17th Century Artillery
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That
a peece of Ordnance is divided into three parts.
1. The Breech,
or chamber, A. Is the Cornish,
brow, or base ring of the peece. After H. Hexham's "Principles of the Art of Militarie" 1639 |
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The
gunners illustrated include 2 members of a gun team, one wearing an
old 'cabasset' helmet and bearing a rammer, and the other with a knitted
woolen cap and carrying a ladle used for transferring powder from
the 'budge-barrel' into the muzzle of the piece. Powder-barrels were
lined with fabric or leather, enabling the top to be drawn together;
and banded with rope rather than iron. The gunner in the foreground carries a 'linstock', which holds the burning slow-match, used to ignite the priming powder in the touch-hole. The spiked or tapered foot allows the linstock to be stuck in the ground while the gun captain directs the laying out of the gun. After "The English Civil War" by Philip Haythornthwaite |
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The following pictures illustrate some of the guns and gunners (both come in a variety of sizes) of the English Civil War Society. The large pieces are the biggest that would have accompanied the army, anything bigger would have been with the Artillery Train. According to one gunner of the period, the whole point of the army was to get the artillery from A to B. Points to note: The lack of uniform among the gunners. Regimental guns positioned outside the musket block. Flames coming from the touch-hole. A 'cannon' is a specific type of gun. Swords, if carried, tend to be short 'hangers', so as not to get in the way of the work. Regimental gunners could carry premade charges in leather 'snapsacks' (satchels). Due to the manufacturing process, each gun is unique. These photos are from Ken & Denise Guest's "British Battles" - a worthwhile book filled with photographs of re-enactors. |
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 Clothes quickly pick up the smell of sulphur |
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Pictures from my scrap album. |
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 Loading Raven (Gosport '89) |
 Firing Raven (Gosport '89) |
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 Raven at Harlow ('91) |
 Rob 'n' Angus Konstam posing with Raven (Powderham Castle '91) |
 Rob loading Raven (Powderham Castle '91) |
 Heavy artillery (Helmsley '94) |
 Raven firing at night - we were supporting a performance of the 1812 Overture (Powderham Castle '91) |
 Fenwick's saker firing (Helmsley '94) |
 Grasshopper (Tatton Park '94) |
 Light artillery by Colquhoun's (Aldershot '91) |
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 Artillery reloading and repositioning (Aldershot '92) |
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 Heavy artillery by Colqhoun's and Hazzards (Aldershot '91) |
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 Light artillery (Hull '92) |
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 Artillery line-up at Gosport (1989) |
 Richard Duthie at Hull, 1992 |
 Guns at Tatton Park, Cheshire (April 1994) |
 Duncan, Speed and Jammy at Upnor Castle in Kent (June 1989). To the right of us is a wall gun. |
 Painting of 30 Year War Artillery by Pieter Meulner |
 Gun carriage from the Tower of London |
 One of my early commands (Yeovil '92) |
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Reconstructed guns from the Swedish ship, the Wasa, of 1628. Note the gun tools - a ladle, sponge, and rammer; the piece itself fired a 24 pound shot. From Peter Padfield's "Guns at Sea" - an interesting history of naval firepower up to WW2. |
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