this weapon also dates from the opening
+years of the 17th century. The hilt is smaller, but the metal parts
+are of iron decorated with the same typically English floral sprays in
+silver. The blade on this specimen, however, is what sets it apart. It
+is much longer and double-edged, a sword suitable for use on horseback
+as well as on foot.</p>
+
+<p>These swords were more than mere military decorations. They were
+highly necessary weapons. In a period when firearms were inaccurate
+and loading and firing were time-consuming operations, the outcome of
+most battles was determined largely by hand-to-hand combat. The musket,
+once it had been fired, was then of no use for it had no bayonet. At
+such times the sword became the principal weapon, and a soldier’s life
+depended upon his skill with it.</p>
+
+<p>There are numerous records indicating the use of swords by the
+Pilgrims. On their first expedition ashore, they used them to “hew
+and carve the ground a foot deep.” In one interesting coincidence, a
+sword’s hilt figured in the death of two persons. In 1646 a privateer
+commanded by Captain Thomas Cromwell put into Plymouth. While there,
+one of the sailors assaulted the captain who had been trying to
+restore order during a brawl. In the course of the struggle, Cromwell
+seized the man’s rapier and struck him on the head with its hilt. The
+cross guard pierced his skull and killed him. Since the man had been
+a notorious trouble-maker, Cromwell was acquitted in a trial by a
+council of war. Some three years later, however, Cromwell fell from his
+horse and landed upon the hilt of his own rapier which so injured him
+internally that he died shortly thereafter.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to their swords, many men also carried knives or daggers.
+Miles Standish and his followers used knives effectively in liquidating
+the trouble-makers at Wessagusset, and there are numerous other
+references to their presence at Plymouth.</p>
+
+<p>Unfortunately no specimens used by the Pilgrims or their 17th century
+descendants at Plymouth have survived. There is a knife that belonged
+to John Thompson in Pilgrim Hall, but it is a table or general utility
+knife, and not a weapon. In all probability the most popular form of
+dagger employed at Plymouth was the quillon or left-hand dagger. This
+weapon had a simple cross-guard or quillons, probably with a ring
+opposite the grips on one side. It had a straight blade which tapered
+evenly to a point, and it was designed to be held in the left hand
+while the rapier was held in the right.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12"></a>[Pg 12]</span></p>
+
+<p>In addition to these edged weapons which were worn on the belt, there
+were also weapons with long wooden hafts, known as pole arms. Of these,
+two forms were principally used at Plymouth, the pike and the halberd.
+The pike was a spear with a simple leaf-shaped head attached by long
+straps to a wooden pole some fourteen feet long. The halberd was a
+combination of axe and spear, and its haft was much shorter, perhaps
+six or seven feet, exclusive of the head.</p>
+
+<div class="figcontainer">
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <img src="images/i012a.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="511" />
+   <p class="center"><i>Halberd from the cellar of the<br /> John Alden house.<br />
+           The haft is modern.</i></p>
+  </div>
+
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <img  src="images/i012b.jpg" alt="" width="135" height="516" />
+   <p class="f120"><i>Pike.</i></p>
+   </div>
+</div>
+
+<p>In European armies pikemen played a very prominent role. Offensively
+they were used for shock tactics in charges against the enemy.
+Defensively, with the butts of their pikes driven into the ground, they
+formed movable semi-fortresses behind which musketeers could retreat in
+the face of a cavalry charge.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13"></a>[Pg 13]</span></p>
+
+<p>Because of this prominence as a weapon in Europe, the Pilgrims
+brought some pikes with them to Plymouth, but they quickly found them
+disappointing. Although the pike was effective in the set tactics
+of Europe, it was of little use against an enemy who would neither
+charge nor stand against a charge and whose forces were never arranged
+in compact formation but scattered and always on the move. A weapon
+fourteen feet long was also difficult to handle in the woods where
+there was little room for maneuvering. Thus the Pilgrims first
+abandoned the full pike for the half pike, which was only six or eight
+feet long. As late as 1646 the Plymouth fathers still required one
+half pike for every four men on military duty, but after the outbreak
+of King Philip’s War in 1675, the settlers of Plymouth agreed with
+their neighbors in Massachusetts Bay “... it is found by experience
+that troopers &amp; pikemen are of little use in the present war with the
+Indians ... all pikemen are hereby required ... to furnish themselves
+with firearms....”</p>
+
+<p>The history of the halberd at Plymouth is quite different from that
+of the pike. At this period it was primarily an emblem of rank, and
+as such it survived long after its usefulness in warfare ceased.
