PIKEMAN Ideally a Pikeman would have been armed with a 16-18 feet pike (a long wooden pole with metal spike on the end) and a sword, although many did not see a sword. He would again ideally wear a helmet or “pot” with a leather buff coat, back and breast armour and a few retained the old tassets which was armour to protect the thighs. In 1632, a pikeman’s cost for this equipment was estimated to be about £1 2s 0d. MUSKETEER A musketeer would have been armed with matchlocks, though other arms in use at the time included firelocks or the early version of flintlocks called snaphances. The matchlock musket was a heavy instrument, over 5 feet long and was supported in the firing position by a rest. This was a stick with a U shaped head, where the musket could rest in to steady the fire. A musket ball could travel over 400 yards, but became ineffective if over 40 yards from the target and experts could fire one round every five minutes. Very often though, once the first shot had gone, the musketeer would take hold of the barrel and use the musket as a club. To load and fire was a complicated process: The pan is filled with fine priming powder and the musketeer pushes the cap off the charge holder to pour an exact measure of powder into the barrel. The musketeer would then ram home this charge with a ball included via a wooden ramrod, which was carried under the barrel of the gun. An end of the smouldering match was clipped onto the a curved arm that was secured to the side of the stock and the musketeer would blow on the other end, making it glow. On the command “Give Fire” the glowing end was used to ignite the charge and the musket fired. CAVALRYMAN Cavalrymen were usually prone to wear whatever they wore for riding, since horse transport was the universal mode of travel for most people. Therefore they would ideally have had a buff coat, with helmet and back and breast armour. A pair of pistols and a sword would be the armaments; usually carbines and cavalrymen would be issued with cloaks or coats. More often in the Parliamentary forces, cavalrymen could be issued with armour to cover them right down to their knees. These were called cuirassiers and the most famous troop being the Parliamentarian Sir Arthur Haselrig’s “lobsters” as they were called. DRAGOONS General George Monck, later Duke of Albermarle tells us that dragoons should be equipped with snaphance or flintlock muskets which could be fired from the mounted position. Although more expensive, they were far more accuarate and reliable than the matchlock and through using flint as a way of producing sparks to light the charge, it eliminated the need to prime matches, therefore quickening the rate of firepower. They would be mounted, but also available to act as foot soldiers if needed. They also carried a sword. ARTILLERY There are many different types and rates of artillery of the period. To move them was a major job as can be seen below. If horses were not available, then men had to do it themselves: Cannon Royal Weighed 71.5 cwt 90 men to move 16 horses to move Cannon Weighed 62 cwt 70 men to move 12 horses to move Demi Cannon Weighed 53.5 cwt 60 men to move 10 horses to move Culverin Weighed 41 cwt 50 men to move 8 horses to move Demi Culverin Weighed 22.3 cwt 36 men to move 7 horses to move Saker and Drake Weighed 14.3 cwt 24 men to move 5 horses to move Minion Weighed 10.5 cwt 20 men to move 4 horses to move Falcon Weighed 6.2 cwt 16 men to move 2 horses to move SIEGE GUNS The saker up to 10 feet long would fire balls weighing 4-7 pounds, the demi culverin at 10 feet firing 7-21 pounds and the Culverin at 11 feet firing 12-20 pounds. Both saker and demi culverin could be capable of blasting gates and reducing turrets and battlements, while the culverin would be able to crack stonework. SIEGE WEAPONS The demi cannon of 12 feet however could fire a ball of 20-40 pounds and destroy the wall of a castle or town. It was eclipsed by the 8 feet of the cannon royal, which fired balls of 40-80 pounds and was effective against any fortress. MORTARS Mortars such as “Roaring Meg” were used purely to scare the besieged garrison. They could inflict no damage on defences, but fired over walls to damage living quarters, start fires and kill defenders. Short and stubby, they sat at 45-degree angles. Back to Table of Contents -- King or Parliament #4 Back to King or Parliament List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2003 by Mark Turnbull. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com