“His defensive arms are only an open Caske or Head-peece, a back and brest with a buff coa

“His defensive arms are only an open Caske or Head-peece, a back and brest with a buff coat under his armes [armour]; his offensive Armed are a good Harquebusse, or a Carbine hanging on his right side in a belt by a sweble [swivel], a flask and Carthareg [cartridge] case, spanner, and two good firelock pistols” - John Vernon, describing the equipment for cavalrymen in 1644.
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A cavalryman brandishes their ‘firelock’ pistol, known also as a 'flintlock’. Around half of such pistols used by cavalry during the English Civil War were 'wheel-lock’ pistols which spun a spring-loaded steel wheel against a piece of pyrite to generate sparks, which then ignited gunpowder in a pan. The other half were early forms of 'flintlock’, which used a piece of flint striking against a steel plate to produce the sparks for ignition.
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At the beginning of the first civil war, Parliament’s cavalry abided by the old Dutch-style tactics of using cavalry defensively and as a support for infantry. Cavalrymen would advance towards the enemy and discharge their pistols before retiring to reload. This tactic was painfully inadequate to the more aggressive Swedish system, favoured by the Royalists, of charging at the enemy and firing their pistols at the last second before smashing into the enemy and fighting in melee with swords to drive them off. It took time for Parliament to adjust to this new tactic, resulting in several stunning Royalist victories, but once they combined it with strong training and discipline it proved to be one of the keys to total victory.
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Chris Sutton
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