+Halberds were carried by sergeants as symbols of their authority and by
+ceremonial guards. In Virginia, for instance, Lord Delaware had fifty
+halberdiers to form his guard when he was governor. This was a vastly
+larger number than normal in America, but most colonial governors,
+including John Winthrop in Boston, had a few attendants so armed.
+Plymouth was no exception. As late as 1675 it was ordered that four
+halberds be carried before the governor on the first day of the General
+Court, and two on succeeding days. It is known also that the sergeants
+at Plymouth had them, and there is a possibility that court officials
+also carried them.</p>
+
+<p>At least one of the halberds from the Plymouth colony has survived and
+is now preserved in Pilgrim Hall. It was probably made about 1600-1610
+and was found in the cellar of the John Alden house. The haft is a
+modern replacement.</p>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak">FIREARMS</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>The projectile arms of the Pilgrims were their most important weapons.
+The American Indian usually preferred to do battle against Europeans
+in loose formation and at long range, resorting to hand-to-hand combat
+only in surprise attacks or when he believed that the enemy had been
+sufficiently decimated and disorganized by his sniping tactics. In
+addition to their value in warfare, projectile arms were also important
+in providing the settlers with fresh meat. For these reasons, the
+evolution of design in such weapons was swifter and more striking than
+in any other form of military equipment.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14"></a>[Pg 14]</span></p>
+
+<p>The most common type of firearm that came to America on the
+<i>Mayflower</i> was the musket. This was a smooth-bored weapon,
+usually slightly more than five feet long with a caliber ranging
+between .69 and .80. The majority of those that the original settlers
+brought with them were matchlocks. They were fired by pressing the
+lighted end of a slow match made of a loosely woven rope soaked
+in nitre into the powder in the priming pan. This was effected by
+fastening a length of the match to a forked holder known as the
+serpentine on the outside of the lock which corresponded to the hammer
+on a modern gun. Pressure on the trigger caused the serpentine to swing
+in an arc toward the priming pan, thus bringing the match into contact
+with the powder.</p>
+
+<p>Although the mechanism was simple, the loading of a matchlock was a
+long and complicated procedure. After having fired his musket, the
+first task of the soldier was to remove his match (which according to
+regulations was lighted at both ends) so that he would not accidentally
+ignite any of his powder. To do this he loosened the thumb screw
+which clamped the match in the fork of the serpentine and grasped
+the cord with his left hand, holding one of the lighted ends between
+his second and third fingers and the other end between his third and
+fourth fingers. Then, seizing the barrel of the gun with the thumb
+and forefinger of the same hand, he would hold it while he loaded.
+Having thus prepared the piece to receive the charge, he would use his
+right hand to open one of the wooden cylinders on his bandolier or the
+nozzle of his powder flask, depending on which he carried, and pour the
+contents down the barrel. Next came a ball from his pouch or from his
+mouth if it was during an action, and finally, a wad of tow or paper.
