Matchlocks on guard duty?

hyuzu · May 30, 2019

This is one I got to wondering about recently. Standing on sentry duty on a fortress wall or camp perimeter with a matchlock is something that would present a unique question; what did you do with the match? If you kept it lit the whole time, I could see a single sentry going through a fair bit of match cord every day if they had to keep it burning on a 4-8 hour shift. But if you kept it unlit and just stood next to a burning torch/brazier, that would preserve match cord but put you at a disadvantage in the event of a surprise attack (as well as make you much more visible to an enemy marksman than if you were only illuminated by the smaller glow of a match).

Does anyone here know what the standard practice was for sentries armed with matchlocks? Did they keep their guns lit the whole time?

Pukka Bundook · May 30, 2019

I do nor know Hyuzu, but would imagine the matchcord was just held in the left hand as in standard practice, both ends lit, ends protruding between fingers.
We Do know a lot of match-cord was consumed, and one of the complaints in the 100 years war, was all the bed -ropes were stolen when an army moved through an area.
Four or so feet burned up on a watch of 4 hours wouldn't be so bad really.

hyuzu · May 30, 2019

Pukka Bundook said:
I do nor know Hyuzu, but would imagine the matchcord was just held in the left hand as in standard practice, both ends lit, ends protruding between fingers.
We Do know a lot of match-cord was consumed, and one of the complaints in the 100 years war, was all the bed -ropes were stolen when an army moved through an area.
Four or so feet burned up on a watch of 4 hours wouldn't be so bad really.

I guess it would depend on how many guards you had burning match at a time. 4 feet x 50 soldiers is 200 feet of match cord every four hours. But I guess only the larger fortifications would have that many gunners on duty at the same time...

I'm really in the dark on this one. From a logistical and economic standpoint, it was something I was curious about.

Loyalist Dave · May 30, 2019

You guys are thinking modern...,
The matchlock musket when it held a bayonet, was considered a spear that shoots, not a gun with a knife on the end. Prior to that, musketeers were armed with backup weapons, rapiers. Further, they were backed up by pikemen. So these guys didn't stand there on sentry duty with burning cords in case an alarm was raised.

The sentry, of that time was a pikeman, or more likely, he was a Halberdier...,

In fact you can find them today. One group guards the Tower of London and The Crown Jewels, and the other group guards The Pope.

LD

hyuzu · May 30, 2019

Loyalist Dave said:
The sentry, of that time was a pikeman, or more likely, he was a Halberdier...,

So the guys up on the ramparts were armed with polearms, not matchlocks? What did they do to attack the enemies down below? Throw stuff at them?

Nyckname · May 30, 2019

Loyalist Dave said:
You guys are thinking modern...,
The matchlock musket when it held a bayonet, was considered a spear that shoots, not a gun with a knife on the end. Prior to that, musketeers were armed with backup weapons, rapiers. Further, they were backed up by pikemen. So these guys didn't stand there on sentry duty with burning cords in case an alarm was raised.
View attachment 10301 View attachment 10302 View attachment 10304

The sentry, of that time was a pikeman, or more likely, he was a Halberdier...,
View attachment 10305 View attachment 10306 View attachment 10307

In fact you can find them today. One group guards the Tower of London and The Crown Jewels, and the other group guards The Pope.

LD

DaveC · May 30, 2019

Matchlock muskets showed a glowing ember at night. They also smelled like a slow match.

Incidentally, in New Spain/ Mexico the Viceroy's bodyguard also sported halberds/ the "alabarda" much like the beefeaters in London, or the Swiss Guard at the Vatican.

Swedish musketeers for a time had the so-called "swine feather" which was basically turning the forked stand for the heavy matchlock and turning it into a short spear, stabbing weapon. Eventually the plug bayonet came on the scene, and during the 30-years War the musket grew somewhat lighter.

Matchlocks were simple and relatively cheap. Almost from the outset, the numbers were supplemented by outrageously/outlandishly expensive wheel-lock calivers/carbines, pistols, and snap locks, snaphaunces. Unless I'm mistaken, 17th century New England militia had as many snaphaunces as they did matchlocks.

My understanding is that the French finally went around and made sure no troops had matchlocks and that everyone had switched to the flintlock by 1704. Sweden still used a lot of pikes at Poltava!

Reading about the trials and tribulations and penal servitude aboard his Majesty, Louis XIV's galleys by a Huguenot prisoner in the early 1700s, I was startled that some of the internal police-type forces within France still had crossbows!

Nyckname · May 30, 2019

DaveC said:
...forked stand for the heavy matchlock...

Strictly speaking, when a matchlock is used with the stand, it's an arquebus.

DaveC · May 30, 2019

Thanks for the correction!

hakebössor in Swedish... Here's the so-called sow feather/ swine feather or demipike with musket support:

hyuzu · May 31, 2019

Nyckname said:
Strictly speaking, when a matchlock is used with the stand, it's an arquebus.

Oh, I actually thought the terminology was the other way around... wasn't "arquebus" used to describe a smaller/lighter firearm than the full-sized muskets that required a rest?

Pukka Bundook · May 31, 2019

Yes Hyuzu, Arquebus is the early and often short and lighter version. A Musket was used from the rest, and could weigh up to 22 lbs or so in later versions.

The lighter matchlock not requiring the rest was the caliver.

Loyalist Dave · Jun 1, 2019

hyuzu said:
So the guys up on the ramparts were armed with polearms, not matchlocks? What did they do to attack the enemies down below? Throw stuff at them?

He's not manning an M60 medium machine gun....

The job of the sentry was to keep his eyes and ears open, and to shout the alarm. If he's up on a rampart he's not worried about fighting off a besieging army single handed.

Gee LD wouldn't the sound of the shot alert everybody there's a problem?

Sure, you could rely on that..., so the match never goes out, and the musket never misfires, OH and it never rains..., OR....maybe we rely on the sentry to call out a couple of times each hour, "Post number 1, All's Well"... and so forth, so if he gets taken out by an archer or a ninja, and so doesn't give the call, we know there's a problem..., and we also know there's a problem when he spots some bad guys and shouts, "To Arms! To Arms!"

OH and just about every halberd blade design is an axe, a spear, and a hook for pulling down a horsemen so it's always "loaded" (even in damp weather)..., but also can be used to reverse hook and push....the top of a scaling ladder backwards off the top edge of said rampart.

LD

Pukka Bundook · Jun 2, 2019

Dave,

My only question is regarding the very high -end muskets belonging to the "Town Guard" of places like Amsterdam. I wonder if indeed they were used for guard duty, or only if the "town Guard" was called out in emergencies. (Any thoughts?)
To own such elaborate muskets, I can see that the town guard would like to use them, or at least Carry them to show them off when at all possible.

Matchlocks on guard duty?

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