Musketeers
The musketeers got their name from their main weapon - the musket
. In addition to this main weapon, some men would carry a secondary weapon, such as a sword or
axe for close-quarters fighting.
At the start of the wars, twelve wooden cases, joking called the "twelve apostles", would be
worn on a belt over the shoulder. These would each contain enough powder to charge the musket.
In addition to these, a primer with powder for the pan would be attached to this belt. These
were not perfect - they would tangle whilst on the move, and banged together to make hearing
orders as a regiment quite difficult. Later in the wars, paper wrapped charges were used, which
eliminated these problems, and sped up the rate of fire.
Two main tactics are thought to have been used by musketeers in battle. The first was to fire as
a single rank towards the enemy, and then file off to the rear of the unit. The rank behind would
then step up to take their place, having reloaded. The second was similar to the first, but
three ranks would fire at a time - the first kneeling, and the second stooping to fire.
Despite popular films showing musketeers fencing with swords, the majority of musketeers did
not draw sword in battle, although quite a few carried them. When faced with close combat,
the quickest and easiest defence was to "club musket" - turn the musket around and use it as a
bludgeoning weapon.