+All this was forced home with a rammer. Then he would prime the piece
+by filling the flash pan with fine-grained powder from a little flask
+which was suspended from his belt, close the pan cover, and carefully
+blow away any loose powder.</p>
+
+<p>The gun was then loaded, but several actions were still necessary
+before it could be fired. The match had to be returned to the
+serpentine and adjusted. The coal on its end had to be blown into
+activity. If the gunner was forced to wait any length of time before
+firing, he had to change the adjustment of the match continually to
+insure that it would strike the pan and also to prevent it from burning
+down to the serpentine and going out. If it did go out, he relighted it
+from the coal at the other end of the match which was kept burning for
+that purpose.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15"></a>[Pg 15]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i015.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="625" />
+    <div class="blockquot">
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Three matchlock muskets. From left to right: An
+         Italian musket, 1580-1610 believed to have been used at Plymouth before
+         1637 when it was sold to a nearby garrison house; German musket,
+         1600-1630; German musket, 1640-1670.</i></p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16"></a>[Pg 16]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i016.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="541" />
+    <div class="blockquot">
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Soldier blowing on his match to make the coal glow
+             well before firing.<br /> From De Gheyn.</i></p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17"></a>[Pg 17]</span>
+From this it may be seen that the matchlock was in many ways inferior
+to the Indian’s bow. Its chief advantage lay in the panic produced
+by the flash, smoke, smell and noise of the explosion of the charge.
+Also, a gun could be loaded with several bullets and wound a number of
+enemies at one time. The ball from a matchlock musket was superior to
+an arrow in the size of the hole it tore, the bones it smashed, and
+the amount of blood it spilled. The bow was superior in accuracy and
+rapidity of fire. Moreover, it was light and easy to carry while the
+gun was heavy and clumsy. The bow was constantly ready for use except
+perhaps during a long rain, while the slow-match required, in the best
+of weather, constant attention to keep it burning; and in dampness,
+rain, and wind, it was useless. The light from the match also prevented
+ambush at night, and the smell forestalled a surprise attack in the day
+time unless the foe happened to be up-wind.</p>
+
+<p>Although matchlocks were the dominant type of weapon brought over
+on the <i>Mayflower</i>, there were also a few flint arms. Modern
+authorities differentiate between the true flintlock and its more
+primitive or regional forms, the snaphaunce, the English lock, the
+so-called “dog” lock, the Baltic lock, and the miquelet. These
+distinctions are purely modern, however. The contemporary writers
+called all firearms which ignited the powder by striking flint against
+steel “snaphances.” Thus it is impossible to determine at this date
+exactly what form of flint arm is referred to in a given instance, and
+so a generic term must be used.</p>
+
+<p>Flint arms were much more efficient than matchlocks. They were faster,
+more dependable, and less cumbersome. The powder in the priming pan
+was ignited by striking a piece of flint held by the cock against a
+piece of steel, called the frizzen or battery. The frizzen was poised
+directly over the pan so that the sparks produced by the contact of the
+flint and steel would drop into the powder. Flint arms could function
+in ordinary dampness and even in a light rain. There was no match to
+light and keep free from ash in advance of any expected action. And
+since there was no match, there was no light or smell to betray an
+ambush.</p>
+
+<p>It is difficult to determine exactly when flint arms superseded
+matchlocks as the standard military firearm at Plymouth. There were
+a few flint arms in the <i>Mayflower</i> in 1620, for flints are
+specifically mentioned among the military stores on board. Miles
+Standish, a professional soldier, naturally had the best weapon
+available. Edward Winslow, in describing the first encounter between
+the colonists and the Indians, noted that Standish with his “snaphance”
+and one or two other Pilgrims, who were apparently equipped with flint
+arms, fired at the Indians and held them at bay while a brand from the
+fire was carried to the others so they could light their matches.</p>
+
+<p>For the first ten years the supremacy of the matchlock was probably not
+seriously threatened. From 1630 until the outbreak of King Philip’s
+War in 1675, however, the change is plainly visible. There are more
