Arms and Armor of the Pilgrims, 1620-1692

by Harold L. Peterson

Cabasset.

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.