The Firelock guard was a special unit of musketeers armed with more advanced types of musket, which rarer and required more specialist knowledge to maintain.
These units were assigned to protect the artillery and baggage trayne, since their Firelock muskets could make their own ignition sparks and didn't rely on burning rope.
On the battlefield they were often shock troops and skirmishers. Not bound to the careful ordered drill of standard musketeers they would hug hedge lines, sneak through woodland, and storm fortifications.
The Firelocks
Flintlocks
The flintlock musket was a far more complex weapon than the standard matchlock musket issued to most musketeers of the English Civil War.
As it didn't require a burning match cord it was far safer around large quantities of gunpowder needed for artillery, could be slung while remaining ready to fire at short notice, and it also better at night for sentries or sneak attacks
The English Lock had an external catch to prevent accidental discharge, and while complex, was a significant simplification of earlier designs.
Snaphaunce
The snaphaunse was an earlier version of the flintlock mechanism which had a separate pan cover and frizen.
This added unnecessary complexity to the design, but did make it slightly safer to carry while loaded.
There are many records of them being issued during the English Civil War, mostly to dragoon units, though some scribes may have simply referred to any flintlock mechanism by the older name.
Wheel-locks
The wheel-lock was one of the older Firelock mechanisms, and worked in a very different way to the others. A spinning wheel of serrated metal would strike sparks from a lump of Pyrite. The wheel was wound using a separate spanner to tighten the spring.
The lock was common on cavalry pistols and short carbines, and occasionally found on long civilian hunting muskets.
The delicate machining and internal chain were hard to manufacture and prone to breakages. The wheel-lock fell out of favour by the end of the English Civil War
Halberds
The Sergeants staff of office was a feared weapon in the 16th century. It could easily stab, hack, or hook opponents when wielded by a competent soldier with enough room to swing it properly.
By the 1640's the Halberd was reserved for low ranking officers, as much a symbol to rally around, as a weapon of war.
In garrison duties it and the similar billhook could serve as a replacement weapon for situations where the full length infantryman's pike would be too unwieldy.
Special Munitions
When storming defences and building Firelock Companies would often be armed with unique weapons perfect for the task at hand.
Thrown weapons would include grenades, stinkpots and firepots, each of which could be lobbed through a window or over a wall to clear our enemies prior to a charge.
We have a page dedicated to the latter two.