+references to matches than to flints in inventories and court records
+until the beginning of the Pequot War, but the tales of snap-shooting
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18"></a>[Pg 18]</span>
+increase, and during the war the stories of ambushes and surprise
+attacks throughout New England indicate that flint arms were becoming
+more plentiful. In 1643 the Plymouth General Court ordered that every
+soldier should be supplied with either a matchlock or a “snaphance.” By
+1645 Governor William Bradford could report that the Plymouth troops
+had been sent to a muster at Seacunk “well armed all with snaphance
+peeces.” In 1645, also, while matchlocks were allowed for private arms,
+the Plymouth General Court allowed only “snaphances” or “firelocks” for
+Town arms.</p>
+
+<p>With the coming of King Philip’s War, the era of the matchlock at
+Plymouth was definitely past. The campaigns of that war, forays into
+the wilderness, night attacks, ambushes, battles in the rain, and
+encounters between individuals which required snap-shooting indicate
+clearly that the “snaphance” was the principal weapon. In 1677, towards
+the end of the war, the Plymouth General Court outlawed the matchlock
+completely as an acceptable weapon. In abandoning matchlocks at this
+time, Plymouth was years ahead of Europe where the clumsy firearm
+persisted until after 1700.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the matchlock and flint arms in general use, there were
+undoubtedly a few wheel lock arms in Plymouth. The wheel lock was the
+second ignition system chronologically, having been developed shortly
+after 1500. It was an efficient system, operating much like a modern
+cigarette lighter with the spark produced by holding a piece of pyrites
+against a revolving rough-edged wheel. The wheel lock, however, was an
+expensive weapon, costing twice as much as a matchlock and half as much
+again as a flint arm. This did not necessarily preclude its purchase
+by the Pilgrims since those colonists were not so apt to economize
+on something which affected their life expectancy as closely as did
+their firearms. There are no records which state positively that there
+were wheel locks at Plymouth, and no authentic wheel lock used there
+has survived. The term “firelock” which is used occasionally in the
+documents very often was used to denote a wheel lock, and in the case
+of the 1646 order mentioned above, it almost certainly had that meaning.</p>
+
+<p>The Pilgrims also brought two other principal kinds of hand firearms
+with them, the fowling piece and the pistol. The fowling piece, or
+birding piece as it was often called, was usually a huge gun. In 1621
+Edward Winslow wrote from Plymouth to prospective colonists in England
+and advised them concerning their needs. Regarding these fowlers, he
+counseled, “Let your piece be long in the barrel; and fear not the
+weight of it, for most of our shooting is from stands.” This was in
+keeping with the best contemporary sporting theory which contended
+that barrels five and a half or six feet long would increase the range
+of the gun and produce a flatter trajectory for the bullet. Such guns
+were almost always flint arms, although there may have been a few wheel locks.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19"></a>[Pg 19]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i019.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="663" />
+    <div class="blockquot">
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>A flint musket with the so-called dog lock, about
+           1637; a later flintlock musket, about 1690; a wheel lock musket,
+            1620-1650; the long fowler which belonged to John Thompson.</i></p>
+</div></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20"></a>[Pg 20]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i020.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="189" />
+    <p class="f120 space-below2"><i>John Thompson’s “dog lock” pistol.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Fortunately one such fowling piece which belonged to a Plymouth
+settler, John Thompson, has survived, and is preserved in the Old
+Colony Historical Society Museum at Taunton, Massachusetts. It is
+88½ inches long with a 73½ inch barrel of .84 caliber. The lock is a
+primitive form of flintlock known to collectors today as an “English
+lock.” The stock is oak and was undoubtedly made in this country.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to their long guns, the Plymouth settlers also brought
+some pistols. Inventories of their estates contain listings of such
+hand guns, including one “double pistol.” All the pistols would have
+been either wheel locks or flint arms. The matchlock was almost never
+used for pistols by Europeans, although it is frequently found on
+Oriental hand guns. Once more it is a weapon of John Thompson that has
+survived to show what at least one of the Plymouth pistols looked like.
