Pointed stake.

It was common with archers to place a long pointed stake in the ground to protect themselves against cavalry. On the arquebus replacing the bow the same practice was continued.

Pike.

From the earliest ages it had been customary to arm some of the infantry with pikes, and in the middle ages when cavalry was so much employed in armies, it was found impossible to dispense with this weapon; for some time after the introduction of fire-arms, only a portion of the infantry were armed with them, and the remainder were pikemen. The proportion of each varied at different times, from one half to two thirds, but as the proportion of musketeers increased it became necessary to contrive some method, by which they could defend themselves.

In the latter part of the reign of James I., some attempts were made to convert the musketeer’s rest into a defence against cavalry. Marlets-de-fer with touch.Marlets-de-fer and small pole-axes had a touch enclosed in them, which by touching a spring opened a small valve and sprung out. Rest, with touch.The musket rest, instead of having a wooden shaft, was now made of a thin tube of iron, like these pole-axes covered with leather, and armed with the touch. Swines’ feathers.Rests thus armed were said to contain Swedish or Swines’ feathers. It was found however that the musketeer could not do his duty when armed with musket, sword, and rest, (especially if he had a Swedish feather to manage with them) which led to the abandonment of the rest during the Protectorate.

To remedy the inconvenience of a Musketeer being compelled to draw his sword and defend himself after the discharge of his piece, and to render him more competent to act against the pikemen, a long thin rapier blade fixed into a handle, and carried in a sheath called a Swine’s feather, was drawn out of its scabbard, Sword stuck in muzzle.and fixed into the muzzle of his gun, which gave him a weapon of great length. (Plate 19, fig. 11.). And this dagger or sword, stuck into the muzzle of the gun, gave origin to the bayonet, Bayonets in France, 1671.which was first made at Bayonne, and introduced into the French army in 1671.

Swords discontinued, 1745.

Swords in general were left off in the battalion companies ever since the year 1745, and about 1762 by the grenadiers. Improved bayonet.As a still further improvement the bayonet was made to fit on to the side of the barrel, so as to leave it clear. Bayonet in Flanders, William III.An early application of the improved bayonet took place in the campaigns of William III., in Flanders. Three French regiments thus armed, marched with fixed bayonets, and one of them against the 25th regiment. Lieut-Colonel Maxwell ordered his men to screw their bayonets into their muzzles to receive them; but to his great surprise when they came within the proper distance, the French threw in such a heavy fire, as for the moment to stagger his people, who by no means expected such a greeting, not conscious how it was possible to fire with fixed bayonets. Macaulay in the 3rd volume of his History, Bayonet at Killicrankie.states “That at the battle of Killicrankie, the King’s army being drawn up in position, the Highlanders advanced to the attack, and immediately after having delivered their fire, threw away their muskets and rushed on to the charge with Claymores. It took the regular musketeer two or three minutes to alter his missile weapon into one with which he could encounter an enemy hand to hand, and during this time the battle of Killicrankie had been decided.” Mackay therefore ordered all his bayonets to be so made that they might be screwed upon the barrel.

Bayonets, Marsaglia, 1693, and Spiers, 1703.

Bayonets were employed by Marshal Catinat at the battle of Marsaglia, when the slaughter was immense. Also at the battle of Spiers, in 1703. Thus improved, the bayonet came into general use, Pike abolished, 1703.and the pike was abolished in France by Royal Ordinance 1703, with the advice of Marshal Vauban. Before the introduction of the improved bayonet, Lord Orrery, in 1677, thus speaks in favour of the pike:—Earl Orrery in favour of pike versus musket, 1677.“But what need I more say of the usefulness of the pike above the musket, than that all persons of quality carry the pike which they would not do unless it had adjudgedly the honour to be the noblest weapon, since the bravest choose and fight with it. I wish our companies consisted of fewer shots and more pikes, for they are not only always in readiness but need no ammunition, which cannot be said of the musket which requires powder, bullet, and match, and in wet or windy weather often disappoints the service.”

M. Mallet, pike versus musket, 1684.

Mons. Mallet in his “Travaux de Mars,” speaks lightly of the “mousquetaires,” without pikemen; he says, “A horse wounded by a fire-arm is only more animated, but when he finds himself pierced by a pike, all the spurs in the world will not make him advance.”

Gen. Loyd, pike versus bayonet, 1766.

Even so recently as about ninety-two years ago, and ninety-five years after the introduction of the improved bayonet, General Loyd in his history of the war in Germany, recommends the abandonment of the system of arming the whole of the infantry with fire-arms, “which he says are useful only in defensive warfare, and even then not more than one shot in four hundred takes effect.” For many years after pikes were discontinued by our infantry, the officers carried a short one, and the sergeants only gave up their halberts within the last thirty years. The soldiers of artillery when in Holland under the late Duke of York, Pike recently discontinued.carried short pikes for the defence of their field guns.