This article has been written for Easy History by Patrick Moody, a historian of the English Civil War.
Introduction:
Armies of the 17th Century stood on a strange precipice of military evolution. The birth of the firearm gave rise to new methods of fighting, mixed with older, medieval technology including the lance, halberd, pike, and sword. Artillery came heavily into play, and while the technology had been available for a long time (Edward III deployed cannons at Crecy in 1346), a slew of new methods made their way onto European battlefields, changing the face of warfare in the age of the Scientific Revolution.
In this series of two articles, I will be looking at the evolution of the English and Scottish Armies and how they fought, the tactics they used and the weaponry they mastered. And, to start with, we will be going over the basic units that made up a 17th Century army.
The Pikeman:
The pikeman’s equipment included an ash pole about 18 feet in length with an iron tip – the titular pike. Due to the impracticality of marching with such a cumbersome weapon, many pikemen trimmed their shafts down to a more manageable 16, or even 12 feet. Such actions were frowned upon by commanders, despite the fact it did make it easier for the pikemen to manoeuvre. The main function of the pikemen was to protect the musketeers and to storm breaches in the walls of a city or fort during a siege. At the outset of the war, there were about 2 pikemen to every musketeer, yet the simplicity of firearms training and the many obvious benefits of musketry soon flipped this number to 2 musketeers for every pikeman.
The typical armour of a pikeman would include a combe-cap (helmet), armour corslet (breast and back), and tassets to protect the groin and thighs. Towards the end of the First Civil War (1642-1646), most abandoned the tassets and corslets, sometimes only wearing a helmet and padded jacket for protection. Standing in rows about a yard apart to give the musketeers room to retreat to shelter, the pikemen could also form tight “hedgehog” formations on the flanks of the musketeers, huge, bristling forests of iron-tipped pikes to hold attacking cavalry at bay. It is a position many drill books of the time refer to as ‘charging for horse’. In a sense, the pikemen acted as a shield for the musketeers.
At times, fighting would come down what was known as the “Push of Pike”. This was a last resort, dreaded by all involved, in which entire units of pikemen and musketeers would slowly approach one another, pikemen stabbed at their opponents’ faces while musketeers used the butt-end of their muskets as make-shift clubs. A confrontation at the “Push of Pike” would guarantee a significant number of casualties.
The Musketeer:
Easy to train and relatively effective, musketeers formed the bulk of the Parliamentarian and Royalist infantry. Most muskets were matchlocks – in which the firing mechanism was ignited using a cord of burning match soaked in saltpeter fixed to a metal arm, or ‘serpent’. When the trigger was pulled, the serpent would lower the burning match to a pan of gunpowder, thereby igniting and getting off a shot. While they were easy and cheap to mass produce, the matchlock had its limitations. Since the match had to be kept constantly burning, this obviously hampered any operations in poor weather. This also made night attacks very difficult, as the embers from the burning cords gave away the attacker’s position. Sometimes this was used to great advantage. Sir William ‘the Conqueror’ Waller, commander of Parliament’s Western Association army, would sometimes leave burning cords at the top of walls or between hedges to give the appearance of a large defending force, a tactic which often worked.
Despite this issue and the fact that they were very cheaply made, they had their advantages: if the trigger and arm mechanism broke, the musketeer would still be able to press the burning match down onto the powder and get off a shot, although this was highly dangerous to the user as any black powder weapon was unreliable, and the chance to get burned, blinded, or struck deaf was not an uncommon occurrence. A far superior weapon, the flintlock, or ‘snapchance’, was also used. Using a piece of flint set in a metal arm, the musketeer would simply have to load, pull back the arm, and fire, causing the flint to ignite the powder in a shower of sparks and acrid cloud of smoke.
Hunting rifles or ‘fowling pieces’ were also used, though rarely – given that they were expensive. Since their barrels were rifled and not smooth bore, they allowed for more precise fire, and were usually favoured by snipers. Muskets fired a single ball, which would be loaded in the barrel along with gunpowder and paper or cloth wadded around the ball itself, pushed in with the ram rod. A secondary charge of powder was placed into the pan, the area which the arm would strike to fire. While many claim the range of these weapons was 500 yards, modern tests have shown these muskets were mostly effective at 200 yards or less, 100 being more realistic, as the balls would lose their velocity rather quickly. To make up for the lack of accuracy, ranks of musketeers would close in and fire in lines, then turn back to allow the second line to come up and fire. This maximized their effectiveness as a unit and made up for any misfires or technical issues that would have certainly hampered at least some of the rank and file.
The musketeer wore no armour. From their chest would be slung a bandolero (or bandolier) of pre-made wooden powder flasks, often in a string of twelve, commonly referred to as the ‘twelve apostles’, and a bag of 12-20 musket balls, along with any food they could carry. This bandolero is still around in the modern world, though much evolved. While musketeers and pikemen were issued swords, they were rarely used, as many musketeers would, in close quarters, simply upend their firearms to use as clubs.
At a time of constant innovation, even the musket ball itself became more deadly. Several sources reference poisoned or dirt-covered musket balls. In sieges it wouldn’t be uncommon to see the use of ‘fire bullets’, essentially heated musket balls covered in leather or cloth.