+Preserved in Pilgrim Hall, it is a most interesting weapon. Many of the
+pieces are missing from the lock, but enough survive to indicate it
+was the type of flintlock that is often called a “dog lock” by modern
+collectors because of the little dog catch which held the cock in
+the half-cock position. The barrel is brass with interesting moulded
+decorations, and the wooden stock has a butt closely resembling those
+found on many wheel lock pistols of the first quarter of the 17th century.</p>
+
+<p>These were the kinds of firearms which the Plymouth colonists used
+in the years from 1620 till 1690. Before leaving the subject, however,
+it would be well to mention one form which was not used but which
+has become intimately associated with the Pilgrims in popular
+imagination—the blunderbuss. This colorful weapon with the flaring
+muzzle was developed on the Continent of Europe about the middle of
+the 17th century, some thirty years after the <i>Mayflower</i> landed
+at Plymouth. It was some years later before it reached England.
+As a weapon, it was a highly specialized arm. The flared muzzle
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21"></a>[Pg 21]</span>
+was designed to spread the shot in a wide pattern and thus do as
+much damage as possible to a closely packed group of enemies at
+comparatively short range. It was of no use against scattered foes at a
+distance. Actually, it was the direct ancestor of the modern riot gun
+or the shot gun used by prison guards. It was not popular in America
+until about 1700 when the growth of cities and increasing population
+created here the conditions under which it was effective.</p>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak">AMMUNITION AND EQUIPMENT</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>The ammunition which the colonists fired from their guns consisted of
+round balls of lead propelled by charges of black powder. The powder
+was weak by modern standards and thus comparatively large loads were
+used. When it was ignited it gave off clouds of white smoke which
+smelled strongly of sulphur. Usually for military purposes a single
+ball was used, but sometimes, especially for hunting, a number of small
+shot, much like present day buck shot, were used. These were called
+swan shot by the men who used them.</p>
+
+<p>There were several ways of carrying this ammunition. The powder was
+normally either in a flask or bandolier; the shot in a soft leather
+pouch. When going into action, a soldier often took his bullets from
+his pouch and put them in his mouth so he could spit them into the
+barrel of his gun and save time in loading.</p>
+
+<div class="figcontainer">
+  <p class="f120 space-above2"><i>Powder flasks.</i></p>
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <img src="images/i021a.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="374" />
+  </div>
+  <div class="figsub">
+   <img  src="images/i021b.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="352" />
+   </div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22"></a>[Pg 22]</span>
+The flask was usually a box of wood, often covered with leather and
+bound with iron. Normally it was either roughly triangular or shaped
+like a flattened horn. There was a nozzle at the end with two valves,
+one at the base and one at the end. This enabled the user to measure
+out one nozzle-full of powder at a time, and the nozzle was calculated
+to hold just about enough powder for a normal load. Usually two flasks
+were used, a large one for the propelling charge within the gun, and a
+small one holding finer powder for use in the priming pan.</p>
+
+<p>A bandolier was a somewhat more complicated piece of equipment. It
+consisted of a leather belt worn over the shoulder from which were
+suspended little cylinders of wood, metal or hard leather. Each of
+these cylinders held enough powder for one charge. Also attached to the
+belt were a bullet pouch and often a small flask for priming powder.</p>
+
+<p>Theoretically the bandolier afforded a faster and more convenient
+method of carrying ammunition. Actually, it had many disadvantages.
+The cylinders rattled against each other, making so much noise it was
+sometimes impossible to hear commands. Occasionally the musket would
+become tangled in the loops. And worst of all, hanging in front as they
+did, they would sometimes ignite from the musket discharge and the
+whole string of charges would explode, which was most unpleasant and
+disconcerting to the wearer to say the least. Despite these drawbacks,
+bandoliers were quite popular at Plymouth, and they are frequently
+mentioned in wills and inventories.</p>
+
+<p>As the 17th century wore on, there came two other developments in the
+means of carrying ammunition. The use of flasks made of cows’ horns
+increased in popularity as the cattle population grew. Such horn flasks
+had been used to some extent by the poorer classes in Europe, but in
+America they became very popular because they could be made locally and
+did not require great skill or craftsmanship. By the beginning of the
+18th century such horn flasks or powder horns as they were then called
+completely dominated the flask picture. The other development was the
+practice of wrapping charges of powder in cylinders of paper which
+could be carried in a pouch. These were the first true cartridges.
