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05 - New Discoveries at Jamestown by John L. Cotter, J. Paul Hudson · New Discoveries at Jamestown

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  Speaker 1: Section five of New Discoveries at Jamestown. This is a
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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  Speaker 1: This recording is by Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina.
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  Speaker 1: New Discoveries at Jamestown by John L. Connor and J.
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  Speaker 1: Paul Hudson. Section five Military Equipment. The vast assemblage of
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  Speaker 1: military equipment that has been unearthed, probably the largest collection
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  Speaker 1: of late sixteenth and seventeenth century English weapons used in America,
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  Speaker 1: emphasizes the important part which firearms and other weapons played
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  Speaker 1: during the early years of the settlement. They helped the
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  Speaker 1: colonists to protect themselves from the ever menacing Indian and
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  Speaker 1: from the Spaniards, who might at any time have sailed
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  Speaker 1: up to James River to attack the small colony. They
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  Speaker 1: were also the means of providing the settlers with much
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  Speaker 1: of their food. During the early years of the colony.
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  Speaker 1: Each Englishman who planned to emigrate to Virginia was advised
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  Speaker 1: to supply himself with the following arms. One armor complete light,
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  Speaker 1: one long piece five foot or five and a half
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  Speaker 1: near musket bore, one sword, one bandolier. A bandlier was
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  Speaker 1: a belt worn to carry the cases which held the
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  Speaker 1: powder charges, twenty pounds of powder, sixty pounds of shot
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  Speaker 1: or lead pistol, and goose shot. Most of the kinds
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  Speaker 1: of arms listed have been found at Jamestown and will
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  Speaker 1: be described briefly, along with other types of weapons which
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  Speaker 1: were unearthed polearms. Parts from several polearms, including bills, pikes,
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  Speaker 1: and a halberd, have been excavated. The recovered halberd, a
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  Speaker 1: pole arm with sharp cutting edges and a spear like point,
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  Speaker 1: is typical of the late sixteenth century and may have
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  Speaker 1: been made as early as fifteen seventy five. A few
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  Speaker 1: bills were unearthed, all dating around sixteen hundred. A bill
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  Speaker 1: is a polearm having a long staff terminating in a
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  Speaker 1: hook shaped blade, usually with spikes at the back and top.
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  Speaker 1: Two pike butts were also unearthed. Illustration caption two early
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  Speaker 1: seventeenth century polearms, a bill and halberd, unearthed at Jamestown.
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  Speaker 1: Both weapons had long, wooden handles. End of caption. Illustration
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  Speaker 1: caption the caltrop on earth to Jamestown. This sharp pointed
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  Speaker 1: instrument was thrown on the ground to impede an enemy's
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  Speaker 1: infantry and cavalry. End of caption. Caltrop. This small item
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  Speaker 1: on earth that jamestown is an instrument with four iron points,
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  Speaker 1: so arranged that, no matter how it lands, one point
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  Speaker 1: always projects upward to impede the progress of an enemy's
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  Speaker 1: cavalry and to prevent surprise attacks. Swords, rapiers, and cutlasses.
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  Speaker 1: Types of swords that have been found include broadswords, cutlasses
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  Speaker 1: or backswords, and rapiers. Three examples are complete or nearly so,
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  Speaker 1: a cutlass, a broadsword, and a swept hilt rapier. Many
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  Speaker 1: basket hilts were on Earth, together with guards from other
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  Speaker 1: type swords, pommels, and blade fragments. A number of these
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  Speaker 1: edged weapons were made between sixteen hundred and sixteen twenty five.
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  Speaker 1: Several basket hilted guards and blade fragments were found at
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  Speaker 1: the site of an early seventeenth century forge, which may
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  Speaker 1: have been an armourer's workshop. Cannon. One small cannon barrel fragment,
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  Speaker 1: possibly from a light cannon known as a robinette, has
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  Speaker 1: been unearthed. The bore at the end of the barrel
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  Speaker 1: is only one and a quarter inches across. A varied
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  Speaker 1: assortment of seventeenth century by cannon balls have also been found.
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  Speaker 1: Appropriate sizes for such ordinance as demi culverins, sakers, minions,
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  Speaker 1: and falcons. Illustration caption firing a demi culverine from a
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  Speaker 1: bastion at James Fort conjectural sketch by Sydney E. King
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  Speaker 1: and of caption illustration caption hilt and portion of blade
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  Speaker 1: of a swept tilt rapier excavated at Jamestown of the
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  Speaker 1: sixteen hundred to sixteen ten period, and of caption muskets.
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  Speaker 1: An excellent assemblage of seventeenth century musket barrels and gun
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  Speaker 1: parts have been recovered from the Jamestown soil, reminiscent of
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  Speaker 1: times when Indians attempted to wipe out the small settlement.
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  Speaker 1: Among the gunlocks found are matchlocks, wheel locks, snaphauntss, dog locks,
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  Speaker 1: and flintlocks. The first settlers were equipped with both wheel
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  Speaker 1: lock and matchlock muskets. Some of the muskets were so
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  Speaker 1: heavy they required a forked ground wrest to shoot. Parts
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  Speaker 1: of two forked ground wrests had been excavated. Other muskets,
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  Speaker 1: like the caliber, were light and could be fired without
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  Speaker 1: the use of a support. The standard musket during the
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  Speaker 1: early years of the settlement was the matchlock. By sixteen
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  Speaker 1: twenty five, however, the picture had changed for the wheel lock,
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  Speaker 1: snaphaunts and dog lock were being used in large numbers,
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  Speaker 1: and the matchlock had become obsolete. Pistols only a few
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  Speaker 1: pistol barrels and parts had been unearthed. One pistol barrel
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  Speaker 1: is attractively ornamented with silver bands, light armour and siege helmet.
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  Speaker 1: A breastplate and back piece from a light suit of armour,
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  Speaker 1: probably a pikeman suit, was found in a refuse pit.
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  Speaker 1: These interesting specimens were probably made in England during the
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  Speaker 1: sixteen hundred to sixteen twenty period. In nineteen five fifty three,
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  Speaker 1: Sergeant Floyd E. Painter found an English siege helmet sixteen
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  Speaker 1: hundred to sixteen forty period, four miles down the river
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  Speaker 1: from Jamestown Island. Illustration caption a Jamestown sentry on duty
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  Speaker 1: shouldering his heavy matchlock musket conjectural sketch by Sydney E. King.
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  Speaker 1: End of caption. Illustration caption early musket barrel and gun
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  Speaker 1: parts excavated at Jamestown. End of caption. Illustration caption breastplate
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  Speaker 1: from a light suit of armour found in a refuse pit.
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  Speaker 1: This was one type used between sixteen hundred and sixteen forty.
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  Speaker 1: End of caption, illustration caption. A heavy siege helmet found
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  Speaker 1: four miles down river from Jamestown, weighing over eight pounds.
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  Speaker 1: It was one type used in Europe during the early
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  Speaker 1: years of the seventeenth century. End of caption, illustration caption.
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  Speaker 1: The early Jamestown stlers were advised to equip themselves with
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  Speaker 1: one armor. Complete light conjectural sketch by sydney E King
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  Speaker 1: and of caption and of section five