CANNON

Artillery In The 17^th Century.

Historically artillery pieces had been a feature of European war for some three centuries in one form or another. However during the 17^th century they became of increasing importance in siege warfare where the benefits of being able to open a gap in a city or castle wall are obvious.

Their battlefield role was by comparison regarded to be of little significance, but this attitude was modified by the reforms of Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus in the 1630’s. During the Civil War lighter artillery pieces were present at most of the major actions of the war as field pieces in addition to as their role in sieges. The cannons themselves ranged in size from the mighty “Cannon Royal” with a 63 pound shot and a weight of 8,000 pound down to the smallest “Base” with ½ pound shot and a weight of 90 pound.

The main logistical problems for artillery were transportation (a Cannon Royal taking for example 90 horses to pull it) and the provision of enough shot and gunpowder. The three most common cannon in the war were the culverin, the demi-culverin and saker, the effective ranges of these pieces being from 2,600 yards down to just over 2,100 yards.

The gun crews consisted of gunners and assistants called mattrosses. They dressed in a similar style to the foot-soldiers and were often armed with swords and sometimes pole axes. Master gunners were skilled experts who were greatly valued for their knowledge of the “black art.”

King Charles was fortunate in that a number of the pre war Ordinance and Armoury remained loyal and eventually established an excellent Ordinance office in Oxford. Among these was Lieutenant of Ordinance Sir John Heydon who was described by Kenelm Digby as “a consummate souldier both in theory and practice.” During the war both sides made considerable use of captured guns and foreign experts in artillery.

In the Sealed Knot we use the cannons to represent both their roles of siege and battlefield. It is quite an experience to fire a muzzle loading cannon and gives a unique insight into a past era of artillery.

A typical day on the cannon crew.

It’s raining, fading to a heavy drizzle. A 17^th century cannon with large yellow wheels stands isolated in a tranquil field. A few stray artillerymen hang around a barren car park, huddled near a self-emptying bucket of water (quite a feat for the water bucket given it’s been raining all morning). Two of the younger members of the cannon crew are hunched at the opposite end of the field picking bunches and bunches of buttercups. This is early in the sealed Knot season and the Gerards cannon, Firedragon, and her crew have made their way to a muster, Stratton to be precise. Not surprisingly, it’s raining and the dripping crew of Firedragon are standing around at a deserted battleground, an hour before the rest of the army will turn up. “Are you nuts?” someone asks, “Absolutely” I reply.

This might all seem a bit crazy to the average person, but I know something that the occasional curious dog walker strolling down the nearby footpath doesn’t. In an hours time, despite the shouting and musket fire that marks the start of an SK battle, our Gun Captain will bellow “Have a care”. Two seconds later Firedragon will discharge, and for a fleeting second everything will go deadly silent; all and sundry will pause as if the battle has been suspended for the briefest amount of time. The silence is then broken by the activation of a car alarm, babies who have started to cry and the odd pikeman who has turned around and started cursing in our direction. But if you look at the crew, you will see they display an eerie, half-thrilled, half-malicious smile, known in the SK as the infamous “Gunners Grin”.

“Gunners Grin?” you ask. Well, it doesn’t come naturally, it has to be earned by being part of a team that strive to impress yet terrify at the same time. Let’s rewind back 5 minutes. The drums beat out and the armies march on to the now occupied battlefield. Firedragons crew of six are ready, positioned around their much-loved cannon, still dripping wet, but raring to go. Our gun captain Mark receives a mysterious signal and turns to the crew and shouts (well, it’s more of a polite mention with Mark) “Make ready”, the cue for us to prepare the cannon to fire.

The first of our team to move is Dave; standing at the front of the cannon he grabs the worm, which is basically a long pole with a corkscrew at the end, and to ensure that no ‘gunk’ is lodged in the barrel, he inserts it down and twists. After declaring the piece “Clear”, Gareth jumps to attention with his wet mop, ready to check there is nothing alight in the barrel. Dipping it in the soon-to-be very dirty bucket of water (the bucket which by now has stopped emptying itself), he gives it a shake and inserts it into the barrel, moving it up and down slightly, spurting a small amount of water through the vent hole until Mark Mark (not to be confused with Gun Captain Mark) smiles and nods his head (honestly, it doesn’t look as rude as it sounds). When they have finished, the order to dry the piece is given — if it’s too wet inside, the powder may not ignite. Dave grabs his dry mop and rams it down the barrel. The cannon is now ready for loading. When Mark is sure it’s safe he gives his order for “Powder” and holds up a finger or two. He’s not being insulting, this gesture just re-assures the powder monkey (the person who has the unfortunate job of sitting on top of the gunpowder box) how many bags of powder are needed. Cosmic opens the box and passes the bags of black-powder to Karen who places them in her spoon (a long pole with a shallow bit at the end). Karen walks to the front of the cannon and uses the spoon to place the charges at the bottom of the barrel. Gareth then taps the powder home using a long pole, henceforth known as the ramrod. Now it’s my turn, “Wadding” cries Mark, turning my attention from the rear of a nearby pikeblock. Acting cautiously (bear in mind the cannon’s now loaded), I stuff a handful of buttercups into the mouth of the barrel (please note: we normally use grass for wadding, but flowers are so much prettier!) Gareth rams the wadding down the barrel using his ramrod, ensuring the wadding and powder are tightly compressed “Piece charged” he calls.

Now Mark Mark is ready to prick and prime. Inserting a pricker (basically a big needle), into the vent hole he breaks through the plastic bag that contains the gunpowder. Next he primes; using a powder flask he places gunpowder down the vent creating a ‘fuse’ from the powder in the barrel to the top of the vent. The piece is now charged and primed and ready to fire. There are only a few seconds left until the ‘Gunners Grins’ appear. The moment is approaching, Mark holds the linstock in the air (this is a piece of wood he found abroad with a hole drilled in it to hold a piece of burning match. Most regiments have a proper linstock but we have to make do with, Ouch!....Sorry sir, I do apologise, honestly, we love it). Mark picks his moment, the army is not too near, there are no horse in front of the cannon, the public are engrossed in the battle oblivious to the fact that a cannon is about to fire, this is it “Have a care”….

Kathy, Corporal of the cannon.