The Rifle Shoppe’s reproduction of the 1636 Newtowne matchlock is an exact replica of the original on display in the National Museum of American History. smoothbore, giving the owner an option of firing ball or shot. The barrel with its touchhole and the stock of the matchlock are self-explanatory. The lock of the Newtowne period consists of a curved arm, called the serpentine, which holds a saltpeter-impregnated rope (match). The serpentine is activated and lowers the match down to a powder filled priming pan by a sear attached to a lever (trigger) that looks exactly like the triggers found on period crossbows. Then, hopefully, there’s a loud report and a projectile is launched to its target. how-to The manual-of-arms for the management of a matchlock is complicated and laborious. I can’t imagine being in combat and having to reload a matchlock while being on the receiving end of a volley of wellaimed arrows. Two references from Harold Peterson’s remarkable book, Arms and Armor in Colonial America 1526-1783, drive home this point. “After having fired his musket, the first task of the soldier was to remove his match (which according to regulations was lighted at both ends) so that he would not accidentally ignite any of his powder. To do this, he loosened the thumbscrew which clamped the match in the fork of the serpentine and grasped the cord with his left hand, holding one of the lighted ends between his second and third fingers and the other end between his third and fourth fingers. Then, seizing the barrel of the gun with the thumb and forefinger of the same hand, he would hold it while he loaded. “Having thus prepared the piece to receive the charge, he would use his right hand to open one of the wooden cylinders on his bandolier, each of which contained a single charge of powder, and pour the contents down the barrel. Next came a ball from its pouch or from his mouth if it was during an action, and, finally a wad Holt’s first three shots cut a well centered, 4" group at 25 yards. of tow or paper rammed down. Then he would prime the piece by filling the flash pan with fine-grained powder… close the pan cover and carefully blow away any loose powder. “The piece was then loaded but… the match had to be returned to the serpentine and adjusted. The coal on its end had to be blown into activity. If the gunner was forced to wait any length of time before firing, he had to change the adjustment of the match continually to insure it would strike the pan and also to prevent it from burning down to the serpentine and going out. If it did go out, he relighted it from the coal at the other end of the match, which was kept burning for that purpose.” More succinctly, in 1611, Virginia prescribed the duties of a sentinel as “he shall shoulder his piece, both ends of his match being alight, and his piece charged and primed, and bullets in his mouth, there to stand with a careful and waking eye, until such time as his Corporal shall relieve him.” Imagine being a “sentinel” at night with essentially two, glowing cigarette butts dangling from your gun! I have a hunch there were a few scalped, matchlock-toting sentinels lost along the trail. Putting down roots along the Atlantic coast in the 1500s and 1600s was a desperate task. Not only were the early settlers fighting the wilderness but also a violent series of Indian wars, conflicts with colonies of other nationalities and disputes among themselves while having to fulfill the daily need for food and fiber. Dependable weapons were essential for survival, and the matchlock was the primary sporting and assault weapon of the day. Service in the colonial militia was mandatory for men aged 18 and older. A later Bay Colony law even required children aged 10 to 16 to be instructed in the use of all arms. Each adult militia member was required to be armed and to participate in training musters after church and at public assemblies. In 1636, the date 37 W W W. G U N S M A G A Z I N E . C O M
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