The ammunition which the colonists fired from their guns consisted of
round balls of lead propelled by charges of black powder. The powder
was weak by modern standards and thus comparatively large loads were
used. When it was ignited it gave off clouds of white smoke which
smelled strongly of sulphur. Usually for military purposes a single
ball was used, but sometimes, especially for hunting, a number of small
shot, much like present day buck shot, were used. These were called
swan shot by the men who used them.
There were several ways of carrying this ammunition. The powder was
normally either in a flask or bandolier; the shot in a soft leather
pouch. When going into action, a soldier often took his bullets from
his pouch and put them in his mouth so he could spit them into the
barrel of his gun and save time in loading.
[Illustration: _Powder flasks._]
[Illustration]
The flask was usually a box of wood, often covered with leather and
bound with iron. Normally it was either roughly triangular or shaped
like a flattened horn. There was a nozzle at the end with two valves,
one at the base and one at the end. This enabled the user to measure
out one nozzle-full of powder at a time, and the nozzle was calculated
to hold just about enough powder for a normal load. Usually two flasks
were used, a large one for the propelling charge within the gun, and a
small one holding finer powder for use in the priming pan.
A bandolier was a somewhat more complicated piece of equipment. It
consisted of a leather belt worn over the shoulder from which were
suspended little cylinders of wood, metal or hard leather. Each of
these cylinders held enough powder for one charge. Also attached to the
belt were a bullet pouch and often a small flask for priming powder.
Theoretically the bandolier afforded a faster and more convenient
method of carrying ammunition. Actually, it had many disadvantages.
The cylinders rattled against each other, making so much noise it was
sometimes impossible to hear commands. Occasionally the musket would
become tangled in the loops. And worst of all, hanging in front as they
did, they would sometimes ignite from the musket discharge and the
whole string of charges would explode, which was most unpleasant and
disconcerting to the wearer to say the least. Despite these drawbacks,
bandoliers were quite popular at Plymouth, and they are frequently
mentioned in wills and inventories.
As the 17th century wore on, there came two other developments in the
means of carrying ammunition. The use of flasks made of cows’ horns
increased in popularity as the cattle population grew. Such horn flasks
had been used to some extent by the poorer classes in Europe, but in
America they became very popular because they could be made locally and
did not require great skill or craftsmanship. By the beginning of the
18th century such horn flasks or powder horns as they were then called
completely dominated the flask picture. The other development was the
practice of wrapping charges of powder in cylinders of paper which
could be carried in a pouch. These were the first true cartridges.
They had been used in Europe primarily for mounted troops for several
decades before the Pilgrims landed. Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden is
credited with having been the first general to supply his infantry with
them early in the 17th century. However this may be, paper cartridges
began to appear at Plymouth sometime after 1637, and by the beginning
of King Philip’s War in 1675, they were fairly common. They were not
widely used by European infantry until after 1700.
[Illustration: _Musketeer wearing a bandolier. Note how he pours the
charge from one cylinder down the muzzle. From De Gheyn._]
[Illustration: _Full scale model of a sakeret mounted in Plimoth
Plantation’s reconstruction of the first fort._]