+They had been used in Europe primarily for mounted troops for several
+decades before the Pilgrims landed. Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden is
+credited with having been the first general to supply his infantry with
+them early in the 17th century. However this may be, paper cartridges
+began to appear at Plymouth sometime after 1637, and by the beginning
+of King Philip’s War in 1675, they were fairly common. They were not
+widely used by European infantry until after 1700.
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23"></a>[Pg 23]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i023.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="615" />
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Musketeer wearing a bandolier.<br /> Note how he pours the
+             charge from one cylinder down the muzzle.<br /> From De Gheyn.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24"></a>[Pg 24]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i024.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="250" />
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Full scale model of a sakeret mounted in Plimoth
+           Plantation’s reconstruction of the first fort.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak">CANNON<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor"><small>[1]</small></a></h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>In addition to their small arms, the Pilgrims also brought some heavy
+ordnance. On a commanding hill overlooking the bay and landing site,
+they built a meeting house and fort with places for their cannon on an
+upper deck. On February 21, 1621, William Bradford and Edward Winslow
+relate how “the Master came on shore, with many of his saylors, and
+brought with him one of the great peeces, called a Minion, and helped
+us to draw it up the hill, with another peece that lay on shore, and
+mounted them, and a Saker and two Bases.” In 1627 Isaak De Rasieres
+visited Plymouth and noted that the Pilgrims had six cannon of
+unspecified types in their fort and four “patreros” mounted in front of
+the governor’s house at the intersection of the two streets of the town.</p>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p>
+<a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a>
+In the preparation of this section I am much indebted to
+Mr. Edwin N. Rich of Wellfleet, Mass., a life-long student of early
+artillery who prepared the drawings from which the cannon in the
+reconstructed fort were made.</p></div>
+
+<p>These guns were probably not new, and they may well have been part
+of the armament of the <i>Mayflower</i> itself. The largest of the
+cannon mentioned by name was a minion. This would have been a brass
+gun, which weighed between 800 and 1200 pounds. It would have had a
+bore of about 2.9 inches diameter and fired an iron ball weighing 3½
+pounds for distances up to 1600 yards. The saker was slightly smaller,
+probably weighing 650 to 800 pounds. It would have had a bore of about
+2.7 inches in diameter and shot a 2¾ pound ball up to 1700 yards. Since
+cannon designations were used rather loosely by the artillerists of the
+time, there is room for considerable differences in these dimensions.
+On Burial Hill in Plymouth are two early English cannons, one a minion
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25"></a>[Pg 25]</span>
+and the other a small saker or sakeret. These guns were used as the
+models for those mounted in Plimoth Plantation’s reconstruction of the
+original fort. Since it is presumed that the Pilgrims’ guns came from
+the armament of the <i>Mayflower</i> and since they were dragged up the
+hill and mounted immediately, it has been assumed that they were placed
+on carriages from the ship, and so naval carriages of the period have
+been reproduced for the reconstructed fort.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i025.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="283" />
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Full scale model of a minion in Plimoth Plantation’s
+               reconstruction of the first fort.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The loading and firing of one of these cannon was a complicated
+procedure, requiring the assistance of several men. The recoil from the
+discharge would normally drive the piece back away from the gun port.
+If it did not roll back far enough, the crew would seize the ropes
+or “training tackle” and haul it into a position that would permit
+them to load it. First a wet sponge on the end of a long handle was
+run down the barrel to put out any sparks that might remain from the
+previous shot. Then came the powder which was handled in one of two
+ways. Sometimes the proper amount was fastened ready-to-use in a cloth
+bag or cartridge. At other times it was brought loose to the cannon in
+a wooden bucket with a purse-like leather top closed by a drawstring.
