Arms and Armor of the Pilgrims, 1620-1692

by Harold L. Peterson

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.

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.