The Cavalry:
There were two types of cavalry: Cuirassiers and Harquebusiers. Of the two, the Cuirassier was rarer, as these mounted troops would be clad in head-to-toe plate armour – something that was very expensive to make and maintain. Carrying a brace of pistols, usually wheel lock carbines (firearms wound with an internal chain mechanism, allowing the operator to fire at great speeds) and a sword, the Cuirassier would charge the enemy about six ranks deep, using the tactic of ‘caracoling’, or firing their carbines and immediately pulling back to allow the next row to ride up and discharge. Two famous regiments were Essex’s Lifeguards and the ‘London Lobsters’ or simply ‘Lobsters’, so called for their articulated armour and ‘lobster pot helmets’, led by Parliamentarian commander Sir Arthur Haselrig.
The Harquebusiers forswore full plate armour, instead choosing to wear heavy leather ‘buff coats’, a helmet, back and breast plates, as well as thick boots and a gauntlet on their bridle arm. They carried pistols and the most common sword of the day, the backsword, single edged and heavy, often tied to their wrists, and were the typical cavalry unit of the day, with Prince Rupert’s troops and Oliver Cromwell’s ‘Ironsides’ being the most famous examples.
The cavalry did not ‘charge’ during battle, at least not the ‘charge’ we conjure with our modern sensibilities. Instead, they would approach at cantor, then a trot to maintain formation, ideally with their knees knocked together, a slower yet more effective move used by Oliver Cromwell to keep both the horses and soldiers calm during the chaos of battle. A ‘proper’ charge at full gallop would only occur if a cavalry unit chased the enemy from the field.
Dragoons:
The ‘shock-troops’ of the day, essentially mounted infantry whose speed and manoeuvrability would allow them to ride to where they were most needed, then dismount and fire their muskets. Dragoons were also very useful for scouting and foraging missions, as they were unencumbered by armour. They also acted as quick reinforcements during a battle, able to reach the action in a fraction of the time it would take a musketeer or pikeman, though Dragoons were usually given the poorest quality horses. They were also used to take up advanced positions ahead of a battle, forming the advance guard.
Artillery:
The 17th Century ushered in a large array of artillery pieces. They could be made of bronze and iron, sometimes even leather. During the English Civil War, some cannons and mortars became famous (much like Edward I’s trebuchet the War Wolf or Richard the Lionheart’s ‘Bad Neighbour’), such as ‘Gog and Magog’, ‘Sweetlips’, ‘Roaring Meg’, and ‘Queen Elizabeth’s Pocket Pistols’.
There were two main types of artillery: Siege guns and Field guns.
Siege Guns:
Heavier, stronger, and with greater range, the siege guns were by far the most damaging, as much of the fighting during the English Civil War was siege warfare of castles and manor houses. These included the Demi-Cannon; 12 feet long and weighing 6,000 pounds, capable of shooting balls up to 27 pounds. Cannons of 7 and 8, weighing in at 8,000 and 7,000 pounds respectably, fired balls up to 70 pounds and were pulled by teams of up to 16 horses and 90 men. The standard range was about 1,000 yards.
Field Guns:
Less powerful and able to be moved rather freely, these came in a very wide variety. On the large side were Culverns, Sakers, and Drakes, firing balls from 5 to 15 pounds. Smaller pieces included Minions, Falcons, Falconets, and Robinets, some only needing one or two horses to pull and teams of eight to ten cannoneers to operate. Mortars, such as the famous ‘Roaring Meg’, were large and squat, firing hollow iron balls called ‘grenadoes’ filled with gunpowder that would cause considerable damage when lobbed over an enemy wall. Handheld explosives were also being developed at this time, the ‘hand grenadoe’ a simple ball of clay filled with powder and shrapnel.
The value placed on experienced gunners was well noted, even in Elizabethan times. Cyprian Lucar’s compilation on the ‘properties, office, and duty’ of a gunner explains the type of qualities suitable for the job: ‘The cannoneer, like the general, must be sober, wakeful, lusty, hardy, patient, prudent, and quick-spirited. He noted they should have knowledge of geography, arithmetic, and geometry.
Conclusion
Working in conjunction, these units would form the basis of the English and Scottish armies in this period. With a mix of old and new technology, the forces of both Parliament and King Charles would go on to reap devastation across the landscape, changing the face of 17th century England while castles, cities – fortified against older forms of warfare and weaponry had to quickly adapt to overcome these new techniques of war. All this gave rise to new and more and more effective tactics… but more on that soon.
Sources:
Lipscombe, Nick The English Civil War: An Atlas & Concise History of The Wars of the Three
Kingdoms 1638-51. (2020). Osprey Publishing. London.
Gaunt, Peter The English Civil War: A Military History. (2014). I.B Tauris. Great Britian.
Spring, Laurence Campaigns of the Eastern Association: The Rise of Oliver Cromwell, 1642-1645.
(2020). Helion & Company. Warwick.
Cruickshank, C.G Elizabeth’s Army. (1968). Oxford University Press. Oxford.
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