+From this “budge barrel,” as it was called, the powder was dipped and
+inserted into the barrel by means of a copper ladle on a long wooden
+handle. After the powder was rammed home, a wad, was inserted and
+rammed, and finally the projectile which was forced home by a rammer.</p>
+
+<p>This projectile might be either a solid ball or one of the more deadly
+anti-personnel missiles such as grape shot or cannister. Grape shot
+was made up of a series of small balls grouped on a wooden stand
+and wrapped with burlap or canvas. Upon firing, the stand and cloth
+disintegrated, and the balls spread out over a wide area. Cannister
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26"></a>[Pg 26]</span>
+shot was based on the same principle. In this form, however, the small
+balls or other iron fragments were enclosed in a thin metal cylinder
+which came apart upon firing. Other missiles included cross bar and
+chain shot, in which spheres or hemi-spheres were joined by a bar or
+several links of chain. These were particularly useful against ships
+because they revolved in flight and cut rigging. It is doubtful if the
+Pilgrims had all of these forms of projectiles with them in 1620. Some
+of them were just then developing. But by 1690, any or all of them
+might well have been used at Plymouth.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i026a.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="287" />
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Some seventeenth century artillery projectiles.<br />
+             From left to right: solid shot; fragment of shell, stand of grape shot.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Once the gun was loaded, a few more steps were necessary before it
+could be fired. It was primed by pouring powder from a flask or horn
+into the touch hole. Then the crew again seized the training tackle and
+pulled the gun back into position. The gunner aimed it by directing the
+way in which the men pulled the ropes and by shifting the position of
+the wedges under the breech of the barrel. Then he took a forked staff,
+known as a linstock, which held a length of burning match similar to
+that used in the matchlock muskets. He touched the lighted end of the
+match to the powder in the touch hole and fired his gun.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i026b.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="135" />
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>“Patrero” or “murderer” viewed from above.<br />
+            <a href="#PATRERO">For a side view see title page</a>.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27"></a>[Pg 27]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i027a.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="455" />
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Side view of base.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>The two bases in the fort and the four “patreros” in front of the
+governor’s house were much smaller guns. Both types were made of iron,
+and both were breech-loaders. The guns of this category were called by
+a great variety of names, and the situation is even more confused than
+with the larger pieces. The type of base used by the Pilgrims, however,
+was probably a gun some 4½ feet long, which weighed about 200 pounds.
+It would have had a bore about 1¼ inches in diameter and fired either a
+lead ball weighing 5 ounces or an iron one weighing 3 ounces. In order
+to load it, the ball was placed in the breech end of the barrel, and a
+separate chamber filled with powder was placed behind it and fastened
+securely with a wedge. The “patreros” were probably of the type known
+also as “murderers.” These differed from the bases in that the bore
+expanded in diameter from breech to muzzle. Instead of a single ball,
+these guns were normally loaded with small shot, short lengths of iron
+bar, or broken pieces of iron and stone. The expanding bore helped
+spread these projectiles as they left the muzzle and thus made the
+murderer a vicious anti-personnel weapon at short ranges. Both the base and
+the murder were mounted in forked swivels of iron set in a wooden pedestal.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i027b.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="83" />
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>Base viewed from above.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28"></a>[Pg 28]</span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter">
+    <img src="images/i028.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="422" />
+    <p class="center space-below2"><i>The first fort as reconstructed
+         by Plimoth Plantation contains a collection of arms and armor
+         of the period.<br /> Woodcut by Thomas Nason.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<p>These were the weapons which the Pilgrims brought from Europe to win
+their new home. They came without sufficient arms “... nor every man a
