THE CIVIL WAR MUSKETEER : LEAD POWDER FLASK

PERIOD: ENGLISH CIVIL WARS, LOCATION: LINCOLNSHIRE, UK MATERIAL: LEAD

In 1644 Lincoln found itself on the front line of the English Civil Wars. The Parliamentarian Army led by Edward Montagu, the Earl of Manchester, gathered at the top of Canwick Hill amidst heavy rain. The rain may have delayed the approach, making the climb up the mound of the Castle almost impossible, but it didn’t stop the 4 day siege that ensued, saw the defeat of the Royalist Stronghold here, and the loss of many lives.

The English Civil Wars touched every section of society with the proportion of the population killed comparable to the loss of the First World War. Many of the 900 Royalists killed here in Lincoln in 1644 would have been local men defending their hometown, and that was just one of the 600 battles and sieges experienced in the Wars. Compared to the last time that Britain experienced a major battle on its own soil, in the Wars of the Roses, warfare had changed rather considerably. The musket was now a key player on the battlefield and a great leveller; being such a basic weapon it meant an untrained man could be recruited and firing on the battlefield in only a number of days. It was also one of the major causes of deaths. 

The Matchlock Musket was the most common weapon found on such a battlefield. It was between 5 to 6 feet long and known as a ‘Matchlock’ as a result of their ignition method; a long burning cord known as a ‘match’ was clamped into the serpent like piece of metal on top of the gun that moved and dipped the burning cord into the gunpowder pan as the trigger was pulled, alighting the charge and projecting a musket ball around 100 yards. The people wielding this weapon were known as the Musketeers and they were one of the most important sections of infantry in the English Civil Wars.

Many of the 900 Royalists killed here in Lincoln in 1644 would have been local men defending their hometown, and that was just one of the 600 battles and sieges experienced in the Wars.

After our ‘pinch me’ moment uncovering two lost Silver Shillings minted under Charles I and James I, who were deeply intertwined into this Civil War History. We were pretty desperate to see what other traces of the Wars were hiding at the top of this steep hill. So we returned, with maybe the rather high hopes of another coin or two to add to the shillings. But the metal detecting gods had something else on the agenda with a high 30s on the VDI leading us to uncover one of the most dangerous pieces of equipment to be carried around in the English Civil Wars. And an artefact that rang a few alarm bells during the excavation as we fully thought we had found a mortar. 

Thankfully it wasn’t a relic from World War II that would have prompted an alarming call to the bombsquad. It was still one with a rather explosive past, however, as we found ourselves holding a huge lead container. An intact powder flask, and these lead vessels were pretty key to warfare during the English Civil Wars as they would have contained the musketeers main supply of gunpowder on the battlefield. 

There were around four musketeers to each pikeman in the wars, making up the majority of the armies, and they arguably had one of the most dangerous roles. The musket, whilst being a great leveller in the wars, had its problems. The main one being that it was very slow to load and fire. First a measured amount of gunpowder had to be poured down the barrel of the gun, followed by a musket ball and wadding, all of which had to be packed down to ensure an effective firing. This was never fast, especially not in the heat of a battle, even a highly skilled shooter could only fire around 2 or 3 shots a minute.

But the metal detecting gods had something else on the agenda with a high 30s on the VDI leading us to uncover one of the most dangerous pieces of equipment to be carried around in the English Civil Wars.

To speed up the efficiency of shooting, each musketeer wore a belt around their chest which was known as Bandolier. This held all of the equipment they needed for loading and firing, there were twelve small bottles, which contained pre-measured quantities of gunpowder, just enough for one shot, and a larger powder flask for re-stocking. Naturally, this was a lot of gunpowder to wrap around one's chest, it was a huge hazard, especially when you think of the firing method of the matchlock musket that relies on a piece of burning cord that hangs from the gun. Accidents were unfortunately rather common, as recorded by Royalist Surgeon Richard Wisemen, in a book he published describing his treatments during the English Civil Wars. He writes: 

‘A Souldier in the time of service being in the Fort-Royall at Worcester, hastily fetched his Bonnet full of Gun-powder; and whilst he was filling his Bandeliers, another Souldier carelesly bestrides it, to make a Shot at one of the Enemies which he saw lying perdue. In firing his Musket, a spark flew out of the Pan, and gave fire to the Powder underneath him, and grievously burned the Hands, Arms, Breast, Neck and Face of him that was filling his Bandeliers.’ 

A horrific accident for one musketeer, but even more unfortunately, musketeers rarely worked alone as the slow firing of their weapons meant it was more efficient to fire in volleys, creating rows of musketeers firing in sequence to provide a barrage of ammunition at their opponents. All it took was one stray spark to alight a musketeers gunpowder supply, an action that would often have disastrous consequences for the whole row of musketeers, each with enough gunpowder attached to them to cause serious damage. 

The powder flask is not quite a pretty artefact as our Civil War Hoard, but in a way it has revealed a much more personal side of the history: It revealed the story of the musketeer, the majority of whom were men drafted in from local towns with no choice but to fight for their cause.