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.
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.
Detail of the Standish rapier hilt.