+sword to his side; wanting many muskets, much armour, &amp;c.” Once in this
+country, however, the need not only for enough weapons but also for
+good weapons was soon felt. Forced by their dependence on their arms,
+the settlers soon threw away their armour and their pikes, discarded
+their matchlocks for more efficient guns, and began to use paper cartridges
+well before these innovations were generally adopted in Europe.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb" />
+
+<p>This booklet has been published by two organizations devoted to the
+study and interpretation of all aspects of Pilgrim history.</p>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak">PLIMOTH PLANTATION</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>Plimoth Plantation was founded in 1948 as a non-profit educational
+organization to foster public understanding of the Pilgrims of
+Plymouth. To this end the corporate organization, Plimoth Plantation,
+is re-creating the Plimoth Plantation of 1627, the farming community
+from which sprang the Old Colony of New Plymouth. It is a functioning
+village, over half completed (in 1969), in which guides and hostesses
+in Pilgrim dress carry on the tasks necessary for daily living and
+<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29"></a>[Pg 29]</span>
+sheep and chickens wander the narrow street. It is open to the public
+from April through November and is visited by more than 250,000 people
+per year.</p>
+
+<p>The Plantation also owns and exhibits two re-created Pilgrim houses
+near Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower II and a small sailing craft—a
+Shallop—of the type used by the Pilgrims for coastal trading.</p>
+
+<p>These public exhibits are backed by a strong research and publication
+program covering the European background of the Pilgrim story to the
+end of the 17th century.</p>
+
+<p>The Plantation seeks the support of all who wish to help perpetuate the
+Pilgrim tradition. Those interested in membership should address the
+Membership Director, Box 1620, Plymouth, Mass. 02360.</p>
+
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak">THE PILGRIM SOCIETY</h2>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Pilgrim Society, Plymouth, Massachusetts, was organized in 1820.
+Its main purposes have been to insure a universal appreciation of
+the Pilgrims and their contributions to the American heritage. In
+Pilgrim Hall, one of the oldest museums in the country, there is
+displayed a collection of Pilgrim relics and material bearing on the
+history of Plimoth Colony. Every effort is made to enlarge and improve
+this collection and to preserve in the library of Pilgrim Hall a
+comprehensive history of the Pilgrims and the colony they founded. The
+Society supplies its members with “Pilgrim Society Notes” containing
+articles which would otherwise remain undiscovered among the papers of
+the students of Pilgrim and Colonial history.</p>
+
+<p>The Society was, in its earlier years, responsible for the erection
+of the Forefathers Monument, which stands on a hill behind the Town
+overlooking Plymouth Bay; and for preserving as a park the area
+directly behind Plymouth Rock, known as Cole’s Hill, which served the
+Pilgrims as a burying ground during the first precarious winter in the
+settlement. Today the Society is custodian of these memorials and of
+others erected by various societies in the Town of Plymouth to honor
+the Pilgrim Fathers.</p>
+
+<p>Annually on Forefathers Day, December 21st, the Society celebrates the
+Landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth with a suitable observance of the
+occasion at the Annual Meeting of the Society which many of the members
+attend.</p>
+
+<p>Those interested in applying for membership are invited to communicate
+with the Secretary of the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth. Dues are $5.00
+per year, and the money thus attained, together with admission fees to
+Pilgrim Hall and a modest endowment supply the funds for the activities
+of the Society.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<p class="center space-above2 space-below2"> <i>Those interested in
+a documented and more detailed study of arms and armor in all the
+colonies should see the author’s book</i>, Arms and Armor in Colonial
+America, 1526-1783, <i>the Stackpole Company. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1956.</i></p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="transnote bbox space-above2">
+<p class="f120 space-above1">Transcriber’s Notes:</p>
+<hr class="r5" />
+<p>The illustrations have been moved so that they do not break up
+                  paragraphs and so that they are next to the text they illustrate.</p>
+<p>Typographical and punctuation errors have been silently corrected.</p>
+</div>
+<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ARMS AND ARMOR OF THE PILGRIMS, 1620-1692 ***</div>
+<div style='text-align:left'>
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